From Western Mass-The new bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts said he believes the key to success is to become a servant to the community and answer to its needs.
Rev. Douglas J. Fisher, 57, director of Grace Church in Millbrook, N.Y., was elected Saturday from a field of five nominees to head the Western Massachusetts diocese. He will succeed Rt. Rev. Gordon P. Scruton, who is retiring after 16 years as bishop.
Fisher, who holds a doctorate of ministry from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, has held a number of jobs in New York, including pastor of Holy Innocents in New York, chaplain to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point and chairman of the Standing Committee for the Diocese of New York.
Western Massachusetts “is a great diocese and it has a lot of blessings and a lot of challenges and I’m looking forward to serving it,” Fisher said.
The diocesian territory stretches from Interstate 495 west and has 65 parishes. Fisher said he liked many elements of the diocese, but the main one was the members’ willingness to take risks.
One of the biggest challenges the churches face is a common one throughout the church: Fewer and fewer people of all denominations attend church and one survey showed church participation has dropped 25 percent in 11 years, he said.
More here-
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/new_episcopal_bishop_of_wester.html
No comments:
Post a Comment