Article by the Bishop Search and Transition Committee
Greetings family and friends of the Diocese of California,
Many thanks for your thoughtful and prayerful interest in the process by which we will find our next bishop. For those of you who missed Bishop Marc’s announcement of his resignation and our initial summary of the Search and Transition process, you can find them on the Bishop Search and Transition website, https://diocalbishopsearch.org. We have posted the current timeline for the Search and Transition process and will continue to update you as more information becomes available.
It is with great pleasure that we announce that we have reached our first search and transition milestone by appointing the Co-Chairs of the Search and Transition Committee. One is a lay person and one is a clergy person. Both have a great deal of experience in church governance in general and search processes specifically, as well as a demonstrated ability to serve the people of the Diocese of California faithfully and well.
Ms. Brenda Paulin
Ms. Brenda Paulin is a member of St. Augustine’s, Oakland. She is a Deanery/Diocesan Convention Representative for the Alameda Deanery and was recently named as a member of the Diocesan Resolutions Committee. Brenda has served as a member and officer of the Diocesan Executive Council (Secretary), and as a member of Diocesan Standing Committee. She is a Life Member of the Union of Black Episcopalians, and actively involved in the Northern California/Vivian Traylor Chapter. She is also a member of the Diocesan Afro-Anglican Commission. Currently she is a Succeeding by Reading Associate Program Coordinator for Children Rising, an Oakland education nonprofit.
The Rev. Paul Fromberg
The Rev. Paul Fromberg, D.Min, is the rector of St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. He also serves as president of the Board of The Food Pantry at St. Gregory’s. From 1987 – 2004 he served churches in Houston, Texas. Paul is a painter, specifically an iconographer. In addition to his congregational ministry, Paul is an adjunct faculty member at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. Paul is a co-convener of the West Coast Convivium (conviviumwest.org), a conversation about making church in the west. He is the author of The Art of Transformation (Church Publishing, 2017) and The Art of Disruption (Church Publishing, 2021). Paul has served The Episcopal Church as chair of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music and as the Church’s representative on the Consultation on Common Texts. Paul is married to Grant Martin and lives in San Francisco with their dog, Frankie.
We are grateful for their willingness to assume leadership of this critically important work. Together with them, The Standing Committee has already begun the next phase of our work, which is establishing criteria for the selection of the members of The Search and Transition Committee. We are developing a nomination process and a time frame so that those who feel called to do so can apply. We will announce the Committee members at the Diocesean Convention on October 28 and 29.
We ask your continued prayers during this time of transition that God may bless us with good discernment, able candidates, and a healthy passage toward our future together.
With great hope,
The Rev. Deborah White, MSW, MDiv, Ph.D.
President, Standing Committee, Diocese of California
on behalf of its members:
Ms. Noreen Huey, Vice-President
The Rev. Todd Bryant, Secretary
Ms. Robyn Amos
The Venerable Reverend Carolyn Bolton
Mr. Sean McConnell
The Rev. Dr. Mauricio Wilson
Mr. Warren Wong
