Episcopal Press and News

Episcopal Church's 1000th Bishop

Episcopal News Service. January 13, 2005 [011305-4-A]

The Rev. Dr. Jeffrey N. Steenson will be ordained and consecrated bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of the Rio Grande Saturday, January 15, in a historic ceremony that will pronounce him the 1000th bishop in the apostolic succession of the Episcopal Church.

Steenson, 52, will be consecrated by Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold during a special service that will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral Church of St. John, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Speaking about his role in terms of healing and reconciliation, Steenson explained that communication and relationships are of vital importance. "Whatever our problems are, we need to learn to try and solve them in the communities we find ourselves in," he said, according to an Albuquerque Journal report. "...God is not honored by Christian communities tearing themselves up. We have enough division in the Christian world without adding to it."

Having served the diocese as canon to the ordinary, or executive assistant to the diocesan bishop, since 2000, Steenson has gained wide knowledge of the diocese, including its larger parishes and many rural missions.

Prior to moving to the Diocese of the Rio Grande, Steenson was rector of St. Andrew's Church in Fort Worth, Texas, from 1989 to 2000, and was previously rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, Pennsylvania. He has been a board member of the Living Church Foundation since 1987. He holds a doctorate in theology from Oxford, a master's in divinity from Harvard Divinity School, a master's in church history from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a bachelor's in history from Trinity College.

Steenson's "principles of ministry" have been listed as: "Above all, to honor and serve the Lord Jesus Christ in the Church and in the world; to emphasize preaching and teaching which is biblically centered and stands faithfully within an orthodox Christian perspective; to seek a deeper and wider vision of the Church than is found in modern denominationalism, being especially attentive to new possibilities for promoting Christian unity; to recover those principles at the heart of the classical Anglican pastoral and theological tradition that are in danger of being forgotten in modern church life; to defend the spiritual freedom which the Gospel establishes as a basic right of a mature and committed Christian laity."

Steenson's consecration follows the line of apostolic succession in the Episcopal Church which began more than 220 years ago when Samuel Seabury, elected to be Bishop of Connecticut, was consecrated in Aberdeen by bishops in the Scottish Episcopal Church on November 14, 1784.

Elected October 16 on the third ballot by the Rio Grande diocesan convention meeting in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Steenson led a slate of six candidates, of which he was one of two nominated by petition.

Steenson will begin ministry as diocesan bishop following Bishop Terence Kelshaw's retirement effective July 31, 2005. Kelshaw has been bishop of the Rio Grande since 1989.

Steenson has been married to Debra J. Arnold since 1974 and is the father of three adult children.

Due to space limitations, reservations and tickets for the consecration service are no longer available. Those interested in observing and participating may do so by connecting to a live webcast of the service. Full details on how to access the webcast can be found online at: http://www.stjohnsabq.org/Contacts/Diocesan.htm#consecration.

More information about the Diocese of the Rio Grande -- which spans New Mexico and Southwest Texas including El Paso -- is available online at http://riogrande.anglican.org.