DES MOINES, WASH \u2013 With renewed focus and changing circumstances in the church, Greater Northwest Episcopal Area Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky announced today that she is postponing her retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hope and pray that postponing retirement will relieve anxiety and contribute to an orderly transition of leadership for all the conferences in the Western Jurisdiction during this extended pandemic interruption of normalcy,\u201d Stanovsky wrote in a letter to clergy and lay leaders across the Greater Northwest Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In February, Stanovsky announced that she would be retiring as of December 31, 2021. Since that announcement, however, The United Methodist Church\u2019s Council of Bishops revealed that no episcopal elections would occur until after a twice-postponed General Conference convenes in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Western Jurisdiction\u2019s Committee of Episcopacy welcomes Bishop Stanovsky\u2019s decision,\u201d offered chairperson Rev. Mary Huycke. \u201cWe believe this will provide needed stability for both the episcopal area and the jurisdiction in this time of transition as we await general and jurisdictional conferences in the second half of 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stanovsky originally intended for her retirement to coincide with that of her fellow Western Jurisdiction colleagues, Bishops Bob Hoshibata of the Desert Southwest Conference and Grant Hagiya of the California-Pacific Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI never intended my retirement to add to the uncertainty of this wilderness passage,\u201d Stanovsky wrote. \u201cAt the time, we anticipated regular in-person general and jurisdictional conferences in the fall of 2021, when new bishops might be elected to begin serving as the new quadrennium began with the new year. Since that request, general and jurisdictional conferences have been put off again, further postponing the election and assignment of new bishops. In light of these delays, the timing of my requested retirement is no longer helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stanovsky said she has a \u201crenewed sense of focused mission\u201d and is grateful for the opportunity to continue her work with the Alaska, Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest Conferences. While she doesn\u2019t set a new date for retirement, she expresses hope that it will follow the election and assignment of new bishops in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n