Bishop Wolf Announces Her Retirement

This afternoon at Diocesan Convocation, The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf announced her intention to retire by the end of 2012. Listen to the podcast of her announcement, and read her letter to the Diocese below. You can also download and print her letter to share with others, as well as a letter from the Honorable Scott Avedisian, President of our Standing Committee, about the official process moving forward.

Podcast of her Convocation Announcement

Can't see the Podcast? Download it here

Letter from Bishop Wolf
March 5, 2011
Dear Friends in Christ,

Three weeks ago I celebrated with thanksgiving the fifteenth anniversary of my consecration as the XII Bishop of the Diocese of Rhode Island. Your support and affection during these years are gifts that I treasure and words are inadequate to express the love and appreciation that I have for you and for the people of our state.

As Christians we are called to serve Christ as best as we are able and then to accede to the contributions and vision of those who would follow. So it is that on this fifth day of March, 2011, I officially inform you of my intention to retire by the end of 2012, and hereby call for the election of my successor. By then, I shall be approaching my 66th birthday and the 36th year of my ordained ministry.

This was a very difficult decision for me to make, for I am truly invigorated by the ongoing challenges of episcopal ministry. However, it is the duty of every Christian to continually discern God’s will. Through prayer and conversation with others, I recognized that this was where the Lord was leading and have informed the Presiding Bishop’s office of my decision.

During the next twenty months or so, I will continue to have the honor of serving as your Bishop, gladly fulfilling the responsibilities of this sacred office. Having served in two dioceses during a change in diocesan bishops, I am well aware of the anticipation, excitement and anxiety that are part of this process and equally aware that on a daily basis, most things remain the same.

The crozier, one of the signs of the Episcopal Office, reminds us that the work of Christ, the Good Shepherd, never ends though the person who represents the shepherd is bound by the changing seasons of human life.

So it is a change of season for me, whom you have entrusted with this blessed ministry, and by extension it is a season of change for our beloved diocese. I believe that God is inviting us to give thanks for all that we have received, to look to the future in hope, and to trust in his unfailing love. May our ministry during this time of transition be a faithful response to this holy invitation.

I write this with enduring affection and gratitude.

Yours faithfully,

+Geralyn Wolf
Bishop of Rhode Island