December 10, 2024
Commemoration of Thomas Merton, Contemplative
To the Clergy and People of the Diocese of Long Island:
As I write this letter, it is November 21, 2024. I am sitting in the very same chapel space within the guest house at St. Joseph’s Abbey, in Spencer, Massachusetts, in which I discerned the call of the Diocese of Long Island to be a nominee for bishop in 2008.
Today, I write to share the news that I have informed the Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church, Bishop Sean Rowe, of my intention to resign as Bishop Diocesan of Long Island in September of 2026.
I am blessed to have served as bishop of this diocese for over fifteen years, and will have served seventeen years at the time of my retirement. This January 2025, I will turn 70.
And so, it is time for me to set into motion for the diocese, and especially the Standing Committee and eventual Joint Oversight Committee, the process of discernment for the search, nomination, election, and ordination of my successor, the Ninth Bishop of Long Island.
The Presiding Bishop’s Office and the Office of the Bishop for Pastoral Development will provide consultants and much guidance for the almost 18-month process that will begin sometime early in the new year.
In the meantime, there is so much essential ministry to be accomplished together. I am encouraged by our most recent Diocesan Convention and the beginning of our process for mutual responsibility and interdependence within the deaneries of the diocese.Strengthening our witness and presence in the neighborhoods and communities we serve will remain my primary focus as the process unfolds.
I will remain actively and fully your bishop until the moment I hand the diocesan crozier into the hands of my successor during her or his ordination as bishop. Until that time, there is plenty of work to be done to build upon the strong foundations of Episcopal Health Services, The Mercer School of Theology, The Center for Spiritual Imagination, Camp DeWolfe, Episcopal Real Estate, Episcopal Ministries, the Trustees of the Estate, and the Cathedral of the Incarnation.
For now, I ask for your prayers for me, my family, and the staff of the diocese. I ask that, in every way you may be involved in the process that will unfold, that you remain focused on our witness as the church, the people of God. The process of calling our next bishop must be a holy work, a prayer-filled work, empowered by the Holy Spirit. It must be a sacred journey in which the people of God discern the future of our diocese and its ministry among the people we serve.
As always, each day, you will be in my prayers, and in my heart.
In thanksgiving for all of you, I remain,
Your Shepherd in Christ,
The Right Reverend Lawrence C. Provenzano
Bishop of Long Island