The Rev. Canon Lucinda Ashby, Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of Idaho, has been elected the fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real.
The Rev. Canon Janet Waggoner was a candidate in that election. In the wake of the election, she wrote a letter to the people of El Camino Real.
Dear Friends in the Diocese of El Camino Real ,
Today, you gathered, the Spirit moved among you, and you elected Canon Lucinda Ashby to be your bishop. I am so very glad for Lucinda and for you. Together as bishop and people you will journey from height to height in the love of God.
I am sad not to be travelling further with you as a diocese. As we journeyed around the diocese on walkabout, it was a delight to get to know you and to celebrate the amazing things that God is doing in and through you.
What I have gained in this discernment process is new vision, new courage, and new companions in the Way of Love. I thank you all for that. I am especially grateful to the Search and Transition Committees, the Standing Committee, and the diocesan staff, as well as for the companionship of Lucinda and the other candidates – Deon, Janine, and Channing.
My prayer for you and your new bishop-elect is that God’s love so infuses you on your journey together that the light in your lives and congregations is a beacon of hope, reconciliation, and transformation.
I very much look forward to the ways and places our paths will cross in the future.
Blessings and love,
Janet+
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Ashby has been canon to the ordinary in Idaho since 2011. She was ordained in 2004 in the Diocese of Northern California, where she served as assistant rector at St. Martin’s in Davis and then rector at St. Matthew’s in Sacramento. In addition, she taught at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley. Before ordination Lucinda taught Spanish and music in grades 7-12 and was Head of School for a private school in Sacramento. She also founded and built a school for Native Americans in Capay Valley, Cal. Lucinda also serves as the Dean for the High Desert School for Ministry.
Assuming the bishop-elect gets the required consents from bishops and standing committees, she will be consecrated January 11, 2020.