Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina

The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina is a diocese of the Episcopal Church within Province IV that encompasses central North Carolina. Founded in 1817, the modern boundaries of the diocese roughly correspond to the portion of North Carolina between I-77 in the west and I-95 in the east, including the most populous area of the state. Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Durham are the largest cities in the diocese. The diocese originally covered the entirety of the state, until the Diocese of East Carolina which stretches to the Atlantic was formed in 1883, and the Diocese of Western North Carolina which lies to the west extending into the Appalachian Mountains was formed in 1922.

In 2024, the diocese reported average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 10,517 persons, down from 13,890 in 2015. No membership statistics were reported in 2024 national parochial reports. Public membership figures cited a decrease in membership from 49,900 in 2016 to 41,779 in 2023. The congregations of the diocese had $46,771,823 in plate and pledge income in 2024.

About the Diocese The diocese has no cathedral, but its offices are located in the state capital of Raleigh. Representatives of the diocese's 106 parishes meet annually at a diocesan convention in November. Between conventions, the diocese is administered by a Diocesan Council in conjunction with the diocesan staff who work under the bishop.

The current diocesan bishop is Samuel Sewall Rodman III. He was consecrated bishop on July 15, 2017, as the twelfth bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, after the election of his predecessor, Michael Bruce Curry, as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. The assistant bishop of the diocese is Jennifer Brooke-Davidson. The bishop suffragan of the diocese, Anne Hodges-Copple, retired in December 2022.

Other bishops who have served the diocese since 1980 are the late Robert W. Estill (ninth bishop of the diocese), the late Robert C. Johnson (tenth bishop of the diocese), the late Frank Vest (suffragan bishop of the diocese who subsequently became bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia), the late Huntington Williams, Jr. (retired suffragan bishop), J. Gary Gloster (retired suffragan bishop), William Gregg (retired assistant bishop and previously the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon), the late Alfred C. Marble, Jr. (retired assisting bishop and previously the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi), and the late Peter James Lee (formerly provisional bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina and bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia).

Congregations in the diocese vary from conservative to liberal and from low church to high church, but the diocese itself is generally considered moderate and is highly supportive of the Episcopal Church. The density of Episcopalians varies across the diocese but is highest in Wake County, the county of the state capital, Raleigh.

Programs and institutions

Principal programs of the diocese include campus ministries and social ministries:

Campus ministry (at North Carolina State University, St. Augustine's University, Duke University, Elon University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Wake Forest University, and Davidson College). In 2019, the diocesan programming extended to digital ministry with the launch of a smartphone app for young adults titled YEAH: Young Episcopal Adult Hub. Social ministry, notably the Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry in Newton Grove, a joint venture with the Diocese of East Carolina. In a state with a growing Latino population, the diocese supports a Chartered Committee on Hispanic Ministry. The committee provides liturgical and pastoral resources, supports congregations' service and outreach among Latinas and Latinos, and advocates for immigration reform and other laws to protect the rights of migrant workers.

The diocese no longer operates a camp and conference center, having sold its facility near Browns Summit, North Carolina to the State of North Carolina for use as Haw River State Park."History." History | NC State Parks, www.ncparks.gov/haw-river-state-park/history. However, the diocese maintains an active youth program. The territory of the diocese includes independent schools with current or former diocesan affiliations including Trinity Episcopal School and Palisades Episcopal School in Charlotte, Canterbury School in Greensboro, and St. Mary's School, St. Timothy's School, St. David's School, and Ravenscroft School in Raleigh.

Other major institutions affiliated with the diocese are Penick Village in Southern Pines, a retirement community; and Thompson Child and Family Focus in Charlotte, a youth services ministry.

The diocese used to operate St. Peter's Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital in Charlotte, both founded by Jane Renwick Smedburg Wilkes, who served as President of the Diocese's Women's Aid Society.

Bishops +Bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina From Until Name Title Notes 1823 1830 John Stark Ravenscroft 1st bishop of North Carolina 1831 1852 Levi Silliman Ives 2nd bishop of North Carolina 1853 1881 Thomas Atkinson 3rd bishop of North Carolina 1873 1881 Theodore B. Lyman Coadjutor bishop of North Carolina 1881 1893 4th bishop of North Carolina 1893 1893 Joseph Blount Cheshire Coadjutor bishop of North Carolina 1893 1932 5th bishop of North Carolina 1918 1928 Henry Beard Delany 1st bishop suffragan of North Carolina 1922 1932 Edwin Anderson Penick Bishop coadjutor of North Carolina 1932 1959 6th bishop of North Carolina 1951 1959 Richard Henry Baker Bishop coadjutor of North Carolina 1959 1965 7th bishop of North Carolina 1960 1965 Thomas Fraser Bishop coadjutor of North Carolina 1965 1983 8th bishop of North Carolina 1967 1975 Moultrie Moore 2nd bishop suffragan of North Carolina Bishop of Easton, (1975–1983) 1980 1982 Robert Whitridge Estill Bishop coadjutor of North Carolina 1983 1994 9th bishop of North Carolina 1985 1989 Frank Vest 3rd bishop suffragan of North Carolina Bishop of Southern Virginia (1991–1998) 1990 1996 Huntington Williams, Jr. 4th bishop suffragan of North Carolina 1994 2000 Robert C. Johnson Jr. 10th bishop of North Carolina 1996 2007 J. Gary Gloster 5th bishop suffragan of North Carolina 2000 2015 Michael Bruce Curry 11th bishop of North Carolina 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church (2015 – 2024) 2005 2013 Alfred C. "Chip" Marble, Jr. Assisting bishop of North Carolina Bishop of Mississippi (1993–2003) 2007 2013 William O. Gregg Assistant bishop of North Carolina Bishop of Eastern Oregon (2000–2007) 2013 2022 Anne Hodges-Copple 6th bishop suffragan of North Carolina The first female bishop in the Diocese of North Carolina. 2015 2017 Bishop pro tempore of North Carolina 2015 2017 Peter Lee Assisting bishop of North Carolina Bishop of Virginia (1985–2009); bishop provisional of East Carolina (2013–2015) Lee was brought in as a temporary bishop of North Carolina after Bishop Michael Curry was called to serve as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Lee served until Samuel S. Rodman, III was consecrated in April 2017."Diocese of NC Welcomes the Rt. Rev. Peter Lee as Assisting Bishop." Diocesan House, www.dionc.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3175359. 2017 Present Samuel S. Rodman, III 12th bishop of North Carolina 2022PresentJennifer Brooke-DavidsonAssistant bishop of North Carolina6th bishop suffragan of West Texas (2017–2019); assistant bishop of Virginia (2019–2022)

Notes

References

Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina

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