[Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast] The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast has announced a slate of four nominees to stand for election as bishop of the diocese. The nominees were presented to the Standing Committee by the Bishop Search Committee on Dec. 3.

The nominees announced are:

• The Rev. James Russell Kendrick, 54, rector, St. Stephens Episcopal Church, Birmingham, Alabama (Diocese of Alabama);
• The Very Rev. Edward Francis O’Connor, 47, dean, Cathedral Parish of St. Andrew, Jackson, Mississippi (Diocese of Mississippi);
• The Rev. Canon E. Daniel Smith, 58, canon to the ordinary, Diocese of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri (Diocese of Missouri);
• The Rev. William C. Treadwell III, 54, rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Waco, Texas (Diocese of Texas).

Detailed information about each nominee can be found online at either the diocesean website or on the Diocese Bishop Search website.

The next step in the process of the election is the petition period, which opened Dec. 4 and closes on Dec. 11. Complete information about this process and the application are both available on the diocesan website.

A series of meet-and-greets, commonly called “walkabouts,” will be held around the diocese in January. This allows members of the diocese to learn more about the nominees for bishop. The walkabouts are currently scheduled to run Jan. 18-22.

The election is scheduled for Feb. 21, the closing day of the diocese’s 44th annual convention. Pending the subsequent required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of The Episcopal Church, the bishop-elect will be ordained and consecrated on July 25, 2015. The bishop-elect will succeed the Rt. Rev. Philip M. Duncan II, who is the third bishop of the diocese.

The Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast spans across southern Alabama and the panhandle of northwest Florida, encompasses 62 churches and includes approximately 20,000 parishioners.