[Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs press release] The Episcopal Church Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop (JNCPB) has released the following concerning nominating bishops from the floor for the position of Presiding Bishop.

The Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop (JNCPB) wishes to announce its process for nominating bishops to the office of the Presiding Bishop from the floor at General Convention in June 2015.

The JNCPB is canonically charged with “establishing a timely process for any bishop or deputy to express the intent to nominate any other member of the House of Bishops from the floor at the time the Joint Nominating Committee presents its nominees to the joint session of the two Houses, and for each Bishop so nominated to be included in the information distributed about the nominees.” Canon I.2.1(e)(2)

The procedure established by the JNCPB for nominations from the floor is as follows:

Any bishop or deputy may indicate his/her intent to nominate a bishop who is not included on the list of nominees for Presiding Bishop which will be announced on May 1.

The intent to nominate period will be Friday, May 1 to Tuesday, May 12.

Any bishop or deputy wishing to nominate a bishop must have that bishop’s written permission to do so.

To indicate the intent to nominate a bishop, send the following information via email to both the co-chairs of the JNCPB, Bishop Edward Konieczny of Oklahoma and Sally Johnson, Esq. of Minnesota (bishoped@epiok.org and sallyjohnson53@gmail.com)

1.  Full name of the bishop you wish to nominate and contact information for him/her including:
•    Diocese (or other position) in which the bishop currently serves
•    Home address
•    Work address
•    Work/office phone number
•    Cell phone number
•    Work email address
•    Personal email address

2.  Copy of the written permission for nomination from the bishop.

3.  Full name of the bishop or deputy submitting the nomination with his/her intention to nominate a bishop including:
•    Diocese (or other position) in which the deputy or bishop currently serves
•    Work/office phone number
•    Cell phone number
•    Work or personal email address

In order to be nominated at General Convention, any bishop whose name is submitted in this process will have to undergo the same background screening process that the JNCPB completed for all of its nominees including, but not limited to, criminal records check, credit check, civil court records check, driver’s license check, psychological examination, and submission of a physical examination report.

In order to complete the background screening process in a timely manner, all bishops whose names are submitted through this process must complete extensive questionnaires by Friday, May 15 at 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

For that reason, the JNCPB encourages bishops and deputies to submit their intent to nominate information as soon as possible after May 1.

Thank you.

For more info: pbnominatingcommittee@gmail.com.