[Episcopal News Service] The Profile and Search Committee for the 10th bishop of Albany announced via a press release on May 2 an initial list of four candidates to stand for election.

The four nominees are:

• The Rev. Geoffrey Ward, rector, Saint Christopher’s Episcopal Church, River Hills, Wisconsin, Diocese of Milwaukee.
• The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson, rector, Grace and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Diocese of Colorado.
• The Rev. Neal Longe, rector of Saint Ann’s Episcopal Church, Amsterdam, New York, Diocese of Albany.
• The Rev. Scott Garno, rector of Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Delmar, New York, Diocese of Albany.

A 30-day nomination period by petition begins May 8. The Electing Convention is scheduled for Sept. 8 at the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany.

The Rt. Rev. William Love, former bishop of Albany, resigned as bishop effective Feb. 1, 2021, after a disciplinary panel ruled on Oct. 2, 2020, that he violated church law by prohibiting clergy from using the same-sex marriage rite approved for churchwide use by General Convention in 2018. Upon resignation, Love joined the Anglican Church in North America, a breakaway group founded in 2009 by former members of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.

The Diocese of Albany Standing Committee is serving as the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese until a bishop is elected, confirmed, consecrated and assumes jurisdiction.