Grace Cathedral

Dear Friends,

Many of you may already have heard the news that the Rev Austin K. Rios was elected on Saturday to serve as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of California.

The energy here at the electing convention at Grace Cathedral felt electric. One hundred sixty clergy voters and one hundred and ninety-two lay voters participated in a bicameral body for the election, which chose Rev Rios in the second ballot. Rios then addressed the convention through an online video connection from his church in Rome, Italy. His enthusiasm, even from so many time zones away, felt contagious.

This week, Bishop Marc Andrus told me that the next steps involve a confirmation of our election results by the bishops and standing committees of the churches in the Episcopal Church both here in the United States and abroad. No one expects any controversies, and we should see Austin Rios arriving in California in March.

His ordination as a bishop is scheduled to take place at Grace Cathedral on Saturday, May 4, 2024. Bishop Marc will help to provide him with an orientation to our Diocese and then will retire in July.

For the last five months, we have been working to update the wireless system at the cathedral to accommodate so many voters. We expected each person there to have multiple devices, each trying to connect, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that all the electronic voting went so well.

Our volunteers and staff were very welcoming and did a fantastic job of making everyone from the Diocese feel at home. I am so grateful to everyone at Grace Cathedral for our ongoing ministry of hospitality. We welcome hundreds of new people to the cathedral every week, and all of us are involved directly or indirectly in this important ministry. It is one of my favorite features of our Cathedral life together.

As we continue to travel through the Advent season together, I am praying that during this dark season, you are seeing the light of Christ shining steadily in our lives.

Love,

Malcolm

The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young

Dean of Grace Cathedral