Diocese of Easton plans listening gatherings to support reconciliation, healing

[Episcopal News Service] The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Easton on Aug. 4 announced the appointment of a Steering Committee to work with the Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves to plan listening gatherings across the diocese beginning in November.

The gatherings’ purpose will be to support reconciliation and healing in the diocese. The Steering Committee will report to the Standing Committee, the announcement said.

Easton Bishop Santosh Marray announced in February his plans for early retirement.

Marray initially said last November that he planned to retire in fall 2026, setting in motion the process for calling his successor. He will serve until Oct. 31 of this year, after which he plans to take a scheduled one-month vacation followed by a two-month sabbatical. His official retirement date will be Feb. 2, 2026.

“As the diocese began to engage in a process of discernment following Bishop Santosh Marray’s announcement of his intention to resign as our diocesan bishop, it became apparent to the Discernment Committee that they could not effectively engage the diocese in discerning our future while dysfunction, discord, hurt, and grief clearly exist,” the Aug. 4 announcement said.

“The Discernment Committee advised the Standing Committee that the need for this kind of specific Listening and Healing work is beyond the scope and abilities of their committee. Therefore, they recommended the Standing Committee engage a consultant from outside the diocese to carry out this work and that the consultant should report to the Standing Committee.”

In July 2023, Marray was the subject of a disciplinary complaint alleging inappropriate behavior, according to information posted in May 2024 to The Episcopal Church’s website. Few details have been released publicly about the allegations, other than that “multiple complainants” made allegations of “inappropriate public statements and behavior” by Marray. A separate complaint was filed in February 2024 by a single complainant alleging “inappropriate public statements and misrepresentations.”

Under the church’s Title IV disciplinary canons, a three-member reference panel referred the matters to a canonical process known as conciliation, in which Marray and the complainants were to work with an appointed conciliator to reconcile their differences.

On Jan. 21, 2025, the reference panel issued determinations concluding both matters with pastoral responses. No other information was provided about the cases’ resolution.

Gray-Reeves served as the third bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real from 2007 to 2020. She then became the managing director of the College for Bishops, where she continues to serve. She also offers consulting services utilizing her knowledge of family systems theory, mediation and conflict resolution skills.