[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Easton Standing Committee on Aug. 15 announced it had appointed a former diocesan bishop, the Rt. Rev. James Shand, to serve as an assisting bishop during the diocese’s leadership transition after Bishop Santosh Marray steps down this October.
The news follows an announcement earlier this month that standing committee was appointing a steering committee to hold listening gatherings beginning in November to support reconciliation and healing in the diocese. The Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, the former bishop of El Camino Real in California who is trained in conflict resolution, will assist the steering committee in planning those gatherings.
The following is the message from the standing committee about Shand’s appointment.
The Standing Committee is pleased to announce the appointment of the Rt. Rev’d James J. “Bud” Shand to serve as the Assisting Bishop of our diocese following the retirement of Bishop Santosh Marray, the Eleventh Bishop of Easton, in October of this year.
Bishop Shand retired as the Tenth Bishop of Easton in 2014 after an eleven-year episcopate. Ordained in 1972, he served as the rector of St. Mary Anne’s, North East from 1975 -1989, and then as rector of Christ Church, Kent Island from 1989 to 2002. Since resigning as bishop diocesan, he has continued in active ministry in the Episcopal Church, most recently as the Assisting Bishop in the Diocese of Virginia.
Bishop Shand served on the Board of Trustees of Virginia Theological Seminary from 2002 to 2017 and was Chairman from 2009-2017. He was also a six-time deputy to General Convention and served on the Convention’s Standing Committee for the Church in Small Communities.
As Assisting Bishop, Bishop Shand will report directly to the Standing Committee which becomes the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese upon Bishop Marray’s resignation in October. He will serve in a part-time capacity from November 2025 through May 2026 providing pastoral support to the clergy and parishes of the diocese, making parish visitations, and serving as an advisor to diocesan leadership during this time of transition.
Raised in Plainfield, N.J., Bishop Shand graduated from Canaan College in Canaan, N.H. with a Bachelor of Arts. He received his Master of Divinity degree from the Philadelphia Divinity School in 1972. He also holds a Master of Arts in Christian Education and an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from VTS.
Bishop Shand and his wife, Lynne, have two adult children, Jonathan and Meghan, and two grandchildren.