Diocese of North Dakota announces bishop slate
[Episcopal News Service] The Fargo-based Diocese of North Dakota on Aug. 4 announced a slate of four candidates for the diocese’s 12th bishop.
They are:
- The Rev. Lecia Diaz Brannon, director of alumni relations for the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas;
- The Very Rev. Shay Craig, dean of Christ Cathedral in Salina, Kansas;
- The Rev. Brandt Montgomery, chaplain of Saint James School in Hagerstown, Maryland, and vicar of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Boonsboro, Maryland;
- The Rev. Benjamin Thomas, executive manager of Becketwood, a 55-plus senior housing cooperative, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The diocese, which includes the state of North Dakota as well as Clay County, Minnesota, currently is led by Bishop Provisional Brian Thom, who has served since 2024. Bishop Michael G. Smith resigned from the Diocese of North Dakota in 2019 and went on to serve as a part-time assistant bishop in the Diocese of Dallas before becoming an assisting bishop in the Diocese of Albany.
The candidates will participate in meet-and-greet sessions the week of Sept. 2. The electing convention is scheduled for Oct. 25, 2025, at Prairie Knights Casino & Resort in Fort Yates.
After completing The Episcopal Church’s consent process, the bishop-elect is scheduled to be ordained and consecrated by Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe on March 14, 2026.
The slate’s release also marks the beginning of the petition process, which closes at 11:59 a.m. on Aug. 11.
Additional information is on the diocesan website’s bishop search page.
