[Diocese of Rochester] The Rt. Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer was ordained and consecrated as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Rochester on July 13 at Asbury First United Methodist Church in Rochester, New York. Wagner Sherer, the first woman to serve as Rochester’s diocesan bishop, leads more than 5,000 Episcopalians across the Finger Lakes region.
“In Kara, you have one who will bring you a prophetic voice, a commitment to transparency and accountability, and a love for this church and for this ministry that she takes on,” said the Rev. Bryan Cones, priest-in-charge at Trinity Church in Highland Park, Illinois. Wagner Sherer served as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Chicago for 19 years before her election to the episcopacy.
The Rt. Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer was ordained and consecrated as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Rochester on July 13, 2024, at Asbury First United Methodist Church in Rochester, New York. Photo: Diocese of Rochester
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry served as the chief consecrator. Co-consecrators were Chicago Bishop Paula E. Clark, Central New York Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe, retired Chicago Bishop Jeffrey Lee, retired Maine Bishop Chilton R. Knudsen and Bishop Lee Miller II of the Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Rt. Rev. Stephen T. Lane, also a retired bishop of Maine who served as bishop provisional in the Diocese of Rochester until Wagner Sherer’s ordination and consecration, was also a co-consecrator.
Wagner Sherer’s spouse, John W. W. Sherer, served as music director for the ordination and consecration. He is now the organist and music director of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Rochester.
The vestments were a gift from the people and clergy of the Diocese of Rochester. They were designed and created by the Rev. Georgia Carney, a deacon and founder of SewGreen@Rochester, a sewing ministry for community, creativity and sustainability. The vestments coordinate with Kara’s chasuble from her presbyteral ordination. The Rev. Kate Spelman and the Rev. Jess Elfring-Roberts presented Wagner Sherer with a matching mitre, a gift from the clergywomen of the Diocese of Chicago. The consecration bulletin artwork is a copy of an original piece by Patrick Palsgrove, a member of St. John’s, created for the occasion.
Lay leaders bearing banners of diocesan congregations began the first of five processions, which also included kite bearers, vergers, ecumenical and interfaith representatives, civic leaders and diocesan clergy. Presenters were the Rev. Julie Cicora, retired priest associate of St. Mark’s & St. John’s Episcopal churches in Rochester and co-chair of the discernment and nominating committee; the Rev. Donald Schranz, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Clifton Springs, New York, and transition committee chair; Julie Gedro, a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Rochester; and Carolyn Mok, a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Rochester.
In a letter included in the service bulletin, Wagner Sherer wrote, “This ordination and consecration service is a celebration of a new ministry—my call to be your leader, pastor, and servant of your joy—your call to work together to discern how God is calling us in our particular communities to live our promises of baptism and community. Please fill this place (virtual or physical) with your presence, your prayers, and, most of all, your joy. God loves us, calls us in love, and makes us agents of that infectious love.”
Wagner Sherer was elected bishop of the Diocese of Rochester on Feb. 24. A video of the ordination and consecration is available on Asbury First UMC’s YouTube channel.