New Hampshire bishop announces retirement plans
[Episcopal News Service] New Hampshire Bishop Robert Hirschfeld announced in a Sept. 5 emailed message to the diocese that he plans to retire in March 2027, starting the diocese on the process to seek and elect his successor.
Hirschfeld, the diocese’s 10th bishop, was consecrated and took office in August 2012, having previously served as a priest at congregations in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut.
“Thirteen years ago, this beautiful and vibrant diocese conferred a tremendous honor upon me by asking if I would accept your election as the 10th bishop of New Hampshire,” Hirschfeld said in his announcement. “It has been my deepest honor to be your bishop to the most of my ability.”
He said he was in contact with Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and the diocesan standing committee, which has begun taking steps to schedule a new bishop election for October 2026.
“Throughout his ministry to and with the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, Bishop Rob has faithfully served its people and congregations, as well as the wider church,” the standing committee said in a message that accompanied Hirschfeld’s announcement. “The standing committee is endlessly grateful for his presence and witness among us, and in the months to come we will continue to support him in all possible ways.”
The following are the messages released by Hirschfeld and the standing committee:
Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,
It is with a full heart that I write to let you know of my intention to retire in March of 2027. Thirteen years ago, this beautiful and vibrant diocese conferred a tremendous honor upon me by asking if I would accept your election as the 10th Bishop of New Hampshire. You had asked for someone you hoped would be your pastor through whatever right pathways God would lead us. I humbly accepted that vocation of bishop, sensing that I was not equipped or ready, but that if I were to be a bishop, I was called to this particular diocese, to these special people. It has been my deepest honor to be your bishop to the most of my ability.
Now, as I begin a 14th blessed year in your service, God is calling me to begin to step aside and to allow the diocese to prepare to welcome its next bishop. I have shared this discernment with both Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and the Standing Committee who have already begun to put in place the necessary procedures for an episcopal election to take place on October 24, 2026.
Based upon the timing of garnering the necessary consents from the wider church, its standing committees and bishops, and upon the calendar of the Presiding Bishop, the new bishop would be ordained and given the crosier on March 6, 2027. At that time, I will have reached 66 years of age and will be in the 15th year of my consecration. The person whom God and people choose to succeed me will indeed be blessed to serve in this faithful place in God’s pasture.
I bid your prayers, assure you of mine, and I look forward to the next year and half of Tending the Vine of Christ together for the sake of the world God cherishes with a love that is stronger than even death.
Gratefully Yours in the Abiding Christ,
The Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld,
Bishop of New Hampshire
A Message from the Standing Committee
Throughout his ministry to and with the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, Bishop Rob has faithfully served its people and congregations, as well as the wider Church. The Standing Committee is endlessly grateful for his presence and witness among us, and in the months to come we will continue to support him in all possible ways. We now take up the responsibility of overseeing a fair, hopeful, holy, and Spirit-led process for calling the 11th Bishop of New Hampshire.
Our most immediate task is to form a Search Committee and a Transition Committee. With guidance from the consultant already contracted to assist both groups, and a chaplain, they will lead our forthcoming diocesan discernment. Additional information, including the application/nomination form for these committees, along with a timeline for the process, will be sent out in the coming week.
Almighty and ever gracious God. We thank you for the loving, wise and generous ministry of our Bishop, Rob. We ask your blessing upon him and his family as they move through this time of transition. We ask your blessing on all the clergy and people of the Diocese of New Hampshire as we discern together to call the next Bishop of New Hampshire. Guide us in wisdom, patience and love as we seek your will for us and for the leader you will send to be our shepherd. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
