Western Massachusetts Bishop Douglas Fisher announces plans to retire
[Episcopal News Service] Western Massachusetts Bishop Douglas Fisher on Sept. 26 said that he plans to retire in early 2026. In an announcement to the diocese, he said he expects that his successor will be elected at the diocese’s annual convention in November 2025.
The diocese’s Standing Committee will be be in contact with The Episcopal Church’s Office of Pastoral Development, which will provide a consultant to assist in the upcoming search process, which Fisher called “holy discernment.”
“I am abundantly blessed to be your bishop,” Fisher said. “For 12 years now, we have collaborated on Jesus’ mission of mercy, compassion and hope. Betsy and I are so very grateful for these years with you and for the time that remains of our mutual ministry.”
“We still have a lot of race to run together,” he added. “The months ahead will be marked with deep prayer, joyful celebrations of God’s love, care for one another and for all God’s creation. We will tell people about Jesus, engage in prophetic witness for social justice and ‘defend those who have no helper,’ a vow I made before you in my consecration as your ninth bishop. We will keep trying new things for the sake of the Gospel, and I will keep saying, ‘Go for it.’ The Jesus Movement rolls on in Western Massachusetts.”
Fisher has been bishop of the diocese since December 1, 2012.
