The Rt. Rev. Robert D. Rowley, Jr., Bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania, has written to his diocese announcing he will take a terminal sabbatical leave. In a letter dated July 17, Bishop Rowley said the standing committee proposed the idea of a terminal sabbatical. It is effective immediately, concluding Aug. 31, 2007, a date Bishop Rowley had previously announced as his retirement.

Bishop Rowley said the standing committee’s suggestion was prompted by concern “that if I continued to serve as diocesan bishop, that my physical health would be impacted.” After prayer and consideration he said he will be moving to a new home in eastern Pennsylvania. Pension considerations necessitate that he continue in office until next year, but the standing committee will be the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese, he said.

Bishop Rowley became Bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania in 1991, after serving as coadjutor for two years. Prior to ordination, he served as a lawyer in the Navy from 1966 through 1974. After graduation from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in 1977, he served in a variety of positions in the Diocese of Hawaii before becoming canon to the Bishop of Bethlehem in 1983, a position he held until his election as bishop coadjutor. In May 1997, Bishop Rowley was one of four selected by the Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop. The Most Rev. Frank Griswold was eventually selected during the 72nd General Convention in Philadelphia.

Last October, Bishop Rowley called for the creation of an episcopal search committee and in March, he announced the date of his retirement.

A statement released by the standing committee thanked the bishop for his service to the diocese and noted that during the interregnum “we also have every intention of moving forward with the mission and ministry that God has given to this diocese.” Day-to-day operations of the diocese will not be affected, the standing committee said, and the search process “will continue to move forward as well.”

The Rev. Dennis A. Blauser, rector of Trinity Church, New Castle, and president of the standing committee, told The Living Church the proposal for terminal sabbatical leave had been prompted by a concern for Bishop Rowley’s overall “health and general well-being.”

Fr. Blauser dismissed suggestions that political considerations had played a role in the decision, stating the partisan divisions dividing The Episcopal Church “are not an issue in this diocese.” Northwestern Pennsylvania was a healthy diocese, Fr. Blauser said, and added the standing committee was looking forward to building upon Bishop Rowley’s work.

(The Rev.) George Conger

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