The Rt. Rev. William C. Frey, former Bishop of Colorado, has accepted a call to serve as an assisting Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, according to a bulletin from the standing committee published on the diocesan website.
 
Bishop Frey will spend about 10 days per month in the diocese, whose see city is Albuquerque, N.M. Bishop Frey served as Bishop of Colorado from 1973 to 1990. More recently, he has served as an assisting Bishop of West Texas. In the Rio Grande, Bishop Frey will confirm and ordain, make parish visitations and provide counsel to the standing committee when asked, the standing committee said.
 
Rio Grande has been without a diocesan bishop since Jeffrey Steenson resigned  and joined the Roman Catholic Church last September. The invitation was extended to Bishop Frey after the Rt. Rev. Terrance Kelshaw, Bishop Steenson’s predecessor, was received  into the Church of the Province of Uganda last month.
 
The standing committee also revealed that it will consult more widely before appointing members to an episcopal search committee. The diocese has retained the Rev. L. Ann Hallisey and Suzanne Foucault as consultants to assist with the search and with development of a long-term strategic diocesan vision.
 
“The visioning/reconciliation process is of primary importance and will be a significant factor in the selection of a bishop who will guide the continuation of the process,” the standing committee said. “In addition to a search team, the standing committee and deans will also name a visioning team to implement and maintain the process established with the consultants.”
 
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