The Rt. Rev. Rodney R. Michel, retired Bishop Suffragan of Long Island, has agreed to serve as an assisting bishop in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. According to a Feb. 23 announcement by the diocesan standing committee, Bishop Michel will begin his new assignment full time on April 1.
 
During March, Bishop Michel, 66, will work on a part-time basis alongside the Rt. Rev. Allen Bartlett who was Bishop of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1998, and who has been assisting bishop for the past year during the inhibition of the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr.
 
Last October, the Court for the Trial of a Bishop found Bishop Bennison guilty and recommended that he be deposed from the ordained ministry of The Episcopal Church for his failure to report allegations of sexual misconduct by his brother, who was on the staff at the California church where Bishop Bennison was rector in the 1970s. An appeal of that decision is pending in ecclesiastical court, meaning that Bishop Bennison remains inhibited from fulfilling the responsibilities of a bishop.
 
In the absence of a diocesan bishop, the standing committee is the ecclesiastical authority by church law. An assisting bishop performs sacramental episcopal responsibilities.
 
In a related development, the standing committee announced Feb. 24 that Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori would make a visitation to Pennsylvania, which would include two special meetings for clergy and lay members March 29-30.
 
The appointment of Bishop Michel is expected to be for three years. His duties will be both administrative and pastoral, according to the announcement, which noted that he will work from the diocesan office four days a week, do Sunday parish visitations, be present for meetings of committees and commissions that his predecessor traditionally attended, and be a pastoral resource for clergy, their families and congregations.
 
A graduate of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Bishop Michel was suffragan in Long Island from 1997 until his resignation in 2007. Since retirement, he has assisted in the dioceses of Georgia and Maryland.
 
The Rev. Glenn Matis, president of the standing committee, expressed his gratitude to Bishop Bartlett for the time he served when the diocese recalled him from retirement.
 
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