The Very Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer, Seabury Western Class of 2003, was elected to be the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Rochester on Feb. 24, 2024. She serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Chicago, Illinois, and as dean of the Chicago North Deanery.
“I say yes with joy. It will be an honor and privilege,” Wagner Sherer said in an address to the diocese moments after being elected. “I am excited that we are going to learn much more about each other and listen to God’s call to hopeful mission and ministry. I know two things right now. We begin with mutual love. Love that will be expressed in joy. We are going to have a lot of fun together, and we’re confident in that deep and abiding joy, given to us by our creator to share with the world. Thank you. It’s an honor.”
“Kara’s ministry has served various congregations and the Diocese of Chicago with distinction ever since she graduated from Seabury-Western,” President Micah T.H. Jackson said in announcing the election to the community. “The lessons she learned and the gifts she honed in seminary and since will ensure that her successful ministry continues and grows as Bishop of Rochester”.
“I was so pleased to get to know Kara when we were students together at Seabury-Western,” the Rev. Dr. Jason Fout remarked after hearing the news; “now, as Academic Dean of Bexley Seabury I am immensely proud of all she has done since then. Her election as ninth Bishop of Rochester is an exciting new chapter in her (and their) ministry. The Holy Spirit being their help and guide, they have a bright future together!”
Wagner Sherer was elected on the fifth ballot with 58% of the clerical votes and 56% of lay votes. A majority of both clergy and lay votes on the same ballot was needed for election. She will be the diocese’s first female bishop.
“We are excited to welcome the Very Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer as the ninth bishop of Rochester,” said Elizabeth Salamone, president of the diocesan standing committee, the senior governing body that oversaw the election process. “Her experience in the Diocese of Chicago as rector and regional dean, her leadership and pastoral skills, and her commitment to healing and justice will be embraced by the people of our diocese as we strive to respond to God’s call.”
The Diocese of Rochester includes about 6,500 parishioners in 41 congregations. Pending canonical consent, Bishop-elect Wagner Sherer will be consecrated on July 13 and seated in September.