George Wayne Smith (born January 29, 1955) is a bishop of the Episcopal Church, currently serving as the Bishop Provisional of the

Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over 40 counties in southern Ohio. It is one of 15 dioceses that make up the Province of the Midwest (Province 5). The ...

. He previously served as the 10th Bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Missouri The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over 54 counties in eastern Missouri. It has 42 congregations and is in Province 5 of the Episcopal Church in the United Sta ...

from 2002 to his retirement in 2020. He was succeeded by the 11th bishop, the Rt. Rev.

Deon K. Johnson Deon Kevin Johnson is the eleventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. He was elected on November 23, 2019, and was consecrated and installed on June 13, 2020. His ordination and consecration was originally scheduled for April 25, 2020, ...

, on June 13, 2020. Smith was born in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

. He was raised a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

and converted to the Episcopal Church while a student at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

. Smith received his seminary education at

Nashotah House Nashotah House is an Anglicanism, Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically Conservatism, ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. Smith was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1981 followed by ordination to the priesthood in 1982. Smith served congregations in both

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

before becoming the rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, Iowa. On November 3, 2001 Smith was elected to the post of Bishop of Missouri, having been elected on third ballot. He was consecrated on March 6, 2002 as Bishop

Coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

to Bishop Hays Rockwell and subsequently succeeded him on June 6, 2002. Smith is the 975th Bishop consecrated in the Episcopal Church. In the first years of his episcopacy, the church, both nationally and locally, struggled with issues related to sexuality. Financial adversity in those early years resulted in a reduction of diocesan staff and programs. Bishop Smith has supported the growth of the Community of Deacons within the Diocese. The Diocese has entered into a productive companion relationship with the Diocese of Lui in Sudan with clergy and lay persons involved in on-site missions there. Congregations are being called to develop mission within their communities, strengthening their three part call to prayer, community and a presence beyond the church doors. In a letter dated April 27, 2018, Smith informed the Diocese of Missouri that he intended to retire after a successor was elected, consecrated as bishop, and installed in office. He asked that the election be held during the 2019 diocesan convention, with the winner of the election being seated in April 2020. On November 23, 2019 the diocese elected

as Smith's successor. Smith was elected Provisional Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio in 2021.

References

External links

Smith
on the

website 1955 births Living people People from Abilene, Texas Clergy from Des Moines, Iowa Episcopal bishops of Missouri Baylor University alumni Nashotah House alumni Converts to Anglicanism from Baptist denominations Episcopal bishops of Southern Ohio {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub

See also

References

External links