James Lafayette Hobby Jr. is a former American bishop of the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...

. He was elected the second bishop of the

Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. It has parishes in the several counties of Western Pennsylvania. In addition, the diocese has oversight of several parishes that are not located within its g ...

on 23 April 2016 and enthroned on 10 September 2016. He is married to Shari, also an Anglican priest, and they have three daughters.

Ecclesiastical career

Archbishop Foley Beach presenting a Bible to Bishop Hobby at his consecration

He was raised in a Presbyterian household but moved to a Baptist church in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He studied at the Wheaton College, in Wheaton,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, from 1975 to 1979, where he decided to become a minister and met his wife, Shari. After her graduation, both decided to study at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, in

South Hamilton South Hamilton is a postal address assigned to ZIP code 01982 by the Postal Service and is part of the town of Hamilton, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the Uni ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, from 1981 to 1983. They soon joined the Episcopal Church. Afterwards, they studied at the

Trinity School for Ministry Trinity School for Ministry (TSM), formerly known as Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, is an Anglican seminary in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. It is generally associated with low church, evangelical Anglicanism. History In the mid 1970s, several p ...

, in

Ambridge Ambridge may refer to: * Ambridge (''The Archers''), a fictional place in the UK radio programme, ''The Archers'' * Ambridge, Indiana, a former neighborhood, now part of Ambridge Mann, Indiana, US ** Ambridge station, a former railway station in A ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, where he was a student from 1983 to 1985, graduating with a M.Div. He was ordained a deacon at 7 June 1986 and a priest at 4 December 1986 by bishop

Alden Hathaway Alden Moinet Hathaway (born St. Louis, Missouri, August 13, 1933) is an American Episcopal and Anglican bishop. He served as the sixth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, from 1983 to 1997. His time in office emphasized the role of his ...

, of the

Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is a diocese in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Geographically, it encompasses 11 counties in Western Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1865 by dividing the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. ...

. He was rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, in Monongahela, and vicar at St. John's Episcopal Church, in Donora, from 1986 to 1990, being assistant at the first parish from 1990 to 1993, rector at Advent Episcopal Church, in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, from 1993 to 2001, priest and missionary-in-residence at St. John's Episcopal Church, in

, from 2002 to 2005, and priest and missionary-in-residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church, in

, from 2005 to 2007. He was rector at Trinity Anglican Church, in Thomasville,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, since 2007. He joined the

Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and his parish is a member of the

, founded in 2009, and the

Gulf Atlantic Diocese The Gulf Atlantic Diocese is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America, comprising 44 congregations in the American states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Florida is the state with most congregations. The diocese w ...

, founded in 2011. He was a candidate to bishop but lost to

Neil Lebhar Neil Gedney Lebhar (born 1950) is an American Anglican bishop. He was the first bishop of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese, a newly formed diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. He has been rector of the Anglican Church of the Redeemer in Jack ...

. He was a member of the Ordination Preparation Team, since 2009, and Canon for Congregational Development, since 2010, at his former diocese. Hobby was elected bishop of the

at a diocesan meeting that took place at St. Stephen's Church, Sewickley, on 22–23 April 2016, among six candidates, at the fifth ballot. Hobby consecration took place at the Roman Catholic Saint Paul Cathedral,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, on 10 September 2016. He resigned, upon request, on 28 October 2020, after what was described as "a careful review and assessment of his handling of a serious pastoral matter".

References

External links

PITTSBURGH: The Rev. James Hobby Discerned as Bishop Elect for Anglican Diocese, Virtue Online, 23 April 2016
Living people Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America Year of birth missing (living people) {{anglican-bishop-stub