Vernon Edward Strickland (born November 26, 1938) was the third bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas The Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas, created in 1971, is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over western Kansas. It was formerly the Missionary District of Salina until 1960 and then the Missi ...

, serving from 1995 to 2002.

Early life and education

Strickland was born on November 26, 1938, in Holopaw, Florida. He studied at Carson Newman College from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1967. He also earned a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1970. Prior to his training for the priesthood, he as briefly a state trooper in Florida.

Ordained ministry

Strickland was ordained deacon in 1970 and priest in 1971. After ordination he served as vicar of St Agatha's Church in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, and St Thomas' Church in

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. Later he was rector of St Luke's Church in Live Oak, Florida. In 1973 he became assistant priest at St Michael's Church in

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, and then in 1975 rector of St David's Church in Lakeland, Florida. In 1979, he was appointed Archdeacon of Eastern New Mexico while in 1981 he became rector of St James' Church in Dillon, Montana. In 1983, he moved to Clovis, New Mexico, and served as rector of St James' Church. After two years, in 1985, he moved to Wyoming after being offered the rectoriship of St Luke's Church in Buffalo, Wyoming. He was then appointed archdeacon of Wyoming in 1989, a post he retained until his election as bishop.

Bishop

He was elected as the third Bishop of Western Kansas on October 22, 1994, and was consecrated bishop on March 25, 1995, by Presiding Bishop

Edmond L. Browning Edmond Lee Browning (March 11, 1929 – July 11, 2016) was an American bishop. He was the 24th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Education, ordination, early ministry Browning received his s ...

at the catholic

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, Salina, Kansas. He retired in 2002 and served as assistant bishop of the Diocese of Wyoming.

References

*''Episcopal Clerical Directory'' 2015 Living people 1938 births Episcopal bishops of Western Kansas Virginia Theological Seminary alumni Carson–Newman University alumni People from Osceola County, Florida {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub