Southwest Diocese ordains new bishop, one of the youngest in the Episcopal Church

The Rev. Douglas Scharf was ordained as bishop of the Episcopal Church at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Saturday.

The church’s presiding bishop, Rev. Michael B. Curry joined as the chief consecrator and was joined by other Episcopal and Lutheran bishops around the country in the laying on of hands ceremony to consecrate Scharf. Nearly 200 people participated in the actual service, and more than 1,700 people were estimated to attend. This was the first episcopal consecration in the Diocese of Southwest Florida in 16 years.

Scharf said he felt a sense of anxiety leading up to the consecration, but mostly a lot of excitement, empowerment and humbleness.

“This is a huge transition in role and responsibility, but something I feel like God has been preparing me for and doing that deep spiritual work for many years,” Scharf said.

Scharf, 43, grew up in the Fort Myers area – a part of the diocese he will now be leading. The diocese is divided into seven geographical areas, and Scharf lived and attended congregations in five of those. He also served for more than 12 years as a priest at the Diocese of Southwest Florida at Church for the Holy Spirit in Osprey and Holy Innocents' in Valrico.

“This sense of history and place is really important for me, in my own life, not just as a priest,” Scharf said. “I really value the opportunity to come back to a region that I know and love, a place where I've been a part of planting seeds years ago when I was in leadership and in ministry."

Bishop Dabney Smith said that after serving as bishop for 16 years, he’s happy the new bishop is someone that has come from the community and can be well versed in the needs of the congregation.

“He is a son of this diocese, and a student of this diocese," Smith said. "The second one is important because it's hard to lead to lead a place where you're not learning the issues and the items that are real and come to play all the time,” Smith said.

Scharf will be one of the youngest bishops in the country. It's something he’s hoping to use as an opportunity to expand on his passion for an intergenerational ministry. For him, the church is at its best when it brings all ages and demographics together.

“It hasn't been a specific sort of ministry or program or gimmick to try to get young families,” Scharf said. “It's about being an authentic community, where people are welcomed and experience the love of Christ and experience what it means to belong.”

He’s seen younger people be more interested in authentic community as opposed to the traditional idea of the church as an institution, but he still wants congregations to continue in their own traditions and values. He just hopes they can step into creative ways to form an community that’s intergenerational and welcoming.

Scharf is mostly looking forward to addressing congregational vitality and focusing on discipleship. When he read what the diocese was looking for, they were things that really resonated with his own commitments in his priestly ministry. He plans to equip congregations with tools to thrive and fulfill their mission.

“I couldn't have picked a better path for me personally, knowing my own spirituality and personality, than to come back home -- in that sense to do this ministry.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Southwest Diocese ordains new bishop, one of the youngest in the Episcopal Church