Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon
The Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which has jurisdiction over Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains. It also includes Klickitat County, Washington. It is in Province 8. The diocesan office is in Cove, Oregon.
The Diocese of Eastern Oregon was created as a missionary district in the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon in 1907 and became a separate diocese in 1970.
Following the resignation in 2007 of the 6th Bishop of Eastern Oregon, William O. Gregg, to become assistant bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, the diocesan leadership concluded that it was not financially possible to appoint another diocesan bishop for the time being. Instead, it was proposed that a Provisional Bishop be appointed on a part-time basis for a period of three years in the first instance.
In March 2009, the Standing Committee of the Diocese appointed Nedi Rivera, Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia since 2004, as Assisting Bishop. Rivera was subsequently elected and installed as Provisional Bishop at the Diocesan Convention on May 23, 2009, for a three-year term to Spring 2012, serving on a fractional time basis. She also assists in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio following her relocation to Cincinnati after retiring from her position in the Diocese of Olympia in January 2010. In Spring 2012, Rivera's term as Provisional Bishop was extended by one year, ending in March 2015.
On December 12, 2015 Patrick W. Bell was elected as the seventh Bishop of the diocese. Bell, who was serving as pastor of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, will be consecrated as bishop in April 2016. Bell has announced his intention to continue to reside in Coeur d’Alene and commute to Oregon for his work as Bishop.
