Alaska bishop announces plan to retire in 2028

[Episcopal News Service] Alaska Bishop Mark Lattime announced in an Aug. 25 message to his diocese a call for the election of his successor, saying he plans to retire on Feb. 26, 2028, when the new bishop is installed.

The diocese’s standing committee will soon initiate a process to elect the ninth bishop at the October 2027 diocesan convention.

“I have had the extraordinary joy and honor of serving as your bishop for 16 years – Sept. 4 marks the beginning of my 17th year,” Lattime said. “After much prayer and discernment with my wife, Patricia, and our family, I have come to understand that it is now time for me to begin a new chapter of my life, a chapter devoted to living more fully into the calling of husband, father and grandfather.”

Lattime has been serving the Fairbanks-based Diocese of Alaska as its eighth bishop since 2010. He was ordained a deacon and then a priest in 1997 after earning a Master of Divinity degree from Bexley Hall seminary in Gambier, Ohio, which has since federated with Seabury-Western Theological Seminary to form Bexley Seabury Seminary in Chicago, Illinois.

Before serving the Diocese of Alaska, Lattime served in parish ministry in Lexington, Virginia, and Geneseo, New York.

As a member of The Episcopal Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Commission on Native Schools, Lattime has dedicated much of his episcopate to justice and reconciliation over the Doctrine of Discovery and the church’s role in operating and supporting Indigenous boarding schools.

When he retires, Lattime plans to live in Juneau, Alaska’s capital, with his wife, whom he married in 2022 at Church of the Holy Trinity  in Juneau. He said they look forward to traveling, spending time with loved ones, worshipping in the same pew and “growing old together in the peace and joy that comes with knowing that we are walking together in the light of God’s love.”

Lattime ended his message expressing his love for his fellow Alaska Episcopalians:

“When I first started as your bishop, one of our many wise Alaska elders said to me: ‘All folks really want from their bishop is to know he loves them,’” Lattime said. “I do love you and this land, recognizing that both are knit together. I pray my love for you has never been in question. It has been the easiest part of my ministry. It also has been the greatest joy of my calling as your bishop.”