Retired Bishop of Liverpool Will Serve as Visiting Bishop in Diocese of Virginia
The Rt. Rev. Susan E. Goff, Bishop Suffragan and Ecclesiastical Authority, announces with thanksgiving the appointment of the Rt. Rev. Paul Bayes, retired Bishop of Liverpool, as a Visiting Bishop in the Diocese of Virginia. Bishop Bayes will serve in the Diocese from mid-September through December 5, 2022. His wife Kate will accompany him.
Bishop Bayes has been a frequent visitor to the Diocese of Virginia for many years in his role with the Triangle of Hope. The Triangle of Hope is a covenantal community between the Dioceses of Liverpool (England), Kumasi (Ghana), and Virginia dedicated to transforming the long history and continuing presence of slavery in our world through repentance, reconciliation and mission.
“I’m most grateful to Bishop Susan and her colleagues for this invitation, and I am looking forward very much to spending time in the Diocese and to ministering in whatever ways will help you all,” said Bishop Bayes. “Over my eight years as Bishop of Liverpool, the companion link with Virginia, and the wider relationships of the Triangle of Hope, sustained and fed me as well as blessing my Diocese. Kate and I are excited at the prospect of building on these relationships and of reconnecting with our friends in Christ across the Diocese of Virginia. It will be great to be with you. Please be sure of our prayers for you all!”
With the retirement of Assisting Bishop Porter Taylor in June, Bishop Bayes will provide vital support to the Diocese through visitations to churches, diocesan gatherings and other ministries of the Episcopate.
Bishop Goff served as a Visiting Bishop to the Diocese of Liverpool from 2015 through 2019. She visited for two or three weeks each year in such ministries as speaking at a clergy conference, leading a pre-ordination retreat, meeting with women clergy, preaching at the Cathedral and sharing in services of Confirmation. “I am delighted that we now bring this dimension of our relationship full circle as Bishop Bayes joins in our ministries for a season,” Bishop Goff said. “I look forward to seeing how the Holy Spirit will continue to lead and guide us in this time.”
During their months in the Diocese of Virginia, Bishop Bayes and Kate, a stained-glass artist, will reside in Arlington.
