Jeremiah Williamson ordained and consecrated 10th bishop of Albany

Melodie Woerman

February 28

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson receives a pastoral staff from his parents, David and Connie Williamson, during the Feb. 24 service in which he was ordained and consecrated the 10th bishop of Albany. Photo: Tom Killips

[Episcopal News Service] The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson was ordained and consecrated as the 10th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany on Feb. 24 at the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, New York.

The Rt. Rev. DeDe Duncan-Probe, bishop of Central New York and president of Province II, served as the chief consecrator. Co-consecrators were Colorado Bishop Kimberly Lucas, South Carolina Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, retired Ohio Bishop Mark Hollingsworth Jr., retired Colorado Bishop Robert J. O'Neill, retired Ohio Suffragan Bishop Arthur B. Williams Jr., Bishop Lee M. Miller II of rhw Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Bishop Blair Couch of the Northern Province of the Moravian Church in America.

The lessons were read by Jennifer Firth, who was a member of the Bishop Profile and Search Committee, and by Williamson's son, Isaiah. The Williamsons also have another son, Oscar. The gospel was read by the Rev. Justine Guernsey, the diocese's director of deacons. His parents, David and Connie Williamson, presented him with a pastoral staff.

The service also included Williamson's official seating in the cathedral as bishop.

"I know that for Jeremiah, a deep sense of God's calling has nurtured, sustained and fueled this whole journey and will sustain his journey ahead," the Rev. Jennifer Williamson, a Methodist pastor and the bishop's wife, said in the sermon. "My prayer for him is that he will continue to feel that deep sense of calling and by doing so will continue to abide in the love of Christ. My prayer for the Diocese of Albany is that we all will dwell in the assurance of God's calling and in doing so will abide in the love of Christ."

In a letter to the diocese sent two days after his consecration, he said, "Since early January, I have been in the diocese, on the ground, on the road. The learning curve is, admittedly, steep; the questions and requests plentiful; the challenges are many and varied; and the meetings are usually back-to-back. And I feel tremendously blessed to be called by God, and by you, to this holy work. I feel alive in a new way, the way one feels when one is exactly where one is meant to be."

Williamson becomes Albany's first diocesan bishop since the resignation of the Rt. Rev. William Love in February 2021 while he was facing disciplinary action over his ban on same-sex marriage. The diocesan Standing Committee served as the ecclesiastical authority until Williamson's consecration.

Williamson previously was serving as rector of Grace and Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, when he was elected bishop in September 2023.

A video of the consecration is available on the diocese's YouTube channel. The service book in PDF format is available here.