Diocese of North Carolina to Welcome the Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson as Assistant Bishop

The Diocese of North Carolina is excited to announce and welcome this fall the Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson as the assistant bishop for the Diocese. She joins the diocesan staff as part of the upcoming transition prompted by the impending retirement of the Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, bishop suffragan of the Diocese.

Brooke-Davidson is currently the assistant bishop in the Diocese of Virginia, a position in which she has served since 2019. She is no stranger to transition, as part of her role there is working alongside the Rt. Rev. Susan Goff, bishop suffragan and the ecclesiastical authority of the Diocese of Virginia until the upcoming consecration of Bishop-Elect E. Mark Stevenson, who was elected the 14th bishop diocesan this past June. As assistant bishop, Brooke-Davidson serves in a full range of capacities, including Sunday and other visitations, oversight of the diocesan regional structures, including the deans, oversight of the Committee for Congregational Mission, support of persons in the ordination process, congregational development, conflict transformation and work with other diocesan committees and commissions.

“Jennifer brings a depth of experience to North Carolina having served in a similar capacity in the Diocese for Virginia,” said the Rt. Rev. Sam Rodman, bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina. “Her passion for the gospel and her work with new models for congregational renewal/revitalization will help lead us as we engage in our missional goals and priorities. She has a heart for Christian formation as well, and she will be able to build on the work that Bishop Anne and Jenny Beaumont, our missioner for adult and lifelong formation, have established across our diocese.”

A native of Texas and a graduate of Yale, the University of Texas School of Law and Fuller Theological Seminary, Brooke-Davidson’s early career was spent in the practice of commercial financial law. She was ordained in 2009. Following her ordination, she served first for two years as assistant rector at St. Stephen’s in Wimberley, Texas, and then as vicar of Saint Elizabeth in Buda, Texas, until her consecration as bishop suffragan of the Diocese of West Texas in 2017. Throughout her ordained career, Brooke-Davidson’s focus has been on congregational development, evangelism and formation, with a particular passion for developing adaptive leadership capacity in ordained and lay leaders.

“It is with great joy that I have accepted the call to serve among the people of the Diocese of North Carolina,” said Brooke-Davidson. “The priorities of the Mission Strategy align with my own passion and experience, and I look forward to collaborating with you on them, with particular emphasis on the areas Bishop Sam has outlined. Bishop Sam and Bishop Anne and I have gotten to know one another well over the years, and it is wonderful to begin on the foundation of those good relationships. Most of all, I am eager to get to know you and to hear how God is calling you into the dream of beloved community and the remaking of our world. Carrick and I are excited to see you soon!”

Brooke-Davidson will begin her tenure officially on November 1, but she will spend some time in late October with Hodges-Copple before the bishop suffragan’s last working date of October 31. In her role as assistant bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, Brooke-Davidson will focus on Christian formation, church redevelopment and leadership training. She will be assisted by Patricia Sarazen, currently the executive assistant to the bishop suffragan.

Brooke-Davidson will be joined in North Carolina by her husband, Carrick, an environmental attorney and sports enthusiast. They have two grown daughters, Emma and Kate.

“I have had the blessing and honor of getting to know Jennifer well, as we were members of the same class in the College of Bishops, said Rodman. “Her love of Jesus and enthusiasm for the witness of the church are contagious. I look forward to welcoming her to our diocese when she arrives this fall.”