OUR BISHOPS

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rodman
XII Bishop Diocesan of North Carolina

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rodman was ordained and consecrated as the XII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in Duke Chapel on the campus of Duke University in Durham on July 15, 2017. He was elected on March 4, 2017.

Prior to his election, Bishop Rodman served as the Special Projects Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, a role he took on after spending five years as the diocesan project manager for campaign initiatives, where he engaged congregations, clergy and laity, in collaborative local and global mission through the Together Now campaign, helping to raise $20 million to fund these initiatives. Prior to that, he spent 16 years as the rector of St. Michael’s in Milton, Massachusetts, during which the parish established a seven-year plan that included a capital campaign for a major renovation of the church school building.

Since his ordination as bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, Bishop Rodman was called to serve The Episcopal Church as the co-convener of the Presiding Officers’ Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning and Healing following the 79th General Convention, and he currently services on the Standing Commission for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Relations. Within the diocese, he has engaged clergy and lay leaders across congregations on a number of initiatives, including the diocesan mission strategy, advocacy and public witness, reparations and restitution, and the sharing of proceeds from the sale of the former Diocesan House building to support congregations in their own ministry in the communities they serve.

Ordained in 1988, Bishop Rodman is a graduate of Bates College and Virginia Theological Seminary. He and his wife of 40 years, Deborah, live in Raleigh. They are the parents of two adult daughters. In his free time, Bishop Rodman enjoys basketball, golf, kayaking, crosswords and creative writing. 

The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson
Assistant Bishop

A native of Texas and a graduate of Yale, the University of Texas School of Law and Fuller Theological Seminary, the Rt. Rev. Jennifer 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, Bishop 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.

Immediately prior to joining the Diocese of North Carolina as the assistant bishop on November 1, 2022, Bishop Brooke-Davidson served as the assistant bishop in the Diocese of Virginia, a position she held from 2019 until 2022. She is no stranger to transition, as part of her role there was working alongside the Rt. Rev. Susan Goff, bishop suffragan and the ecclesiastical authority of the Diocese of Virginia until the consecration of the Rt. Rev. E. Mark Stevenson, who was elected the 14th bishop diocesan on June 2022. As assistant bishop, Bishop Brooke-Davidson served 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.

In her role as assistant bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, Bishop Brooke-Davidson focuses on Christian formation, church redevelopment and leadership training.

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