The 7th Bishop of Oklahoma was ordained during a
great celebration at the Oklahoma City University’s
Freede Wellness Center on Saturday, September
15th. The Rev. Dr. Edward Konieczny, formerly
the Rector at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in
Grand Junction, Colorado had been elected by the
Diocese of Oklahoma to be their spiritual leader in
a special election on May 5th.
Although a number
of bishops were present for the laying-on-of-hands,
the four bishops who acted at official Consecrators
were: The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal
Church USA, The Most Reverend Katherine
Jefferts Schori; The Right Reverends Edward Little
II, Bishop of Northern Indiana; Robert Moody,
Retiring Bishop of Oklahoma; and Robert O’Neill,
Bishop of Colorado. The sermon was delivered by
Bishop O’Neill. At the Eucharist, the Bishop and his former deacon, Rev. Judy
Schneider, served together one more time.
Family members and friends of the new Bishop were seated in the first rows. His wife,
Debbie, and his children Michael and Daniel, along with their spouses and children were
in attendance, as was his mother-in-law, Barbara Maroney, who also moved from Grand
Junction to be close to the Bishop’s family in Edmond. 
Twenty-five members of the
Bishop's former congregation traveled to Oklahoma City to join in the celebration.
Prominent among these were the Senior and Junior Wardens of that parish, Richard
Emerson and Garry DeGarmo, who presented the Bishop's Ring, a gift from his former
parishioners. Four member of the St. Matthew's Choir, Mike and Cindy Murray, Betty
Scott and Kathy Swain, joined the Consecration Choir for the service.
On Sunday, the 16th, the Bishop was formally installed in the chair at St. Paul's
Cathedral. In this celebratory service the preacher was Bishop Konieczny's clergy
mentor during his year of discernment prior to entering the Church Divinity School of
the Pacific, The Very Rev. Peter Haynes. During the Vesting Ceremony of Saturday's
Ordination Service, Haynes joined the Rev. Kelsey Hogue, Scottsbluff, NE, as the
Bishop's Vesters.
A special reception honoring the Bishop-elect was held at the Cathedral's Fellowship
Hall on Friday evening, the 14th. This evening concluded with a dialogue between the
Presiding Bishop and the diocesan members present.
