Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish announces her retirement
January 19, 2009, Salt Lake City UT —
The Rt. Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish has announced her retirement for next year, in what will be her 14th year as Bishop of Utah. Bishop Irish notes she will be 70 years old, her major goals have been accomplished, and she smiles at the prospect of spending more time with her grandchildren.
Her announcement starts the long procedure for selecting a new bishop, which is a detailed process governed by the canons of the church and by the approval of the House of Bishops. It is a very rare process as Utah Episcopalians have only had 10 bishops since 1867. The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori has announced she will consecrate a new Bishop of Utah on September 11, 2010. However, a new bishop will likely be elected months before that date.
Bishop Irish returned to her native Utah in 1996 as one of the first woman bishops in the Episcopal Church. It pleased her to say that she was the first woman bishop to serve west of the Potomac River. She saw her beloved church grow from the time of her election to a day when another woman from the west would become the Presiding Bishop in 2006.
Throughout her service, the Bishop led a program called Project Jubilee. All 22 churches and a number of ministries have benefited from Project Jubilee grants and loans that purchased land, paid mortgages, assisted construction, and made the very existence of several parishes a reality. Most recently, Project Jubilee funds were used for a portion of the new Episcopal Church Center of Utah. The funds came from the Perpetual Trust of Sts. Peter and Paul, which resulted from the sale of St. Mark's Hospital under her predecessor, Bishop George Bates' leadership. Bishop Irish was originally elected as Bishop Coadjutor near the end of Bishop Bates' service. The Rt. Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish also followed a policy of financial transparency, so all could see the monetary blessings the diocese has had to enrich its work and outreach.
The Bishop also established a reputation as a community leader. Outspoken from the start of her service, she supported minorities and opposed allowing guns in churches. She also fought political movements to make English the only language that could be used in governmental laws and information. She continued her love of the humanities, following in the footsteps of her well-known Professor of Philosophy father, the late philanthropist O.C. Tanner. She has been a friend to Utah Universities and was honored by the University of Utah, which named its new College of Humanities building after her. She holds honorary doctorates from the University of Utah, Utah State University, Salt Lake Community College, Westminster and Weber State University. She gave the commencement address at Weber last year emphasizing her dedication to ?the Green Vocation,? an environmental message of stewardship. She has long been active in education since her undergraduate days at Stanford University and the University of Michigan. She earned degrees from the University of Michigan, Oxford University, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. She was a teacher prior to becoming a priest. The Bishop will continue her educational journey in an upcoming sabbatical as a visiting fellow at Oxford.
In addition to her faith and civic duties, the Bishop is the Chair of the Board of the world-wide O.C. Tanner Corporation. She will continue her Utah ties, but expects to live much of the time in Washington D.C. She and her husband, the Rev. Fred Quinn, have six adult children, with most of them living in the eastern United States.