Has headed the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts for the past 15 years.
The Right Rev. Gordon P. ScrutonThe Right Rev. Gordon P. Scruton, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts for the past 15 years , has announced plans to retire at the end of 2012,
Scruton, who celebrated 40 years of ordination June 5, made the announcement in a June 9 letter to the clergy and people of his diocese as well as the diocesan council in which he said “it has been an extraordinary gift and privilege to walk with all of you.”
“When my time as your bishop is finished,” Scruton says in the letter posted on the diocesan website, http://www.diocesewma.org/
“I will be in the 17th year in this ministry and will be on the edge of turning 66. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for all the relationships and experiences we have shared over these years.
"I also have a deep sense that God is calling Rebecca and me to another ministry, although, like Abraham ad Sarah, we are not yet sure what that ministry will be.”
Scruton and the former Rebecca S. Polley were married in 1968. Scruton, who took part in the June 8 services of prayer and healing at Christ Church Cathedral, the Episcopal seat at 37 Chestnut St. in Springfield, in response to the tragedy and trauma of the June 1 tornadoes here, adds in the letter that he believes “God has brought the diocese to a moment of transition.
“It is time to seek God’s guidance for a new bishop to lead you into the next chapter of life and ministry in Western Massachusetts.”
In a comment also posted on the website, the Rev. Meredyth Wessman Ward, president of the diocese’s standing Committee released a statement of “profound gratitude for his leadership.
The Scrutons have two children, Christine and Gregory, both married and living in Massachusetts. They also have two grandchildren, Hannah Kate and Jacob Gregory.
From 1979 to 1987, Scruton chaired the Spiritual Life Commission of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, and later served for three years on the Congregational Development Commission. Locally, he helped initiate Cursillo, a weekend focused on the renewal of faith for lay people; and Education for Ministry, a four-year in-depth study of theology, also for lay people.
He recent years, he has led mission trips to the Dominican Republic.
Scruton was born in Rochester, N.H., March 8, 1947, the son of a retired United Methodist pastor.
Scruton received a master’s degree in English, magna cum laude, from Barrington College in Providence, R.I. He then studied at the Boston University School of Theology, receiving a master’s degree in theology in 1971.
He was ordained to the deaconate in 1971 and the priesthood in 1972 in the Diocese of Rhode Island. He began his ministry as assistant rector at St. Mark’s Church in Riverside, R.I in 1971.
In 1975 he was named assistant rector at St. Paul’s Church in Kingston, R.I. While in Rhode Island he served the Diocese on the Commission on Ministry, the Evangelism Commission, and as a Stewardship consultant.
He become rector of Grace Church in Dalton, Mass., in 1977. He served there until 1981, when he was called to St. Francis Church in Holden.
Elected the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts on June 29, 1996, Bishop Scruton has been a member of the Episcopal clergy for more than 20 years.
He was consecrated a bishop on Oct. 12, 1996 in Springfield.