Douglas Sparks Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific-Prefix:The Right Reverend
Douglas Sparks
Bishop of Northern Indiana
Church:Episcopal Church
Diocese:Northern Indiana
Elected:February 6, 2016
Term:2016–present
Predecessor:Edward S. Little II
Ordination:April 9, 1983 (Roman Catholic deacon)
June 2, 1984 (Roman Catholic priest)
Ordained By:Jesus Dosado
Consecration:June 25, 2016 (Episcopalian)
Consecrated By:Michael Bruce Curry
Birth Date:8 January 1956
Previous Post:St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Rochester, Minnesota
Religion:Anglican (prev. Roman Catholic)
Residence:South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
Children:3
Alma Mater:St. Mary's Seminary College

Douglas Everett Sparks (born January 8, 1956) is an American Episcopal bishop. He is the eighth and current bishop of Northern Indiana in The Episcopal Church.

Ordained ministry

Roman Catholic Church

Sparks studied Philosophy at St. Mary's Seminary College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in May 1980. He attended the De Andreis Institute of Theology, from which he graduated with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in June 1984.

Sparks was ordained in the Roman Catholic Church as a deacon in April 1983 and to the priesthood in June 1984. He then served as a priest in Missouri, Colorado, and Illinois.[1]

Episcopal Church

On June 4, 1989, Sparks was received as a priest into the Episcopal Church.[2] Sparks served as Rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Whitewater, Wisconsin from 1990 to 1995.[1]

After a further incumbency at St Matthias in Waukesha, Wisconsin, he spent eighteen months serving as Dean of Saint Paul's Cathedral, Wellington, New Zealand.[1] Upon his return he became Rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Rochester, Minnesota.[3]

On February 6, 2016, Sparks was elected as the next bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana.[4] On June 25, 2016, the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, he was consecrated a bishop by Michael Curry.[2]

Personal life

Sparks is married to Dana Wirth Sparks; the couple has three children Christina, Graham, and Gavin.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Resume: Douglas Everett Sparks. Episcopal Elections. April 29, 2017. 2009. pdf.
  2. Web site: Doug Sparks. Episcopal Clerical Directory. Church Pension Group. April 29, 2017.
  3. http://stlukesepiscopal.org/ St Luke's, Whitewater, Wisconsin parish website
  4. Web site: Northern Indiana diocese elects Douglas E. Sparks as eighth bishop. Episcopal News Service. The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. April 29, 2017. February 8, 2016. August 7, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160807061712/http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/02/08/northern-indiana-diocese-elects-douglas-e-sparks-as-eighth-bishop/. dead.
  5. Web site: The Rev. Dr. Douglas Everett Sparks. Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. September 1, 2017. August 23, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170823162657/http://www.diocesecpa.org/content/rev-dr-douglas-everett-sparks. dead.