Heather Cook
| Heather Cook | |
|---|---|
| Bishop (former) | |
| Church | Episcopal Church |
| See | Maryland |
| In office | September 2014 – May 1, 2015 |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1987 |
| Consecration | September 2014 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Syracuse, New York |
| Previous post | Suffragan Bishop, Diocese of Maryland |
Heather Cook is a former suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Maryland.
In 2014, the diocese elected Cook as its first female bishop and she was consecrated as suffragan to Bishop Eugene Sutton.[1] Cook was one of four finalists for the office of Bishop.[2] Cook was elected on the fourth ballot.[3] Cook was the 1,081st bishop consecrated in the Episcopal Church.
Cook was placed on administrative leave at the end of 2014 after involvement in a traffic fatality in north Baltimore.[4] She was charged with drunk driving, texting while driving, and leaving the scene of the crime, in addition to vehicular manslaughter.[5] On January 22, 2015, the standing committee of the diocese requested that Cook resign her position.[6] This was followed by the Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, placing formal restrictions on Cook preventing her from presenting herself as an ordained minister of the Episcopal Church.[7]
Cook was arraigned on more than a dozen charges - including manslaughter, DUI, and leaving the scene of an accident. At the arraignment hearing on April 2, 2015, she entered a plea of not guilty and a trial date was set for June 4.[8]
On May 1, 2015 Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori announced that both she and the Diocese of Maryland had accepted Cook's resignation as Bishop and as an employee of the Diocese. Moreover it was announced that Cook and the church had reached an accord where Cook received a "Sentence of Disposition" which stripped Cook of her ordained status within the Episcopal Church.[9]
References
- ↑ Episcopal Diocese of Md. elects first woman bishop, Baltimore Sun, retrieved February 16, 2015
- ↑ Nominees - The Diocese of Maryland, Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, retrieved February 16, 2015
- ↑ Report from the 230th Diocesan Convention, Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, retrieved February 16, 2015
- ↑ Baltimore Sun]
- ↑ Baltimore Brew website.
- ↑ Letter to Bishop Cook Requesting Resignation (PDF), Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, retrieved February 16, 2015
- ↑ Presiding Bishop further restricts ministry of Heather Cook, Episcopal Church, retrieved February 16, 2015
- ↑ Miller, Jayne (2015), Trial date set for Bishop Heather Cook, Baltimore, Maryland: WBAL-TV 11, retrieved 2015-04-18
- ↑ Dual actions end Heather Cook’s ordained ministry, employment, Episcopal News Service, 2015, retrieved 2015-05-01