The Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks has been elected as the Eighth Bishop of Northern Indiana. He will be consecrated on June 25, 2016.

Our current bishop, Edward Stuart Little II was elected seventh Bishop of Northern Indiana on November 5, 1999, and consecrated on March 18, 2000, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.  He was seated in the Cathedral of St. James, South Bend, on April 30, 2000.

Bishop Little has a deep passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He is committed to the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church.  He is a wonderful preacher and is very pastoral.  He has set forth four core values for the diocese which are: a passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a heart for the lost, a willingness to do whatever it takes, and a commitment to one another.  Bishop Little is also an accomplished writer.  His two books “Ears to Hear” and “Joy in Disguise” are witty, scholarly and deeply moving.  Bishop Little has an infectious joy for our Lord which touches many.

Bishop Little was born in New York City on January 29, 1947, and attended schools in Manhattan and in Norwalk, Connecticut.  He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in 1968, his Master of Divinity from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in 1971, and was ordained deacon and priest that year in the Diocese of Chicago.  Following his consecration, Bishop Little was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Seabury-Western.

Bishop Little served two parishes as an assistant—St. Matthew’s, Evanston, Illinois, and St. Michael’s, Anaheim, California—and then moved in 1975 to St. Joseph’s Church, Buena Park, California, to become its vicar and later its first rector.  In 1986, Bishop Little was called to All Saints Church, Bakersfield, California, where he served as rector until his election to the episcopate.

Articles, monthly letters to the Diocese, pastoral letters, documents relevant to the life of the Anglican Communion and other writings by the Bishop, can be found at the Bishop’s pages on the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana.