East Carolina’s new bishop brings a message of belonging

Rev. Sarah K. Fisher officially became the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina in May during a consecration service in New Bern, according to Episcopal News Service.

Fisher was elected bishop in November 2025 after receiving the required majority of both clergy and lay delegates on the third ballot, according to the Diocese of East Carolina. She now leads 66 parishes and two college campus ministries stretching from Interstate 95 to North Carolina’s coast.

Her election also marks a historic milestone. Fisher is the first openly lesbian Episcopal bishop to lead a diocese in the Southern United States and the first openly lesbian person elected bishop of the Diocese of East Carolina.

Fisher was ordained to the priesthood in 2005 and previously served at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Dunwoody, Georgia, before becoming rector of St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church in Marietta, Georgia. She is married to the Rev. Mandy Brady, also an Episcopal priest.

While Fisher’s election carries significance for LGBTQ+ Episcopalians, her public comments have often focused on faith, belonging and human dignity.

In responses submitted to the Diocese of East Carolina during the bishop search process, Fisher reflected on returning to church after a difficult period in her life. “Returning to the church meant returning to the One who had been patiently waiting for me to remember who and whose I was,” she wrote.

She later described the role the church played in that journey, writing that “the church welcomed me home, to the community, to God, to the truest version of myself.”

Fisher has also spoken about navigating political and theological differences through relationships. In her written responses to the diocese, she described serving “a very purple congregation.”

“We are not unanimous in politics, or in how much noise children should make in church, or what brand of coffee to serve,” Fisher wrote. “We are united in our desire to see, know and serve the Risen Christ.”

She added that “getting proximate to those who differ from us is vital to seeing the inherent dignity and divinity that dwells in every person.”

Throughout the bishop selection process, Fisher repeatedly emphasized welcome, belonging and relationship-building as central to her ministry. As she begins leading congregations across eastern North Carolina, those themes are likely to shape her work with communities throughout the diocese. For many LGBTQ+ Episcopalians in the South, her election represents not only a historic first, but also a vision of faith rooted in community, human dignity and belonging.