Robert M. Moody

The Right Reverend

Robert M. Moody
The Right Reverend; Robert M. Moody
Bishop of Oklahoma
Church	Episcopal Church
Diocese	Oklahoma
Elected	September 19, 1987
In office	1989-2007
Predecessor	Gerald N. McAllister
Successor	Edward J. Konieczny
Orders
Ordination	May 29, 1967; by J. Milton Richardson
Consecration	February 6, 1988; by Edmund Lee Browning
Personal details
Born	July 23, 1939 (age 84); Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Nationality	American
Denomination	Anglican
Previous post(s)	Coadjutor Bishop of Oklahoma (1988-1989)
Education	Rice University, University of Texas
Alma mater	Virginia Theological Seminary

Robert Manning Moody (born July 23, 1939) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma from 1989 to 2007.

Early life and education[edit]

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, his doctor father moved his family to Houston, Texas, where they were members of St Martin's parish.^[1] Moody attended the local public schools and graduated from Rice University in 1962 and from the University of Texas the following year. His parish then sponsored him at the Virginia Theological Seminary, where he decided to become a priest and received an M.Div. degree in 1966. He would later return and received a D.Div. in 1988.

Ordained ministry[edit]

Ordained as a deacon on June 21, 1966, he was ordained to the priesthood on May 29, 1967, by bishop J. Milton Richardson. After ordination, he became a chaplain at Baylor University 1966–1968, then priest in charge of St Matthew's church in Waco, Texas and vicar at St James Church in McGregor, Texas before becoming an assistant at the Church of St John the Divine in Houston, Texas, and serving at St James Church in Riverton, Wyoming. He served as rector of Grace Church in Alexandria, Virginia (1985-1987) prior to his election as Bishop of Oklahoma.^[2]

Episcopacy[edit]

Moody was elected as the Coadjutor Bishop of Oklahoma on September 19, 1987, at St Paul's Cathedral on the first ballot. He was then consecrated to the episcopate on February 6, 1988, by Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning.^[3] During his episcopate, he dealt with the aftermath of the bombing of the Murrah federal bombing (evacuating a housing development, providing pastoral assistance in a nearby hospital and distributing over $500,000 to those in financial need), and pursued an active ministry among the Native Americans (appointing an Indian missioner and developing a center for Indian ministry in Watonga, Oklahoma).^{[citation needed]} He retired in 2007.