The Rev. Dr. Ketlen Solak Elected as the Ninth Bishop of Pittsburgh
The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh has elected the Reverend Dr. Ketlen A. Solak as its next bishop.
Bishop-elect Solak currently serves as rector of Brandywine Collaborative Ministries in Wilmington, Delaware.
She will be consecrated and installed as the ninth Bishop of Pittsburgh on November 13, 2021, succeeding Bishop Dorsey McConnell, who is retiring.
“I am ready to become a Pittsburgher for Jesus!” Solak said in an address to the diocese moments after being elected.
“I am deeply moved. God has done this. With God’s help you have discerned and elected a new bishop, and I am humbled by the honor of the one being chosen. The future of your diocese, which is soon to become our diocese, is bright.”
The bishop-elect was chosen by clergy and lay leaders representing each parish of the diocese during a special convention held solely for the purpose of electing a bishop from a slate of five nominees.
She was elected on the third round of balloting with 56% of the clergy votes and 54% of lay votes. A majority of both clergy and lay votes in the same round was needed for election.
“We are so grateful for the historic election of Ketlen Solak as the ninth Bishop of Pittsburgh. She is a dynamic and collaborative leader who will support us in our ministries of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, welcoming all of God’s people, and working for justice and peace in our world,” said the Rev. Noah Evans, president of the diocesan Standing Committee, the senior governing body that oversaw the election process.
The other nominees were the Very Rev. Kim L. Coleman, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Arlington, Virginia; the Rev. Canon Scott A. Gunn, Executive Director of Forward Movement, based in Cincinnati; the Rev. Jeffrey D. Murph, rector of St. Thomas Church, Oakmont, Pennsylvania; and the Rev. Diana L. Wilcox, rector of Christ Church in Bloomfield and Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
Afterward, each expressed best wishes to the bishop-elect and gratitude to the diocese.
More about Bishop-elect Solak
The Rev. Dr. Ketlen Solak was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She attributes a slight lilt as she talks to that French-speaking Caribbean upbringing, as well as her love of music.
Solak is known to infuse her writing and speech with the lyrics of songs and hymns. She is known to sing her prayers, leading those with her in a melodic offering.
She earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music from the Catholic University of America, before going on to earn a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry degrees from Virginia Theological Seminary.
Solak was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Virginia in 2005 and served as an associate rector in Alexandria, Virginia.
In 2014, she became the founding rector of Brandywine Collaborative Ministries, a group of three Wilmington, Delaware-area parishes that share pastoral and administrative leadership.
She serves on the Diocese of Delaware’s Standing Committee and as a deputy to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
Additional biographical information about the bishop-elect is available at https://episcopalpgh.org/pebs/.