Bishops

The Most Rev. Ray R. Sutton, Bishop Ordinary

The Most Rev. Ray R. Sutton serves as the Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) and the Ordinary of the Diocese of Mid America. He is also the Dean of the Province and Ecumenical Affairs of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), of which the Reformed Episcopal Church is a founding member and special jurisdiction. Bishop Sutton often lectures at ACNA and Reformed Episcopal Seminaries, and is a popular retreat speaker.

A native of Kentucky and a Dallas resident since he was 13, Bishop Sutton received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University and his Masters of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. From 1976 to 1991, he served as a parish minister. Following this, he pursued doctoral studies in an associated research program at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford with Coventry University, from which he received his Ph.D.

He became the Dean and Professor of New Testament at the Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Philadelphia, and continues as an adjunct professor today. Later, Bishop Sutton functioned as Dean and Professor of Theology at Cranmer Theological House, where he continues to teach. He has also authored four books on theology, his most recent being Signed, Sealed and Delivered: A Study of Holy Baptism.

Bishop Sutton is married to Susan Jean Schaerdel of Dallas, a fellow graduate of Southern Methodist University. The Suttons have seven children and four grandchildren. The Suttons live in Dallas where Bishop Sutton’s residential offices are at the Cathedral of the Church of the Holy Communion.

The Rt. Rev. Walter R. Banek, Suffragan Bishop

The Rt. Rev’d Walter R. Banek is the Rector of Good Shepherd Church & School in Tyler, Texas.  He has served at this parish since 1981, initially as Headmaster of the parish school, and in 1992 he was also called to be the Rector. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bible-Theology from Moody Bible Institute, and a Master of Divinity from Cummin’s Theological Seminary, REC.  He has served on numerous Boards and Committees in the Reformed Episcopal Church. He was Consecrated as a Bishop in the Church on August 23, A.D. 2017, to serve as Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of Mid-America, REC and a member of the College of Bishops in the Anglican Church of North America.

Bishop Banek is married to Nelda Louise Hoyt, whom he met while studying at Moody. The Baneks have seven children (three adopted from Russia) and twenty grandchildren.