The Rt. Rev. Rustin R. Kimsey, Bishop of Eastern Oregon from 1980 to 2000, has agreed to serve as an assisting Bishop of Alaska until a diocesan bishop is elected. He assumed his new post effective Feb. 1.

In a recent letter to the diocese, the Rev. Dawn Allen-Herron, president of the standing committee, said Bishop Kimsey will not be in Alaska full time, but that he intends to make extended trips which will include attendance at every deanery meeting as well as diocesan convention. The arrangement replaces a previous policy in which episcopal sacramental duties were delegated to visiting bishops as required.