The Sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Southwest Florida, the Rt. Rev. Douglas Scharf leads the diocese where he was raised, ordained, and consecrated. One of the youngest bishops in The Episcopal Church, Bishop Scharf believes that Christ's love and transformational teachings paired with the authentic connection of a Church community can replenish the wellspring of the soul.

Born to a respected patent lawyer and a loving homemaker in 1955 in La Paz, Bolivia, Maria Griselda Delgado del Carpio was educated at the Instituto Americano’s Methodist High School. She next attended the Universidad Mayor de San Andres in La Paz, graduating in 1981 with a degree in sociology. In 1982, Ms. Delgado moved to Cuba to enter the Evangelical Seminary of Theology in Matanzas, Cuba.

Griselda remained in Cuba and was ordained as a deacon in 1986. Shortly thereafter, she arrived at Itabo, Cuba, a small town with little acquaintance of Jesus Christ, to serve at a church property, with crumbling walls and no roof, known as Santa Maria Virgen. Working from a small house across the street, Deacon Griselda began introducing the townspeople to the love and hope of Christ. In 1991, Bishop Emilio Hernandez ordained Deacon Griselda as an Episcopal priest in a ceremony of ordinations that included three other women, the first four women priests of the Episcopal Church of Cuba. She continued at Santa Maria Virgen as Rectora for the next 20 years, inspiring the congregation of Santa Maria Virgen to work together to build their town temple back proud and strong, to build a self-sustaining community system of agro-ecological farms on and around the church, and to build their relationships with each other and with God.

In September 2009, the Cuban church, for the second time, failed to elect a bishop coadjutor. After 13 inconclusive ballots were cast, the choice of a coadjutor fell to the Metropolitan Council of Cuba (Bishops from USA, Canada and West Indies), which Council has governed the Cuban church in matters of faith and order since its 1967 post-Revolution separation and autonomy from the U.S.-based Episcopal Church. On February 7, 2010, The Rt. Rev. Griselda Delgado Del Carpio was consecrated as bishop coadjutor for the Diocese of Cuba and was installed later that year on November 28 as diocesan bishop of the Episcopal Church of Cuba at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Havana. She became the first woman to serve in that role as diocesan bishop of Cuba.

At the time of her ordination as bishop, the Cuban church included about 40 congregations and some 7,000 Episcopalians. “La Obispa,” as she is affectionately known, is the proud mother of three now-grown children: Griselda Edith, Lautaro, and Marcela Beatriz. She is married to Cuban-born Gerardo Logildes Coroas, a building contractor, who was recently ordained as an Episcopal priest and now serves not only as priest at the Bishop’s former parish in Itabo but also as Project Supervisor of Camp Blankingship near Santa Clara, Cuba.

The Rev. Alexander Andujar is the Rector of St. John the Divine in Sun City Center, the Diocesan Coordinator for Hispanic and Latino Ministry, and a certified spiritual director. His work among diverse groups within and outside of the Church has given him the opportunity to build relationships across diverse constituencies and raise awareness of the spiritual and pastoral needs of the marginalized. Fr. Andujar is passionate about the study and practice of theology and spirituality as it relates to discerning the Church’s call to live out the dynamic love of Jesus Christ in a world that is hurting. As Chaplain for Water and the Word, he is committed to creating an environment of prayer and hospitality so that each person may encounter God’s loving embrace. He loves to spend time with his wife, two teenage sons, two dogs, two cats, and the ocean whenever he gets the chance.