Bishop Goff
The Rt. Rev'd Susan E. Goff is Retired Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Virginia. She was elected Bishop Suffragan and consecrated in 2012. She became Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese in 2018, upon the retirement of the Rt. Rev'd Shannon Johnston, Thirteenth Bishop of the Diocese. She retired in 2022 after the consecration of the Rt. Rev'd E. Mark Stevenson, Fourteenth Bishop of the Diocese, and is now serving as Visiting Bishop.
During her time as Bishop Suffragan and Ecclesiastical Authority, Bishop Goff oversaw the mission and ministry of the diocese in all its multiple dimensions during the interim time between Bishops Diocesan, with a particular focus on strengthening relationships between God, congregations, diocesan leadership and related organizations. She has a particular passion for justice ministries and for the full inclusion of all of God’s beloved in the faith community. In addition to her work in the diocese, Bishop Goff is licensed as a visiting bishop in our companion Diocese of Liverpool in England. She also represents The Episcopal Church in relationships with the Anglican Church in Central America (IARCA).
Since she was ordained in 1980, Bishop Susan has ministered in the Diocese of Virginia. She began her service as a school Chaplain, first at St. Margaret’s in Tappahannock, then at St. Catherine’s in Richmond. From there she was called to be Rector of Immanuel, Old Church, and later as Rector of St. Christopher’s, Springfield. She became Canon to the Ordinary in 2010, and from that position she was elected bishop.
Bishop Susan received her Master of Divinity degree with distinction from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology, Magna Cum Laude, from Douglass College (Rutgers University) in New Jersey. While a seminarian, she directed Eagle's Nest Camp, the summer camp of the Diocese of Newark. During a two-year leave of absence from seminary, she lived and worked among Arapaho people on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming.
Bishop Susan is a visual artist who creates mixed media canvasses and sculptures that include found objects. She and her husband, the Rev. Tom Holliday, share their colorful, art-filled home in Richmond, Virginia, with their chihuahua, Georgia, and their Amazon parrot, Jasper.