ATLANTA: Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta diocese elects 1st black Episcopal bishop
By ENS staff
June 2, 2012
The Very Rev. Robert C. Wright was elected on June 2 to be the 10th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta.
Wright, 48, rector of St. Paul’s Church, Atlanta, was elected on the third ballot out of a field of six nominees. He received 185 votes of 291 cast in the lay order and 90 of 172 cast in the clergy order. An election on that ballot required 146 in the lay order and 87 in the clergy order.
Ballot-by-ballot results were posted here.
The election was held at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta. Wright was present and stepped to the lectern to accept his election, according to the diocese’s Twitter feed.
Wright was elected to succeed Bishop J. Neil Alexander, who was elected in 2001. At the time of his election, Alexander was a professor at the University of the South School of Theology and priest in charge of St. Agnes’ Church in Cowan, Tennessee.
Upon his resignation as diocesan bishop he will become professor of liturgics and head the Department for Anglican Studies at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta this fall.
Because the election occurred within 120 days of the start of the 77th meeting of General Convention in Indianapolis July 4-12, Episcopal Church canons provide (in Canon III.11.3) for the required consents to be sought from the bishops and deputies at convention.
Assuming that consent is received, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is scheduled to ordain Wright as the 10th bishop of Atlanta on Oct. 13, also at the Cathedral of St. Philip.
Wright has been rector at St. Paul’s since July 2002. Prior to that, he was canon pastor and vicar for two years at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, where he was chaplain at the Cathedral School for two years before that. Wright served as a U. S. Navy helicopter crew chief and search and rescue diver from 1982 to 1987. He then worked in organizations that serve youth in the Washington, D.C. area, including the Children’s Defense Fund, and served two mayors of Washington DC as a child advocate.
He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1998 and is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry degree in preaching at the University of the South. He and his wife Beth-Sarah are parents to five children. His resume is here.
The other nominees were:
* the Rev. George F. Adamik, 58, rector, St. Paul’s Church, Cary, North Carolina (Diocese of North Carolina);
* the Rev. Michael A. Bird, 44, rector, Christ Church, Bronxville, New York (Diocese of New York);
* the Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler, 55, dean, Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia (Diocese of Atlanta);
* the Rev. Martha N. Macgill, 54, rector, Memorial Episcopal Church, Baltimore, Maryland (Diocese of Maryland); and
* the Rev. Canon James H. Pritchett, 55, canon to the ordinary, Diocese of Western North Carolina.
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Rhode Island diocese elects Nicholas Knisely to become 13th bishop
By ENS staff
June 2, 2012
The Very Rev. Nicholas Knisely was elected on June 2 to be the 13th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island.
Knisely, 51, dean, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Phoenix, Ariz., was elected on the first ballot out of a field of five nominees.
He received 64 votes of 111 cast in the lay order and 47 of 88 cast in the clergy order. The results are here. The bishop-elect spoke via cellphone to the electing convention at St. Paul’s Church in Pawtucket.
Knisely will succeed Bishop Geralyn Wolf, 64, who has been the diocesan bishop since February 1996. Wolf preached during the Eucharist that began the electing convention.
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WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS: Diocese elects Douglas Fisher to be 9th bishop
By ENS staff June 2, 2012
The Rev. Dr. Douglas John Fisher was elected on June 2 to be the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts.
Fisher, 57, rector of Grace Church, Millbrook, New York, was elected on the third ballot out of a field of three remaining nominees.
He received 105 votes of 170 cast in the lay order and 49 of 78 cast in the clergy order. An election on that ballot required 86 in the lay order and 40 in the clergy order.
The election took place at Christ Church Cathedral in Springfield
“We are overwhelmed, humbled and honored by this election,” Fisher said after his election. “The diocese was so prayerful and spirited in this process and is aware of the many gifts that God has given them. They are ready to take on the challenges of the 21st century, and the Fisher family looks forward to being in Western Massachusetts and serving the kingdom of God with them.”
Fisher will succeed Bishop Gordon Paul Scruton, 65, who announced in June 2011 that he would retire in December 2012 after 16 years as bishop.
“As a diocese, we are filled with gratitude that the Holy Spirit has guided us to call the Rev. Dr. Douglas John Fisher to be our next bishop,” Scruton said in a press release issued after the election.
Because the election occurred within 120 days of the start of the 77th meeting of General Convention in Indianapolis July 4-12, Episcopal Church canons provide (in Canon III.11.3) for the required consents to be sought from the bishops and deputies at convention.
Assuming that consent is received, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is scheduled to ordain Fisher on Dec. 1 at the MassMutual Center, also in Springfield.
Fisher has been rector of Grace Church in Millbrook since September 2000. Prior to that call, he served Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Highland Falls, New York, and was a chaplain to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point from 1997 to 2000.
He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Immaculate Conception Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Episcopal Divinity School.
Fisher was ordained a Roman Catholic priest for the Diocese of Rockville Center in 1980. He left the Roman priesthood and was married in 1984. He was received into the Episcopal Church in June 1997. His wife Betsy was ordained a priest in September 2004. They are parents to three children.
The other nominees were:
the Very Rev. Richard A. Demarest, 55, dean, St. Michael’s Cathedral, Boise, Idaho (Diocese of Idaho);
the Rev. Nancy Gossling, 60, rector, St. James’ Church, Glastonbury, Connecticut (Diocese of Connecticut);
the Very Rev. Ron W. Griffin, 58, rector, Christ Church, Eureka, California (Diocese of Northern California)
and the Very Rev. Mark B. Pendleton, 49, dean, Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford, Connecticut (Diocese of Connecticut)
Gossling and Griffin withdrew after the second ballot.
More information about the nominees is here.
The Springfield-based Diocese of Western Massachusetts has more than 60 congregations. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2000.
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TEXAS: Diocese elects Jeff W. Fisher as bishop suffragan
By ENS staff June 2, 2012
The Rev. Jeff W. Fisher was elected on June 2 to be the bishop suffragan for the eastern region of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.
Fisher was elected on the fourth ballot out of a field of two nominees. He received 230 votes of 391 cast in the lay order and 109 of 205 cast in the clergy order. An election on that ballot required 196 votes in the lay order and 103 in the clergy order.
The election took place at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston.
Because the election occurred within 120 days of the start of the 77th meeting of General Convention in Indianapolis July 4-12, Episcopal Church canons provide (in Canon III.11.3) for the required consents to be sought from the bishops and deputies at convention.
Assuming that consent is received, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is scheduled to ordain Fisher on Oct. 6 at Caldwell Auditorium in Tyler, where the new bishop suffragan will be headquartered.
Fisher, 48, has been rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Waco since 2006. Prior to that call, he was associate rector at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Cypress from 2004 to 2006. He was ordained deacon and priest in 2004 after earning a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary.
Prior to entering ordained ministry, Fisher worked for Arthur Andersen in Houston, then for Hand Benefits & Trust, an employee benefit consulting firm in Houston, where he was the chief financial officer. He and his wife are the parents of two sons.
His autobiographic statement and other biographical information is here.
The other nominee was the Rev. Beth J. Fain, 60, rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Cypress.
Texas Bishop C. Andrew Doyle announced his intention to call for the election at the Clergy Conference in October 2011. At the time he laid out his specific expectations for the bishop suffragan position as a regional bishop.
A bishop suffragan serves under the leadership of the bishop diocesan, who frames his or her specific work, Doyle said. Among the duties of the new bishop will be the boards of St. James’ House, the diocesan retirement community in Baytown; All Saints’ School, Tyler; William Temple Center, Galveston and St. Vincent’s House, Galveston. The new bishop also will be responsible for pastoral care of the clergy and be the diocesan liaison to the Little Church Club, Episcopal Church Women, diocesan Altar Guild, Cursillo, Recovery Ministry, Brotherhood of St. Andrews, Faith Alive, Restorative Justice and have oversight of the Bishop Quin Sabbatical Grants.
Fisher will join Doyle and Bishop Suffragan Dena A. Harrison in serving the diocese, which has more than 77,000 members in 151 congregations.
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There would seem to be no shortage of American Episcopalians to support the recent election of these four new Bishops to assume the episcopal role in TEC. The fact that all of these elected were male should not clud the issue of TEC having more female bishops than any other Province in the world-wide Anglican Communion.
May God richly bless the ministry of these new bishops in the Church in North America, and may they continue to preach the good News of God’s unconditional LOVE for ALL people.
Father Ron Smith, Christchurch, New Zealand
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