partner
 
Saturday, December 5th, 2009 | Posted by Editor - Blog News Service

UPI News – Gay Reverend elected Bishop

Rainbow Flag

Rainbow Flag

The Los Angeles diocese of the Episcopal Church elected its first female assistant bishop on Friday at its Riverside convention.

Delegates were unable to reach a decision on filling another assistant bishop vacancy, pushing a final vote to today. Leading in votes so far is the Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool, who if elected would become the second openly lesbian or gay bishop in the 2.1-million-member Episcopal Church.

Delegates said the gender and sexual orientation of the six assistant bishop candidates was not a major factor in the balloting.

“The issue was not having a female bishop,” said the Rev. David Starr, vicar of St. John’s Episcopal Church in San Bernardino. “It was having a highly qualified, extremely dedicated, spiritual and pastoral person in the position. The Holy Spirit is in all of this and guiding our hearts and minds to select the right person for the right job at the right time.”

The Rev. Canon Diane Jardine Bruce, rector of St. Clement’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in San Clemente, was elected assistant bishop on the third ballot of voting at the Riverside Convention Center. The Los Angeles diocese includes San Bernardino County and most of Riverside County.

The election of a female bishop is no longer controversial in most Episcopal dioceses, including Los Angeles, one of the church’s most liberal. The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori leads the national church.

If Glasspool is chosen, she would be the first openly gay or lesbian priest elected a bishop since V. Gene Robinson was elected bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.

That election led dozens of conservative parishes and four dioceses to vote to leave the Episcopal Church. No openly gay bishop has been consecrated since then.

The selection of another gay bishop could upset church conservatives, both in the United States and in the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part.

The election of bishops by a diocese must be ratified by the majority of the bishops and standing committees of the Episcopal Church’s other 108 dioceses. The national Episcopal Church voted in July to overturn a previous moratorium on the consecration of new bishops who are in same-sex relationships, indicating that a bishop-elect’s sexual orientation would not in itself prevent ratification.

Glasspool, a canon — or adviser — to the bishops of the Diocese of Maryland, was far ahead of the other runners-up in all three initial rounds of voting for the assistant bishop.

But in the two ballots for the second bishop post, the Rev. Irineo Martir Vasquez, vicar of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Hawthorne, pulled closer to Glasspool. In the second ballot, Glasspool was leading Martir Vasquez among lay delegates 170 to 155, and among clergy 128 to 94. Nominees must receive majorities among both lay and clergy delegates to be elected.

After the second round, the Rev. John L. Kirkley, a gay priest from San Francisco’s St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, finished last and withdrew his nomination.

The Rev. Paul Price, rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Riverside, said Martir Vasquez gained votes because, after Bruce’s election, some delegates were looking for different skills and characteristics to complement her and Bishop J. Jon Bruno.

Both of Bruno’s assistant bishops are retiring next year. One of them, the Rt. Rev. Sergio Carranza, is the Spanish-speaking former bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Mexico. Outreach to Latinos, including Spanish-speakers, is a top priority in the Los Angeles diocese, and some delegates may believe it’s important to continue to have a Latino bishop, Price said.

Bruce speaks conversational Spanish. Martir Vasquez is a native of Guatemala.

Price said he was torn between Glasspool and Martir Vasquez. He voted for Glasspool on one ballot and Martir Vasquez on another, he said. He doesn’t know who he’ll choose today.

Price said he was impressed with Glasspool’s experience in helping administer the Maryland diocese and in providing pastoral care and support to clergy — two of the roles of an assistant bishop. But he said he also liked how Martir Vasquez leads and pastors a large congregation.

“And I know we need a strong Hispanic ministry,” Price said.

Related Posts Related Websites

Tags:

research

Comments are closed

api