La. Episcopalians seek nominations for bishop

• By WILLIAM TAYLOR
• Assistant People editor
• Published: Jul 4, 2009

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The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana will elect a new bishop this year and suggestions about who should fill that role are welcome.
The nomination process closes on July 31 for the election scheduled for Dec. 5. Bishop Charles E. Jenkins will retire in January.

While only delegates to the annual convention can nominate officially, any church member with a suggestion is welcome to approach the clergy and lay leaders of their church, diocese leaders say.

“The most important thing is to call on folks around the diocese and around the country to pray that we listen to God’s will and not our own,” Canon Mark Stevenson said. “This is supposed to be a prayerful process.”

Stevenson serves on the 11-person Episcopate Committee charged with guiding the nomination process.

Any bishop or priest who will be at least 30 years old at the time of consecration next May and is in good standing with the Episcopal Church is eligible for nomination.

Members of the Episcopate Committee are hoping for several eligible candidates, Stevenson said.

“I think it is a healthier process with more nominees, rather than less,” he said. “More is better.”

That conclusion has been illustrated recently with the unfolding consent process for the bishop election in the Diocese of Northern Michigan, where the Rev. Kevin G. Thew Forrester was the only nominee put before voters.

Bishop elections  in the Episcopal Church need the consent of a majority of both the bishops and regional governing boards, typically known as standing committees.

While the fate of Forrester’s election may not be officially decided until the end of the month, a majority of the standing committees have already voted to deny consent, including the standing committee for Louisiana.

Jenkins, who also opposes Forrester’s election, explained that many Episcopalians are uncomfortable with a process that provided delegates in Northern Michigan with only one candidate to consider. Many also are concerned with Forrester’s dual ordination as a Buddhist and Episcopalian as well as changes he’s made to the liturgy that depart from traditional understandings of Jesus Christ’s role as savior.

“I think our process is much more transparent,” Jenkins said. “Louisiana may elect someone who is a fisherman or something like that, but I don’t think we will elect someone who is not clear about their Christian faith.”

Stevenson expects the nomination to produce a varied slate of candidates.