Episcopalians proceed on new bishop
Representatives of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina gathered Saturday at St. James Episcopal Church on James Island to vote to continue where the 216th diocesan convention left off late last year, reconvening delegates for the purpose of electing a new bishop.
Though some church officials expressed concerns over the procedures adopted to reconvene as well as the perceptions of church officials outside the diocese, all but a few dissenters voted to proceed as planned in an effort to fast-track the Very Rev. Mark Lawrence into the bishop's office.
This entailed suspending Rule 21 of Canon 31, which was established in late 2005 for the purpose of electing a new bishop but which would have required officials this time to start from scratch with a new convention, a new set of delegates, a new Electing Convention and a new set of candidates. That standard process could have taken a year, Bishop Edward Salmon said.
Representatives from only two Charleston area churches — Grace and St. Mark's — voted against suspending the rule.
The diocese's standing committee now takes control of the election process, and individual parishes will elect delegates whose sole purpose is to choose the bishop.
Lawrence has provoked concern among Episcopalians who fear he could lead the diocese away from the Episcopal Church and realign with another Anglican authority if the church did not repudiate its tolerance for gay clergy and affirm a more traditional reading of Scripture. A church crisis was sparked when, in 2003, the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, who is divorced and openly gay, was elected bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire.
Salmon said the special Electing Convention will be Aug. 4, and the new bishop might be consecrated Jan. 25, the day of St. Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.
Lawrence was chosen bishop overwhelmingly on Sept. 16 last year, but his election was nullified when, after the 120-day "consent" period, a few ballots were returned by e-mail and unsigned. It is likely he will be the only candidate on the new ballot.
Grace Church warden Ted Halkyard said the last thing the diocese needs from outside observers, standing committees and bishops is more suspicion, and he called for a "transparent and understandable" process that could easily withstand scrutiny.
"In my opinion, this process is not OK. ... This is not a football game where the referee stops the clock, sets the ball back five yards, then says go ahead. This is the real deal," Halkyard said.
The Rev. Canon Dr. Kendall Harmon acknowledged that suspending the rules was unusual but noted that the similar measures had been taken at the last General Convention.
While dissenting votes were very few, it was nonetheless clear that the meeting left some feeling uncomfortable.
"There have been times when I have tried to control things too tightly," said the Rev. Mark Goodman, rector at Trinity Church in Myrtle Beach, "and usually — not always, but usually — it backfires. If we truly believe what we say — that God loves us and won't abandon us — then what do we have to fear?"
Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902 or aparker@postandcourier.com.
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