From The Living Church Foundation:
Clergy and lay delegates to a special convention in the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania elected a local priest with three generations of family roots in the diocese as their next bishop. The Rev. Sean W. Rowe, rector of St. John’s Church, Franklin, Pa., was elected on the first ballot from a field of four nominees, May 19 at the Cathedral of Church of St. Paul in Erie.
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In an autobiographical profile published on the internet by the diocesan search committee, Fr. Rowe states that as a student attending Grove City College he “experienced the Kingdom of God break into my spiritual life” with the help of a campus ministry chaplain from The Episcopal Church. He and his wife, Carly, are co-chairs of the diocesan youth and young adult commission. A graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary, he has served as rector of St. John’s since his ordination in 2000 by the Rt. Rev. Robert D. Rowley.
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Fr. Rowe must now receive consent from a majority of the 110 standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction in The Episcopal Church. The consecration is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 8 at Grove City College. When he takes office, Fr. Rowe, who turned 32 on Feb. 16, will be the youngest member of the House of Bishops, according to information supplied to the diocese by the office of the canon to the Presiding Bishop.
A bishop at the age of 32!
Father we ask your blessing upon Sean and that you fill him with the power of the Holy Spirit. Fill his heart with your love, and give him gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to lead the priests and people of the diocese. We ask in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thanks, Mimi, for the prayers. Sean is a great kid. Very dynamic. Full of ideas. Needs leavening. Has never been outside the diocese except for seminary and conventions. He is very popular, especially among the young. I'm not sure that is a qualification for leadership in a diocese which is quite elderly. Attracting youth while keeping the older folks who pay the bills will be a major challenge. We need all the prayers we can get.
ReplyDeletePseudo, from what you say, "the great kid" will need ongoing prayers, and I am pleased to oblige.
ReplyDeleteBy a not-terribly-odd coincidence, the reference on another site to St. Ambrose's not having even been baptized when he was elected bishop of Milan, which I mentioned yesterday on your previous post, was occasioned by another blogger being snotty about Fr. Rowe's "inexperience". It was also mentioned that St Augustine of Hippo was elected bishop after only five years in the priesthood.
ReplyDeleteWhat is a slightly odder coincidence is that you should have lighted on the Kempe window of Ss. Ambrose & Augustine - after a night's sleep I'm pretty-well certain that it IS them - on the "Staggers" (familiar name of St. Stephen's Ho.) virtual tour page.
I hope that I did not appear snotty about Bishop-elect Rowe, for I did not mean to be.
ReplyDeleteLapin, I'm lost with the windows. I'll have to go back to the comments and the St. Stephen's site to work it all out. Is it the Holy Spirit Chapel windows?
No, you were not at all snotty. Some StandFirmer had been so yesterday and had been firmly put in his/her place by another blogger, re the pre-episcopal experience of Augustine & Ambrose.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Holy Spirit chapel, but maybe not Augustine & Ambrose, since the right hand figure seems to be wearing a gothicized version of Orthodox vestments (strange notion), so maybe Augustine & Chrysostom?
This is getting awfully specialized. Bye!