From the website of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana:
The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana has announced a final list of six candidates who will stand for election as the 11th Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana on December 5, 2009, at Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans.
“We are so pleased with the caliber of outstanding candidates who feel called to lead the Episcopal church in south Louisiana,” said David Pitts, chair of the diocesan Episcopate Committee, the group charged with oversight of the nomination process.
The candidates are:
Fr. Kurt Dunkle
Fr. Paul Elliott
Fr. Paul Johnson
Fr. Ken Ritter
Bp. Michael Smith
Fr. Morris Thompson
Biographies are at the website. I have not read them yet.
All of the candidates will visit the diocese in November for “walk-abouts” to give the clergy and lay members of the diocese an opportunity to meet each of the candidates.
No women need apply, I see...
ReplyDeletePerish the thought! Not going to happen here.
ReplyDeleteIt is perhaps more correct to say that no women applied. All who applied and passed the vetting were admitted as candidates.
ReplyDeleteOrmonde, it's pretty much a given that no woman would be elected. Perhaps that's why none applied.
ReplyDeleteAny feelings yet as to which way the votes might swing: an outsider, a middle-of-the road candidate? I'm praying for a saint, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteSad in these times that one candidate had to say that he wouldn't take the diocese out of the Episcopal Church. Are things there that bad?
I must confess that I don't recognise a single name. Damn CT Yankee here.
ReplyDeleteOrmonde has his finger on the pulse as to which way this election might go, more so than I. I'd hazard a guess that middle-of-the-road is as good as we are likely to get. But then, I thought Bp. Katharine could not get elected.
ReplyDeleteCaminante, you should recognize one name. Bp. Smith was one of the seven who visited the ABC recently.
I'm not a delegate. I don't have a vote. I think that I've fallen in love with Fr. Paul Elliott, poor man.
ReplyDeleteI'll read on.
Yes an episcopal candidate who admits that the Life of Brian is one of his favorite movies has gumption.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Erp. And he was a stage bouncer once. That makes two priest bouncers that I know. Well, Doorman-Priest is an almost priest.
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky you don't have a vote Grandmere.... the lobbying I have witnessed in three dioceses is enough to make one heart-sick. You all continue in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteAnd hey --our nomination team put forward two women in a field of five. Didn't seem to make a difference here....
Well you could go back to drawing lots.:-)
ReplyDeleteElliot's web page (on his church site).
I would urge you to go to the walkabouts. Our diocese has recently elected a new a bishop. Sarah and I went to one of the walkabouts near us. It really helped to see the candidates and hear them answer questions. Neither of us had a vote but going to the walkabouts helped allay some anxiety for us.
ReplyDeleteI will pray for your diocese as you go through this process.
So how do people in Louisiana feel about mild Aussie accents (Pentecost Elliot sermon)? Admittedly he is probably too liberal for your diocese though in SF he would, I think, be quite conservative. Or perhaps I'm judging too much on his movie choice; New Jersey has a rabid Bruce Springsteen fan as a Republican gubernatorial candidate afterall.
ReplyDeleteTwo Auntees, God willing, I plan to attend the nearest walkabout, maybe even more than one.
ReplyDeleteErp, the accent would be fine with me, but I don't know about others in this area.
Oh he is an Australian, that's settled, vote for him :-)
ReplyDeleteHe has no contact with Sydney. Hobart bred and Brisbane trained means he should be quite safe
Brian, all I can't do is lobby for him, and I will.
ReplyDeleteI have two more bios to read, and one of them is Bp. Smith, and I hope he is not the choice. I'd rather not have Fr. Ritter either.
Fr. Ritter says:
ReplyDeleteI firmly intend to remain a member of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. I believe in the primacy and authority of Holy Scripture. I support the Windsor Report which requests that we not proceed to authorize rites for the blessing of same-sex unions and a moratorium on the consecration of bishops whose lifestyles present a difficulty for the wider Anglican Communion.
I welcome consideration of an Anglican Covenant. I also maintain that all must be made to feel welcome and included in our Church.
Significant decisions affecting the practice and belief of the Communion should be made in community. The Communion is not of one mind on the first issue (cited above) and we need to show restraint in these matters as we discern together.
I would work to help us remain united in faith and hope as we chart our future together. We must have basic trust and a space where conflicts can be addressed, worked through and, if need be, lived with, but in a way which does not turn to destructiveness.
I would promote dialogue and respect for each other and would also work with people across the Church to find a way forward together.
Regarding Fr. Ritter's statement, the mention of the Anglican Communion more than once makes me nervous, and the use of the word "restraint" in reference to the Episcopal Church makes me go ballistic. I see it as a code word for treating our LGTB brothers and sisters as "half-assed baptized", as Bp. Barbara Harris says, not fit for inclusion in all the orders of ministry.
Margaret, it's probably best that I am not a delegate.
Well you could go back to drawing lots.:-)
ReplyDeleteOr a process of elimination through mano a mano field trials.
Brian, I meant to say "all I can do". Sheesh! I'm messing up royally tonight.
Yes, Bishop Smith clearly has many answers for many things (however his diocese in North Dakota isn´t doing all that well which seems like a odd basis for a vital promotion at Church or anywhere else)...I sense all the i´s being dotted prematurely...angles thought out...makes me uncomfortable in a world where the Holy Spirit speaks to all of us everyday.
ReplyDeleteThe Australian seems able, motivated and joyful (and human and humble and happily noble and down-to-earth/real). I like his story.
I too bristled reading Fr. Ritters views but found a couple of the other fellows quite solid, inspiring, approachable and healthy in ways I admire.
I hate being dictated to like I ought KNOW religious basics that I have sincere questions about...it feels like I´m being railroaded or sweetly patted on the head as I´m being ¨talked down¨ to.
I think the TRUST issue for any candidate at any diocese of TEC is not to be ignored...it ought not be codependently assumed that everyone is on the same page of the prayer book and have the same view on what ¨sacred oath¨ actually means.
I ask direct, and sometimes seemingly embarrassing questions (but I want to know the ¨first person¨ experience of the aspiring spiritual leader...what does he REALLY believe and hope to ¨do¨ (flowery stock answers no longer are acceptable, they are the old way).
I´d definitely try and make the walk-abouts if I lived in your diocese deanery...they are bound to be revealing in lots of ways...the in person question/answer opportunities offer personal glimpses that may not be reflected in what we read/assume here.
I wish you the best, you deserve solid leadership and peace of mind at the Episcopal Church diocese of Louisiana.
Len, you've given me an idea. When the time for the walkabouts draws nearer, I will put up a post asking for suggestions for questions to ask the candidates when I meet them.
ReplyDeleteBp. Smith says:
ReplyDeleteIn other words, the “presenting issue” of appropriate pastoral care for persons who experience themselves as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or transgender, has raised a bigger and more foundational question about who we are as a church and how we go about discerning together the mind of Christ for this and other important questions we will face in the future.
I wonder if it's possible that "persons who experience themselves" as LGTB, might really BE LGTB.
In short, we are at the point in our history where Anglicans worldwide (and I’ve always used the words “Episcopal” and “Anglican”
synonymously) are faced with a choice of remaining a “communion” of “interdependent” churches or becoming a “federation”
of “independent” churches. I am most definitely in the “communion” camp and have taken a stand to remain a constituent member of both The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, those churches in communion with the See of Canterbury. This is not a popular position, however, when some are choosing to leave the Episcopal Church and form a new denomination and others, by their actions, are choosing to walk apart from the Anglican Communion.
While I don't use "Episcopal" and "Anglican" synonymously, I'm in the Communion camp, too, but we are already a Communion except for those who have left. We didn't need a covenant to be the Anglican Communion during our past history. Why do we need one now?
Who are the others who, "by their actions, are choosing to walk apart from the Anglican Communion"? Could the "others" be the Episcopal Church? It seems to me that a bishop of the Episcopal Church, who sees his own church as walking apart could be a problem, don't you think? Of course, the "others" could be another group of which I'm not aware.
I have wondered about the possibility of a diocese synchronizing its calendars so that Alpha takes place at many sites during the fall, perhaps with a joint diocesan-wide “Holy Spirit” weekend.
If Bp. Smith is elected and the Spirit leads him to an Alpha fall, I won't be there. Once around with an Alpha series was enough.
According to the Stand Firm gang, the only acceptable candidates are Ritter and Smith. See the comments at http://www.standfirminfaith.com/?/sf/page/24770.
ReplyDeleteI nominated the Aussie but haven't met him. His parish is multi-cultural, which counts in his favor.
Mimi, we'll never know if can elect a woman if a woman never runs. I wanted to nominate one, but she declined.
ReplyDeleteOK -- first hit -- I like the Ozzie -- don't suppose he's in with a chance ...
ReplyDeleteMimi, we'll never know if can elect a woman if a woman never runs.
ReplyDeleteOrmonde, you're right about that.
If we elect Bp. Smith, it will be bad news for the diocese and tumultuous times ahead. I pray that does not happen.
Prior Aelred, if you read the comments, you know that I'm already in love with your boy.
¨I will put up a post asking for suggestions for questions to ask the candidates when I meet them.¨ GM
ReplyDeleteThat´s a powerful idea...think of the many resources your invite and draw upon...excellent.
I have found that most Americans are suckers for an accent...
ReplyDeleteI have found that most Americans are suckers for an accent...Doxy
ReplyDeleteLovely English? Of course (that comes from the child of a man from Yorkshire and many don´t like Yorkshire accents but I do). Other accents (including various tainted English)? Not so much unless they are French accents (they sound so, well, tasteful anc chic)...some accents cause fear and dismay and some people, especially these days/daze in the U.S. are loathed for their foreigness which can be revealed in their skin color and/or voice. I would guess that The Reverend Ritter likes his Louisiana accent (and considers it a real plus right now).
Sorry Leonardo--I WAS thinking of English/Australian/South African accents. I should have clarified, because someone with an Hispanic accent, as we both know, is Not Welcome in many places. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteAlthough several reports have noted that all the candidates are white males, Bishop Smith (although as pale-faced as the rest of the bunch) is a member of the Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma. Just want to set the record straight. And it's true that none of them is a closet woman--I guess.
ReplyDeleteI love being around Hispanic accents, and most other ethnic flavoring of speech for that matter, but I am a child of the Left Coast where it is a given. I listened to the Japanese-American Hour and the Armenian-American Hour on the radio every Sunday morning when I was in my teens and Spanish was my first foreign language.
ReplyDeletePrayers for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the election of your next bishop.
¨Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma¨...and my great grandmothers mother, my Mothers side, was a Pawnee Indian (I ought be Bishop of Louisiana if that´s what it takes because I´m Gay too and can pass for White Heterosexual).
ReplyDeleteI've heard that Bp. Smith's Native American heritage is what helped him get elected bishop of North Dakota.
ReplyDeleteOrmonde, what about a transsexual? No. I guess not.
I think accents are delightful, especially the accents of those whose native tongue is a romance language.
Len, you can pass! How wonderful for you!
All joking aside, we must pray for the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit in this election.
Well it was usually permissible to have a tiny bit of Native American ancestry and still participate in the advantages of being white (Virginia in its racial laws allowed 1 great great grandparent to be Native American so as not to classify those Virginians who proudly claimed descent from Pocahontas as non-whites). Being an enrolled member of a tribe is rarer and being involved in the culture perhaps even rarer. Native Americans make up about 5.3% of North Dakota's population.
ReplyDeleteAnother bonus for Rev. Elliot: he got his doctorate at MY SCHOOL (Emory), which is more or less the next town over from Stone Mountain.
ReplyDeleteFr. Elliott is my true love, but I'd take any of the three others over Fr. Ritter or Bp. Smith. However, if I were a betting person, I'd put my money on Fr. Ritter, but that won't stop me from lobbying for someone else.
ReplyDeleteThe Very Rev’d Morris K. Thompson, doesn´t he look/read like a healthy minded responsible Reverend kinda person? I bet a tall mitre wouldn´t make him big headed...check his emotional/spiritual measurements on the walkabout.
ReplyDeleteAnd The Very Rev'd Morris Thompson it was, and I am delighted.
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