Dear friends,
It is good to be back at church today after being away much longer than I had planned. I was fortunate that my case of Covid was mild and I was able to get Paxlovid right away. I am fully recovered, except for lingering fatigue. I’m sure that won’t last much longer. By Sunday I should be at full speed.
This is an important week in the life of the Episcopal Church. Our General Convention is meeting in Louisville. General Convention is our national gathering held every three years. All the bishops of the church attend, as well as clergy and lay people from every diocese (who are elected by each diocesan annual council). There are a lot of issues and resolutions being discussed and voted on, but the main event will be the election of the next presiding bishop of the church. It is of special interest to us since our own bishop, the Rt. Rev. Robert Wright, is one of the five bishops on the ballot.
The presiding bishop’s primary role is to preside over the House of Bishops when they meet at General Convention and other times through the year, and to participate in the consecration of new bishops. But over the years the position has also taken on a more public role as the chief face and spokesperson of the Episcopal Church.
Here are the other nominees, the election process, and links to livestreams of some of the events:
The nominees are:
Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska Bishop J. Scott Barker
Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania Bishop Daniel G.P. Gutiérrez
Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania Bishop Sean Rowe (who also serves as bishop provisional of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York)
Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright.
Episcopal Diocese of Central New York Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe joined the slate on April 16 as a nominee by petition.
Click here for information about the nominees.
The Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop held a “Meet the Nominees” event last Friday. You can stream a recording of it here. https://bit.ly/3z9k510
Tomorrow the House of Bishops and House of Deputies will come together to make presentations. The joint session is scheduled for Tuesday, June 25 from 10:30 a.m. to noon EDT. A livestream will be available here.
Wednesday is the big day. Following the Convention Eucharist at 8:30 a.m. bishops with seat, voice, and vote will gather at Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in Louisville for the election. The bishops cast ballots until a presiding bishop is elected “by a vote of a majority of all bishops.”
Once there is an election, the current presiding bishop sends a delegation from the House of Bishops to report the result to the president of the House of Deputies, including the number of votes cast for each nominee on each ballot. The House of Deputies must vote to confirm or not to confirm such choice of presiding bishop.
At the conclusion of the vote of the House of Deputies, the president of the House of Deputies will appoint a delegation to notify the House of Bishops of the action taken. The bishops remain in the cathedral and must refrain from any communication outside the cathedral throughout the election and until the confirmation is received.
Once the House of Bishops receives the confirmation, the presiding bishop-elect, at the invitation of the president of House of Deputies, is then presented to the House of Deputies, along with family members present at the convention, and may address the house.
That may be more than you wanted to know! It is a very exciting time. The term for the presiding bishop is nine years. Nine years ago, in 2015, I was a deputy to the General Convention, which was held that year in Salt Lake City. Michael Curry was elected on the first ballot, the first time that had ever happened. I still remember the excitement when the outgoing presiding bishop, Katherine Jefferts Schori, escorted presiding bishop-elect into the room. It was an historic moment — the first woman to hold the position introducing the first African American to hold it.
If you are interested in knowing more about other things happening at the convention, I suggest you subscribe to the Episcopal News Service, which sends out an update of each day’s happenings. You can subscribe at episcopalnewsservice.org.
Below is a blurry photo from 2015, and two photos from my trip to eastern Washington state.
With love,
Tricia
