New Episcopal Bishop of California elected

[davidinalameda]

http://episcopalbayarea.org/

http://www.bishopsearch.org/nominees.html


The Rt. Rev. Mark Handley Andrus has served as Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Alabama since 2001, where he's initiated the Task Force for the Stewardship of Creation and the Pilgrimage for Peace, and been responsible for diocesan college chaplaincies and the camp and conference center, along with episcopal ministries. He serves on national steering committees for Bishops Working for a Just Society, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation, and the Executive Council Committee on the Status of Women. He was Rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Middleburg, Virginia; Chaplain and teacher at Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Virginia and curate at the Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Prior to ordained ministry, he worked as a regional planner on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Bishop Andrus received his M.Div. at Virginia Theological Seminary, a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning from VPI&SU (Virginia Tech) and a B.S. in Plant and Soil Science from the University of Tennessee. His curriculum vitae is here, and his personal statement is here. His Essays can be found here in pdf and browser readable formats.

I have to say that I'm surprised at the election of Rev. Andrus as bishop-elect. He seems to be the most conservative out of the nominees and I didn't think that he would be a good fit for the diocese. Although conservative may a misnomer because Integrity USA, the national GLBT Episcopal group, has issued a very nice press release regarding the election. Compared to the other candidates, he came across as the most conservative in the one candidats' forum that I attended.

http://www.integrityusa.org/

The issue of the next openly gay bishop has only been postponed and it will not go away. One of the candidates for Bishop is an openly lesbian minister from Chicago. I was so impressed with her energy. I predict that she'll one day serve as Bishop.

[xchrom]

1. cool -- as long as he's good.