From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org
Episcopalians: Spring episcopal elections include church's first Gen-X bishop
From
dmack@episcopalchurch.org
Date
Tue, 20 May 2003 10:59:02 -0400
May 19, 2003
2003-110
Episcopalians: Spring episcopal elections include church's first
Gen-X bishop
by Jan Nunley
(ENS)According to the definition used by Gathering the neXt
Generation, the Rev. Johncy Itty, elected ninth bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Oregon on May 17, will be the Episcopal
Church's first Generation X bishop.
Born in Bhopal, India, in 1963, Itty falls squarely within the
1961-1981 time frame that defines Gen Xers. Currently he is
canon residentiary of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden
City, New York. He served as social justice officer on the staff
at the Episcopal Church Center 1998-2000 and as human rights
officer in the office of the Anglican Observer at the United
Nations 1995-98.
Itty was ordained a priest in Madhya, Kerala, in 1993 and
received into the Episcopal Church from the Church of South
India in 1995.
He was elected on the fifth ballot to succeed Bishop Robert
Ladehoff as the spiritual leader of 78 congregations and 21,000
Episcopalians in western Oregon. Pending the required consents,
he will be consecrated in a service September 20 in Salem.
"Generation X leaders in the church have spent many years in
ministry and have taken their place in the councils of the
church. While much progress needs to be made to make discernment
processes for ordination in every diocese open to GenXers, there
are now many experienced GenX priests who are well qualified to
serve as bishop," said the Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows,
president of Gathering the neXt Generation (GtNG), the national
network of GenX Episcopalians, and director of alumni/ae and
church relations at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in
Berkeley, California.
"I'm pleased that someone with such a passion and love for
Jesus, for the church, and for evangelism and renewal has been
chosen to lead this diocese," added the Rev. Tom Sramek, GTNG
Core Team member and vicar of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in
Albany, Oregon. "I'm especially excited about the fact that he
is a member of my generation--Generation X--and look forward to
having someone nearer my own age and life stage as my bishop."
"Johncy's election is an exciting choice," said the Rev. Brian
Grieves, director of the church's Peace and Justice Ministries
program. "He brings strong pastoral skills and a zeal for
justice that will serve the church well."
New Jersey: Think again'
Two dioceses wracked by controversy over their bishops in recent
times also elected bishops this month.
In the Diocese of New Jersey, the bells of Trinity Cathedral
rang out after the Rev. George Edward Councell, rector of the
Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, Illinois, was elected
on the third ballot May 3 to be the eleventh bishop of New
Jersey.
Councell succeeds Bishop Joe Morris Doss, who resigned in 1999
after questions about his handling of diocesan finances and the
erosion of trust in his leadership. "We know what you're
thinking. Think again," read the diocesan profile, which was
refreshingly honest about the diocese's struggles.
"I'm honored and humbled and hopeful about the call to this new
ministry," Councell told the Associated Press. "I'll give the
job my heart and mind and soul. The rest is up to God."
"I am delighted that the clergy and people of the diocese have
chosen the Rev. George Councell as their next bishop," commented
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold who knew Councell while serving
as bishop of Chicago. "His wise and thoughtful perspectives and
his deeply understanding and compassionate heart have made him
an effective parish priest. At the same time, he is no stranger
to diocesan responsibilities, having ably served on the diocesan
staff in Western Massachusetts.
"I am glad that a new chapter in the life of the Diocese of New
Jersey has begun, and immensely grateful for the wonderful way
Bishop David Joslin served during this time of transition and
discernment," Griswold said.
Montana Episcopalians elected the Rev. C. Franklin Brookhart Jr.
of West Virginia as their ninth bishop during a convention held
May 17 at the Church of the Incarnation in Great Falls. Rector
of Lawrenceville Parish Church in Wheeling, West Virginia, he
will oversee 43 parishes and missions in Montana.
He follows Charles I. "Ci" Jones III, bishop of Montana since
1986, who resigned in February 2001 following a decision by the
Court for the Trial of a Bishop deposing Jones for sexual
misconduct. The charges stemmed from an extramarital affair
Jones had with a woman parish employee while Jones was a rector
in Kentucky in the early 1980s. The Court of Review for the
Trial of a Bishop reduced Jones' sentence from deposition to a
five-year suspension.
Retired bishop for the Armed Forces Charles L. Keyser has served
as assisting bishop for the Diocese of Montana until a new
bishop could be elected. Pending consents, Brookhart will be
ordained and consecrated on September 27 at the Cathedral of St.
Helena in Helena.
In the Diocese of Florida, the Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard was
elected May 16 as bishop coadjutor on the fourth ballot. Howard
has been vicar of New York's Trinity Church, Wall Street since
December 1997. He will succeed Bishop Stephen Jecko, who has
served as diocesan bishop since 1993.
"It is time for Episcopalians to once again expect to change
lives and make a difference. It is time for Episcopalians to
expect the miraculous and to be bold for the sake of the
Gospel," Howard told the diocese's search committee. Howard's
consecration is scheduled for All Saints' Day, November 1, 2003,
pending consents.
The Diocese of Nebraska elected the Rev. Joseph Burnett on the
first ballot May 9 to be its next bishop. He is a professor of
pastoral theology, pastoral care, and congregational leadership
at the School of Theology of the University of the South in
Sewanee, Tennessee, and priest associate at the University's All
Saints Chapel and at Otey Memorial Parish. He succeeds Bishop
Edward Krotz, a native Nebraskan who was elected in 1989. There
are 45 priests and 25 deacons serving 59 congregations in
Nebraska.
------
--The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director of Episcopal News
Service. This report was compiled using material from the
Associated Press, Oregon Live, the Helena Independent Record
State Bureau, and the Billings Gazette State Bureau.
Browse month . . .
Browse month (sort by Source) . . .
Advanced Search & Browse . . .
WFN Home