Episcopal News Service Sunday, June 18, 2006
From Columbus: Transition committee cares for Presiding Bishop nominees
By Nicole Seiferth
[ENS] The emotions around the presiding bishop election is the business and concern of the Transition Committee in House of Bishop.
Recognizing the potential effects of the election on all the nominees, the committee interviewed the nominees and spouses of the 1997 presiding bishop election to find out what worked well and what could have worked better during their process.
"We're trying the best we know how to provide pastoral care to both the elected and non-elected nominees and their respective spouses," said Bishop Jack McKelvey of Rochester, chair of the committee.
Every nominee was appointed two bishop "shepherds" whose role is "to be a friend and companion to the nominee before, during and after the election," according to McKelvey.
The shepherds, as well as the chaplains to the House of Bishops, were available to the nominees during the election. The nominee's spouses were also encouraged to choose a companion for the process.
McKelvey said that in the past there was a "whole system" of transition for the new presiding bishop, but not an effective one in place for those who are not elected. With that in mind, the Transition Committee will be in contact with the non-elected nominees three, six and 12 months after the election.
--Nicole Seiferth is editor of the Episcopal New Yorker.
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