wfn.org | Griswold elected presiding bishop

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org]

July 21, 1997
Episcopal News Service
Jim Solheim, Director
212-922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

06-02

Bulletin

Griswold elected presiding bishop

PHILADELPHIA (July 21, 1997) - Bishop Frank Griswold of the Diocese of Chicago
will lead the Episcopal Church into the 21st century.

Griswold was elected the 25th presiding bishop today by 214 bishops gathered
at historic Christ Church to choose a successor to Presiding Bishop Edmond
Browning, whose term ends Jan. 1, 1998.

The election came on the third ballot when Griswold received 110   votes, two
more than the majority needed for election. 

Four other bishops were nominated for the election: Robert Rowley of the
Diocese of Northwest Pennsylvania, Richard Shimpfky of the Diocese of El
Camino Real (California), Herbert Thompson Jr. of the Diocese of Southern
Ohio, and Don Wimberly of the Diocese of Lexington (Kentucky).

Thompson was the closest contender, receiving 96 votes on the third ballot.
Next in line was Rowley with five votes, followed by Shimpfky with two votes. 
In the third ballot, no votes were recorded for Wimberly, and only 213 bishops
voted.

As required by church law, the election was not final until the House of
Deputies affirmed the election following a brief debate. 

Griswold, 59, is in his 10th year as bishop of Chicago. His term has been
marked by greater acceptance of women priests, a shift to a voluntarily funded
budget, a revamping of congregational development policy leading to
self-sufficiency for assisted congregations, and more emphasis on the work of
the 13 social service agencies of Episcopal Charities.

The election at Christ Church -  site of the election of the church's first
presiding bishop, William White, in 1789 - had special meaning for Griswold
and the Diocese of Pennsylvania. 

Griswold was born and raised in Bryn Mawr, a suburb of Philadelphia, and
served three Philadelphia-area parishes as an assistant priest or rector for
22 years before being elected bishop coadjutor of Chicago in 1984. 

He has been married for 37 years to Phoebe Wetzel, director of the Chicago
office of Heifer Project International. The Griswolds have two daughters,
Eliza, 24, and Hannah, 28.