Nov 10, 2007 12:29 pm US/Central
Episcopal Diocese Votes On Lesbian For Bishop
4 Other Candidates Also Under Consideration; No One Wins In First Vote
WHEELING, Ill. (AP) ―
Delegates voting for a new bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago were considering eight candidates, including an openly lesbian priest.
The Rev. Tracey Lind, dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, who has a female partner, was on Saturday's ballot at the convention here.
No one won the majority required on a first ballot Saturday morning.
The Rev. Jeffrey Lee, rector of St. Thomas Church in Medina, Wash., received the most votes. Lind came in fourth. Diocese officials said the vote could go to a third or fourth ballot.
A Lind win would make her the second bishop living with a same-sex partner in the Episcopal Church, which is the Anglican body in the United States. New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who has a male partner, was consecrated in 2003, pushing the world Anglican Communion to the brink of schism.
A majority of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion, a loose-knit worldwide coalition of churches that align themselves with the Church of England, hold traditional views that homosexuality is condemned by Scripture, while a majority in the Episcopal Church do not.
Earlier this year, Anglican leaders demanded that the Americans to pledge unequivocally not to consecrate another gay bishop or approve an official prayer service for same-sex couples.
In response, Episcopal bishops said at a September meeting in New Orleans that they will "exercise restraint" in approving another gay bishop and won't authorize prayers to bless same-sex couples.
Many theological conservatives condemned the response as inadequate, while some liberals accused the bishops of sacrificing gays for the sake of unity.
The other candidates are the Rev. Jane Gould, rector of St. Stephen's Memorial Episcopal Church in Lynn, Mass.; the Rev. Margaret Rose, director of national Episcopal women's ministries; the Rev. Timothy Safford, rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia; the Rev. Alvin C. Johnson, Jr., rector of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Barrington, Ill.; the Rev. Canon Robert K. Koomson, canon of St. Cyprian's Anglican Cathedral in the Diocese of Kumasi, Ghana; and the Very Rev. Petero Sabune, chaplain at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, N.Y.
Chicago Bishop William Persell plans to resign after his successor is consecrated.
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