Albany diocese elects bishop coadjutor; West Texas elects suffragan, Tennessee election recessed until May 6

By Mary Frances Schjonberg

[ENS] Two of the three dioceses hoping to elect bishops on March 25 did so, but the third recessed its electing convention for the second time without choosing a bishop.

The Very Rev. Canon William H. Love, 48, rector, St. Mary's, Lake Luzerne, New York, was elected bishop coadjutor by the Diocese of Albany, while the Rev. David Mitchell Reed, 49, rector, St. Alban's Church, Harlingen, was elected bishop suffragan by the Diocese of West Texas.

The Diocese of Tennessee will reconvene on May 6 to try again to elect a successor to Bishop Bertram Herlong. The first meeting of the electing convention on March 18 recessed after 14 ballots. The lay and clergy electors returned to Christ Church Cathedral in downtown March 25. They cast 11 more ballots without success.

In Albany, Love was elected from out of a field of 11 nominees on the fourth ballot. With an election requiring 54 votes in the lay order and 80 in the clergy order, Love was elected with 62 lay votes and 84 clergy votes. The electing convention met at the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, New York.

Love will eventually succeed Albany Bishop Daniel Herzog, who in October called for the election.

The results of the Albany balloting can be seen at www.albanycoadjutorelection.info/first.html. Information about all the nominees is available at www.albanycoadjutorelection.info/12.html.

In West Texas, Reed was elected on the third ballot. With an election requiring 165 votes in the lay order and 55 in the clergy order, Reed was elected with 230 lay votes and 63 clergy votes.

He will work as bishop suffragan with Bishop Gary Lillibridge, 49, who was elected coadjutor in October 2003 and consecrated as the ninth bishop of West Texas on Feb. 23, 2006.

The electing convention took place at TMI - The Episcopal School of Texas in San Antonio.

The results of the West Texas balloting can be seen at www.episcopal-dwtx.org/ and clicking on the link on the left-hand side of the page. For additional information about the nominees, go to www.episcopal-dwtx.org/ and click on Council '06 at the top of the page and then Suffragan Election.

In the Diocese of Tennessee, it is not unusual for bishop elections to require a number of ballots. Herlong was elected after 15 ballots and it took 39 ballots to elect his predecessor.

One reason for the length of the process is that both the lay order and the clergy order must cast two-thirds (66.7 percent) of their votes in favor of a single nominee on the same ballot. The diocesan lay order has 131 delegates. There are 89 in the clergy order.

Herlong retires at the end of 2006. The bishop-elect will become the 11th bishop of Tennessee.

The Tennessee slate includes:

* the Rev. Canon Brian Cox, 55, rector, Christ the King Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara, California

* the Rev. Canon James B. Magness, 59, canon to the ordinary, Diocese of Kentucky

* the Rev. Canon Neal O. Michell, 53, canon missioner for strategic development, Diocese of Dallas and

* the Rev. Dr. Winston B. Charles, 57, rector, Christ Church, Raleigh, North Carolina (nominated by petition)

The results of the March 25 Tennessee balloting can be seen at www.tnbishopsearch.org/election.html. The first session's ballots are available at www.tnbishopsearch.org/election-old.html. For additional information about the nominees, go to www.tnbishopsearch.org/thefinding.html

May 6 will also see bishop elections in the dioceses of California, Northern California and Eastern Michigan.