Californian diocese elect heterosexual bishop

The Episcopal Diocese of California on Saturday avoided widening a rift over gays in the global Anglican Communion by electing a heterosexual man as its next bishop.

More than 1,000 clergy and laypeople packed Grace Cathedral in San Francisco's Nob Hill neighbourhood to elect the Rt. Rev. Mark Andrus as successor to Bishop William Swing, who is retiring after 27 years.

Two openly gay men and one lesbian were among the seven candidates on the ballot.

No gay or lesbian cleric has been elected bishop since the consecration of Eugene Robinson in 2003 as bishop of New Hampshire threw the US church and the worldwide family of 77 million Anglicans into turmoil.

"Your vote today remains a vote for inclusion and communion of gay and lesbian people in their full lives as single or partnered people, of women, of all ethnic minorities, and all people," Andrus said by telephone over the cathedral's public address system to members after being told of his election.

"My commitment to Jesus Christ's own mission of inclusion is resolute."

Andrus, who has served as Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Alabama since 2001, was elected with 72 per cent of the clergy vote and 55 per cent of the lay vote. The Rev. Canon Eugene Sutton of Washington, DC, who is also heterosexual, came in second, with 13 per cent of the clergy vote and 33 per cent of the lay vote.

Andrus, 49, said in an interview that the vote of the diocese meant that its Bay Area members want to remain part of the global communion as it embraces gays and lesbians and continues to work on matters of social justice.

"They care passionately about the inclusion of everyone and everyone who desires to be part of the church," Andrus said. "I want to lead them in that."

When told a bishop had been elected, members of the diocese cheered, rose and applauded, and church bells rang out to commemorate the election.

Andrus, who is married and the father of two college-age daughters, is known for building bridges and reaching across different points of view, said John Kater, acting president of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

Source: China Daily