THE UNIQUE ELECTION
The Diocese of South Carolina has gone through fourteen bishop's elections in its 236-year history. It is about to hold its fifteenth. This one will be unique. Nothing like it has ever happened in the long and eventful history of the diocese. What makes it the one-of-a-kind? Two factors: 1-it is the only election to be held in the midst of a schism; 2-it is the only election to be held in the midst of a pandemic. This means the election will be held under highly unusual circumstances with highly unusual challenges. There has never been a "virtual," i.e. all electronic, election convention in the diocese.
In my view, there are three major factors that should be borne in mind as the diocese proceeds to and through the impending bishop's election:
1-The diocese must maintain unity.
There are five nominees at hand. All appear to be well-qualified and attractive. Surely, any one of them would make an effective bishop. My guess is that each one has a set of followers right now, people who are sure the one they have selected is the best. This is perfectly understandable. No doubt the partisans are in great hope their favorite will win. In reality, four of the five will not win. This means in all probability there will be numerous disappointed people in the diocese once the dust settles. The last thing the Diocese of South Carolina needs now is dissension, division, and recrimination. The life of the diocese is tenuous and precarious. This election must not add to the danger of the hour.
Before the election convention adjourns, both the diocesan leadership and the bishop-elect should do what they can to assuage hurt feelings and bring the diocese together in amity and harmony. In face of all of its dire challenges, it is absolutely imperative the diocese remain well-united going into the future.
2. The diocese must adhere strictly to the established rules of procedure.
The best way to keep unity is to guarantee that each nominee is treated with equal respect and opportunity. The diocesan authorities must not be in a position of being accused of favoritism to any one nominee. When the election is underway, the same must apply. Each nominee and his or her voters must be treated with the utmost of honor. Then, when all is said and done, there will be no chance of criticism of the process. One should bear in mind that if there is a suspicion of election irregularity, ten percent of the delegates can file an official complaint with the national church that will require an official investigation of the election. No one should want that in any circumstance, least of all in the present state of the diocese. What an embarrassment that would be.
Given the milieu of the schism, there must be not be even a whiff of illegitimacy around the new bishop. In the first place, this would raise issues of hypocrisy. One should not accuse others of breaking rules then turn around and break rules oneself. Moreover, when the federal court finally awards the pre-schism diocese to the Church side (highly likely) and the state court awards the 29 parishes and the Camp to the Church diocese (likely), there must not be a question about the validity of the bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina who will assume authority over the entities in question.
3. An unprecedented "virtual" election convention will require some adaptation of traditional procedures. These should be done with unity and adherence to the rules in mind.
If there is no decision on the First Ballot, the convention managers should allow abundant time for local churches to arrive at whatever changes they wish to make in their voting on the Second Ballot. The same between all subsequent ballots. Perhaps an hour between ballots should be allotted. At the end of the hour, the managers could call for a vote unless one or more delegations request more time on which the managers could allot an additional thirty minutes. This election is much too important to be rushed.
Given the constraints of a "virtual" election convention, communication could be a problem among the voting sets. Steve Skardon has discussed this issue well in his latest blog piece. Find it here .
Voting in the Clergy Order will not necessarily be a problem. The vote there is one person/one vote. However, voting in the Laity Order could present some awkward and challenging circumstances. Voting there is by local church. A parish gets one vote and may have as many as four delegates while a mission gets one-half vote and may have as many as two delegates. Each local delegation will have a chairperson who will convey the local delegation's vote to the election convention officials. Each delegation must make a majority choice among themselves in order to have their vote counted. If a delegation is split 50/50, its vote will be not counted. Since a local church's vote represents the whole local church, the members of the congregation should have some way to communicate with their delegates if there is more than one ballot. Even more importantly, the local church delegates must communicate with each other as the ballots unfold. Ideally, the whole congregation, including delegates, should congregate for the duration of the election. If not in person, the parishioners need some way to talk with their delegates, perhaps by Zoom or conference call. Likewise, if the local delegates cannot meet in person, they must be able to talk with each other readily as the voting proceeds. The typical voting pattern on multiple ballots is for votes to move from the lower candidates to the leading ones. Local churches must be able to decide how their votes might shift from one nominee to another. This is why there should be a lengthy pause, as an hour, between ballots. The local delegations must be afforded plenty of time to arrive at their decisions.
As the Diocese of South Carolina moves toward choosing its XV bishop, it has a great and rich heritage from which to draw. As the fateful hour of decision approaches, it is helpful to go back and recall some of that great foundation. The models for this convention are the two greatest bishops of South Carolina in the Twentieth Century. William Guerry (bp. 1908-1928) gave his life in an attempt to right some of the wrongs of racial injustice in the diocese. He set the model for diocesan work in human rights from then on. His witness still speaks to the diocese loudly and clearly all these years later.
Gray Temple (bp. 1961-1982) set the standard of excellence for the diocese to follow indefinitely into the future. In a tumultuous era, he fought for unity, faithfulness to the Episcopal Church, and equality for and inclusion of African Americans and women in the diocese while guiding the diocese in unprecedented growth and development. His astonishing list of accomplishments is too long to give here. Whatever healthy life the diocese has today is in large measure the legacy of this moral giant. He remains the larger than life shepherd still beckoning to his sheep today. He should be the patron saint of the election convention next Saturday and his icon should hang in a place of honor. His spirit will certainly be there as it is indelibly embedded in the diocese he loved so well. And so, I will close this blog piece with his most memorable words of wisdom. He told the diocesan convention on September 16, 1977:
I say to you that this new movement [against women's ordination] is wrong because it is schismatic and divides the Body. Anyone who joins this movement is leaving The Church and starting a new one, whatever language is used to define the action. I cannot believe this is the will of God, who wills unity not division; love not separation; obedience and not self-gratification.
May the Diocese of South Carolina move forward faithfully and confidently in the train of Guerry, Temple, and the countless other saints who served God while comprising the Episcopal Church in eastern South Carolina lo these many years. Given the daunting crises of the hour, the new bishop will have an exceedingly hard task and can only succeed with the enveloping love and support of all the people of the diocese. Whomever the people decide to choose next Saturday ultimately must be the choice of everyone.
