THOUGHTS ON THE APPROACHING ELECTION

Now that the Walkabouts/Conversations have passed, it is time to focus on the impending vote, on Saturday, 1 May. The people of the Diocese of South Carolina are facing a tough choice, not that this is anything new. However, this tough choice is a happy one because it will, in all likelihood, bring in the XV bishop of the diocese and the restoration of sorely needed episcopal leadership in a part of the Body of Christ that remains deeply wounded by years of schism and legal warfare. Everyone would agree it is time to get on with the Lord's work in the rebuilding of their beloved church in eastern South Carolina. It is time to enthrone a bishop.

Steve Skardon has said on his blog there is no clear front runner now, that is, no one has wrapped up the election; and I would agree with that from the limited amount that I know. It seems to me the choice of the new bishop is wide open. At least this is the sense I have after three days and many hours of interviews. It appeared to me as if no nominee struck out but that none hit the ball out of the park either.

Two groups of people will decide this election, the diocesan clergy and the laity. They will vote in separate sections with the clergy voting one person/one vote. The laity will vote by local church, not by person. There are 12 parishes and 18 missions. Each parish gets 1 vote and each mission gets 1/2 vote. This means a total of 21 votes in the Lay Order. A candidate will have to get at least 11 votes in the Lay order to win. Of course, he or she will have to get a concurrent majority in the Clergy Order. We do not know yet the exact number of clergy qualified to vote but it will amount to several dozen. The majority vote will be figured on the number of participants in the election convention.

Since the local church gets a solitary vote, it will be very important for the congregation to come to a consensus before the election. A 50/50 split in a parish or mission delegation would negate the church's vote in the election.

In a sense, all searches for bishops are the same. Each wants to find the candidate who is the best "fit" for the diocese. This means there are two separate categories to consider, the state of the diocese and the qualifications of the nominees. As for the state of the Diocese of South Carolina, everyone is painfully well aware of it. There is no need to belabor the point. The diocese is in a unique and uniquely difficult situation. It begs for uniquely qualified leadership. 

At the same time, there are many other layers of pressing needs at hand. Does the diocese think it essential to choose a woman? If so, there are two nominees from which to select. Or, do the people think it is most urgent to place an African American on the bishop's throne? If so, there is an excellent choice before them. Or, do the church people think it is most important to elect an openly gay person as bishop? If so, one of the five nominees fits the bill. Or, do the people want to have a bishop steeped in the history of the local diocese? If so, there is a nominee who has plenty of pluff mud between her toes. Or, on the other hand, do people want to go for the stellar education and experience of the "traditional candidate" older straight, white guy. No one could match Eton, Magdalene College of Cambridge, and Yale, plus years of big parish leadership. One point to consider about Geoffrey Hoare is age. He is 63 years old (b. Jan. 18, 1958). All bishops have to retire at age 72.

My point is that electing a bishop for the Diocese of South Carolina is a multi-faceted problem; and the voting will depend on how the people interpret their needs and how they see the various gifts the nominees would bring to fill those needs.

The Diocese of Alabama (the upper two-thirds of the state) recently elected a new bishop. Perhaps it would be instructive to review how the process went on there to get some idea of what might happen in South Carolina. First off, one must recognize a vast difference between the two dioceses. Alabama is a more "normal," or typical diocese with a great history of unity and growth. It has had relatively little in terms of dissension and division. This is in great part because the good people of Alabama had the wisdom to choose outstanding leaders, e.g. the great Henry Parsley.

In AL, the diocesan, "Kee" Sloan, called for election of a Bishop Coadjutor. The new bishop would become the diocesan upon Sloan's planned retirement at the end of the year 2020. The Search Committee wound up with four candidates, all with strong ties to Alabama. Two were presently rectors in the diocese. For the first time, two women were among the final slate of nominees. One was Glenda Curry, who had an impressive résumé, but at age 66 would be able to serve only a few years before the diocese would have to go through the long and arduous process of finding another bishop. The other was Allison Liles, a woman in her early 40's who was serving a "survivor" congregation in the diocese of Ft. Worth. She too had an impressive record, particularly in progressive causes. The two men were also attractive candidates. One was Aaron Raulerson, the rector of a mid-size parish in a mid-size town (Guntersville) in northern Alabama. He was well-regarded, popular, and obviously an effective pastor. The other man was Evan Garner, who had early ties to Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham but had moved on to Arkansas. He was a favorite among the "evangelicals" of the diocese. 

As in SC, the Walkabout was essentially a beauty contest with the nominees parading about in their best appearances. The questions, too, were all soft-ball lobs which anyone could answer in pleasing generalities. One interesting point was that when one nominee was answering a canned question, the other three were in a soundproof room. They were brought out one at a time to answer. This made the answers more interesting and avoided the "Groundhog Day" effect of repetition that was so tiresome this week. Too, following the prepared questions, the audience got to write questions on pieces of paper that were put in a bowl. Questions were drawn out and presented to a candidate who had to answer on the spot. Also more interesting. However, in the end, I doubt that the beauty pageant had any effect on the outcome of the voting. People had already made their rankings of choices.

The election convention was on January 18, 2020, at Advent in Birmingham (pre-covid, in person). As in SC, the voting was divided into Clergy Order and Laity Order. The two groups separated for the voting. However, in the lay order,  the vote was by individual delegate, not by local church. There were 140 clerical delegates present and 236 lay delegates. 

First Ballot:

Glenda Curry:  60 clergy;  109 laity

Allison Liles:     39 clergy;  67 laity

Evan Garner:    23 clergy;  28 laity

Aaron Raulerson:  19 clergy;  47 laity

No one won a majority in either order on the First Ballot.  However, the two women together won a large majority in both orders and Curry was well ahead. This signaled loudly that the convention wanted a woman bishop. With this, many delegates who had voted for the two men began to move toward the women nominees. The question was which woman to choose, the older one with the longer record, or the younger one with the shorter record. At age 66, Curry could serve only six years.

Second Ballot:

Glenda Curry:  77 clergy;  127 laity

Allison Liles:     42 clergy;   63  laity

Evan Garner:    14 clergy;   17  laity

Aaron Raulerson:  8 clergy;  43 laity

Curry won a majority in both orders on the second ballot. She jumped from 60 clergy to 77 and from 109 laity to 127. Most of the people who abandoned the two men moved to Curry. 

Clearly, the people of the Diocese of Alabama decided it was most important to have the first female bishop in the history of the diocese and to choose this one even though she could have only a few years in office.

Looking around the various dioceses, even in the more traditional south, one can see this is the age of the woman bishop. If they can be elected in places like Alabama and West Tennessee, they can be elected anywhere. If this is the feeling now in South Carolina, there are two women nominees from which to choose.

However, as I have said, the situation in South Carolina is complicated by the many factors at hand. What the voters must sort out is the relative importance of these factors and then which nominee best fits the needs of the hour.

I suggest that in the next two weeks the people of the diocese of SC go back and study the résumés of the nominees, talk often with their fellow church people, and engage in a lot of thought and prayer.