Episcopal Press and News
TEXAS: Six Bishop Nominees Announced; election set for May 24
Episcopal News Service. April 21, 2008 [042108-06]
Pat McCaughan, Correspondent for Episcopal Life Media in Province VIII
More than 900 lay and clergy delegates will gather at Christ Cathedral Church in Houston on May 24 to elect the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas from among six nominees.
The six are:
- The Rev. David W. Alwine, 54, rector, Christ Church, Temple, Texas
- The Rev. Canon C. Andrew Doyle, 41, Canon to the Ordinary, Diocese of Texas
- The Rt. Rev. Dena Harrison, 61, Bishop Suffragan of Texas
- The Rev. Gary Dixon Hill, 59, rector, Christ Church and School, Nacogdoches, Texas
- The Rev. Canon Neal O. Michell, 55, Canon Missioner for Strategic Development, Diocese of Dallas
- The Rev. James Stockton, 50, rector, Church of the Resurrection, Austin, Texas
The bishop-elect will succeed the Rt. Rev. Don Wimberly, who was elected the eighth Bishop of Texas in 2004. He faces mandatory retirement in June of 2009 at the age of 72. Wimberly had called for the election of a bishop coadjutor on February 16 at the 159th annual diocesan convention meeting in Galveston.
“We have 394 clergy, and 510 certified delegates” and several lay vicars who are eligible to vote to elect the next bishop, according to Carol E. Barnwell, diocesan director of communications.
Prior to the May 24 election, Episcopalians will have three opportunities to meet and ask questions of the nominees, at sessions set for May 7-10 in Austin, Tyler, and Houston. The final candidates were announced March 27, Barnwell said. A date for the consecration of the next bishop has yet to be determined.
The nominations process is closed, according to guidelines established during the search process. There will be no opportunities to nominate additional candidates the day of the election. Additional information about nominees may be found on the diocesan website.
The Diocese of Texas, encompassing 156 congregations and more than 85,000 members in Eastern Texas, was officially organized in 1849 and is one of six dioceses in the state.
It also includes 15 campus ministries and numerous institutions, including the well-known Camp Allen Camp and Conference Center and the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest.