Episcopal Press and News
Three Candidates Added to Slate for San Diego Bishop Election
Episcopal News Service. September 30, 2004 [093004-1-A]
Matthew Davies
Three petition candidates have been named in addition to the slate of four priests and a Canadian bishop already nominated for election to succeed Bishop Gethin Hughes as fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego.
The option to add candidates by petition was noted when the diocesan nominating committee presented its original slate of five candidates on August 21 (see ENS report: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_50032_ENG_HTM.htm ).
The three petition candidates are: the Rev. John Conrad, rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in El Cajon, California; the Venerable Dr. William Dopp, archdeacon and communications officer of the Diocese of San Diego; and the Rt. Rev. George Packard, bishop suffragan for chaplaincies in the Episcopal Church, a national ministry.
The electing convention will be held November 13 at St. Paul's Cathedral, San Diego, with November 20 set aside should an additional day be needed for balloting. Full information about nominees and petition candidates is posted online at www.edsd.org.
Since ordination in 1996, Conrad, 52, has pursued a "healing ministry" in difficult and conflicted parish settings throughout California. He has facilitated Healthy Congregations workshops in the Diocese of Los Angeles and San Diego and is completing a Doctor of Ministry thesis at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. More recently he has worked with people of both liberal and conservative opinions to bring clarity and understanding to the issues raised at the 2003 General Convention in Minneapolis. Following ordination, Conrad served as associate rector of St. Mark's, Glendale.
Conrad is married to Teresa, and they have four grown children -- two each from previous marriages. He has published more than 100 articles and editorials in magazines and his sermons have been published in several anthologies. Conrad enjoys reading, writing, travel, flying and sailing.
Dopp, 62, in his role as archdeacon of the Diocese of San Diego, has served as executive officer and administrator since 2002. He heads the capital development for the diocese, which includes the building projects at some dozen congregations. He oversees the finances of the diocese as well as administers the functions of the diocesan staff. Dopp was part-time editor of San Diego's diocesan newspaper for which he won various awards, including a Polly Bond for coverage of the 1998 Lambeth Conference.
Dopp holds a Master of Divinity degree form the Claremont School of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry in congregational development form Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. He serves on the advisory board at the Seabury Institute. Dopp is married to Janet, and they have two grown sons and three grand children.
Packard, 60, was elected fifth Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies at a meeting of the House of Bishops in 1999 and consecrated February 12, 2000, at Washington National Cathedral. His ministry -- which includes oversight for military chaplains and prison chaplains, among others -- increased in scope with the declaration of war in Iraq, and following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States. The scope of Packard's ministry is described online at www.ecusa-chaplain.org.
Packard enlisted in the Army soon after college, where, as an infantry officer he served in Vietnam with the First Division, for which he received the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars for valor. Upon release from active duty, Packard continued to serve in the Army Reserves while attending Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) where he earned his Master of Divinity degree in 1974. Packard served parishes in the dioceses of Southwestern Virginia and New York before becoming the Canon to the Ordinary for the Diocese of New York in 1989. He returned to the parish ministry in 1995, serving two New York parishes.
Packard is married to Brook Hedick, a musician and Christian educator and together they have one daughter. The bishop also has two daughters from a previous marriage.
The initial slate announced by the nominating committee names five candidates: Bishop Anthony Burton of the Diocese of Saskatchewan in Canada; the Rev. Jonathan B. Coffey Jr., rector of St. Anthony on the Desert in Scottsdale, Arizona; the Rev. Kent S. McNair, rector of Faith Episcopal Church in Cameron Park, near Sacramento, California; the Rev. James R. Mathes, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Chicago; and the Rev. David A. Stenner, rector of All Saints' in Reisterstown, Maryland, near Baltimore.
An opportunity to meet the nominees and petition candidates will be held at the following parishes: St. Dunstan's, San Diego (San Carlos), Tuesday, October 26, at 6:15 p.m.; St. Margaret's, Palm Desert, Wednesday, October 27, at 6:15 p.m.; St. Bartholomew's, Poway, Friday, October 29, at 6:15 p.m.; and St. Paul's Cathedral, San Diego, Saturday, October 30, at 8 a.m.