Anglican Church in North America diocese deadlocks on bishop votes; election referred to College of Bishops
An Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) diocese has deadlocked on a bishop election, with the issue being brought before the leadership of the theologically conservative denomination.
The Anglican Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast held a synod on Saturday at St. Timothy’s Cathedral in Spring, Texas, to elect its next bishop. The two candidates were Fr. Russell Martin and Fr. Ben Sharpe.
After seven ballots, neither man secured the necessary majority from the voting delegates. After the seventh ballot, the convention approved a resolution to send the matter to the ACNA College of Bishops by a vote of 21 to 17 among the clergy and 23 to 20 among the laity.
Throughout the ballots, the clergy delegates mostly favored Martin, while the laity delegates favored Sharpe, Anglican Ink reported. For example, in the fourth ballot, Martin won the clergy vote 24 to 15, while Sharpe won the laity vote 28 to 15.
The College of Bishops is scheduled to gather in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 15–17. This will be the first time the denominational leadership has had to resolve a bishop election deadlock since ACNA was founded in 2009, according to Anglican Ink.
The West Gulf Coast diocese traces its origins to 2011, when a group of Anglican congregations based in Texas and Louisiana considered forming a regional body within ACNA.
The diocese received official approval in the summer of 2013 and has since been led by Bishop Clark Lowenfield, with an emphasis on church planting and including women in certain church leadership roles.
“Under the leadership of Bishop Clark Lowenfield, a College of Laity, a College of Deacons, and a College of Presbyters have been established,” the diocese explained.
“This leadership has led the diocese to be a leader in empowering women in ministry, with a robust Diaconate where women lead at every level of parish and diocesan life.”
ACNA permits its dioceses to determine whether women can be ordained as priests. However, the denomination restricts the office of bishop to men who are at least 35 years old.
The question of women in ministry appears in the candidate profiles of both Martin and Sharpe. Martin, the son of a female Episcopal Church priest, supports “a male-only priesthood.”
“However, he is a passionate advocate for the Permanent Diaconate for women, believing that if the Church properly celebrated this order and the vocation of the laity, much of the ‘angst’ surrounding women’s ordination would be resolved,” Martin’s profile noted.
Sharpe’s profile says he is “in wholehearted agreement with the practice of ordaining women to the Permanent Diaconate while reserving the priesthood for qualified men.”
In a follow-up paper issued in response to questions from the diocese, Sharpe explained that he served with two female deacons while rector at Christ Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“I was the endorsing rector for one of those women who entered the ordination process under me. Likewise, I served as her advocate as she went through the ordination process,” he said.
“I was instrumental in formulating our diocesan Constitution and Canons in the Diocese of Christ Our Hope that permitted women to be considered for diaconal orders.”
