Consents Process Underway for ‘Buddhist Bishop’

After official ballots were distributed during the House of Bishops’ spring retreat in North Carolina last week, bishops began voting on whether to consent to the election of the Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester as Bishop of Northern Michigan.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has reported that the Rt. Rev. Gregory Rickel, Bishop of Olympia, announced in a recent email message that he has already voted not to consent to Fr. Thew Forrester’s election. He promised to share the reasoning behind his vote in a follow-up email.

The canons and constitution of the General Convention require that the bishop-elect receive consent from a majority of standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction to be consecrated. According to the church’s canons, bishops and standing committees have 120 days after the election in which to vote. Not voting is considered the same as a ‘no’ vote.

Fr. Thew Forrester’s election has sparked controversy because he underwent lay ordination as a Buddhist several years ago and was the only candidate nominated by the diocese.

Two other bishops with jurisdiction were consultants to the Northern Michigan search committee that nominated Fr. Thew Forrester. Bishops Tom Ely of Vermont and Bruce Caldwell of Wyoming have not made known how they intend to vote on consent, but they have previously issued statements indicating that they believe Fr. Thew Forrester is well qualified and that the consecration should go ahead.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/3/25/consents-process-underway-for-buddhist-bishop