From The Living Church-
The Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester emphasized hope as he reflected on the just-completed consent process to his election as Bishop of Northern Michigan. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori informed Linda Piper, president of the diocese’s standing committee, on July 28 that Fr. Thew Forrester failed to gain the required number of consents from the standing committees or bishops of The Episcopal Church.
“I have been extraordinarily blessed and honored to walk with my friends from the Diocese of Northern Michigan over these past months as their bishop-elect,” Fr. Thew Forrester said. “I treasure the support they have extended me and my family, as well as that I have received from Hong Kong to Holland and from Great Britain to New Zealand, and indeed from so many throughout The Episcopal Church.
“As we live and move and have our being in Christ, there is truly a holy wisdom in all that is unfolding, and as St. John of the Cross affirms, a grace in ‘all that happens,’” he said.
The diocese's seven-member standing committee released a statement through Ms. Piper.
“We are disappointed and saddened by the outcome of the consent process,” the statement said. “We invite the wider church to reflect with us on what this experience can teach us about the episcopal search and consent process. Among the issues ripe for discussion are how bishops and standing committees can best be made aware of the particular needs of individual dioceses, and how new communications technologies affect the consent process. We hope that out of our disappointment can come a deeper understanding of the ways in which we can all be accountable to one another as members of the body of Christ.”
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/7/28/fr-thew-forrester-reflects-on-consent-process
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