Bishop-elect finds an 'energy of faith'

From Upper South Carolina-

His worldly possessions, including his Renaissance musical instruments and model trains, have yet to be unpacked, but the Rev. W. Andrew Waldo, bishop-elect of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina, already is meeting his parishioners, making his way around the state, and finding what he calls “an energy of faith.”

For the moment, the bitter controversy over the ordination of gays and the blessing of same-sex unions that has tied the U.S. Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion in theological knots is set aside — replaced by the simple act of meeting parishioners and preparing for his May 22 ordination and consecration.

More than 1,200 people are expected to attend the 11 a.m. service at Christ Episcopal Church in Greenville. The leader of the Episcopal Church, Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori, will preside and more than 200 leaders will join in a procession as Waldo begins his tenure as the diocese’s eighth bishop.

As he meets priests and parishioners from the 64 congregations of the diocese, as he holds meetings in his diocesan office next door to the majestic Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Columbia, Waldo said he is buoyed by “unbelievable hospitality” and by the grace and faith of those he has met.


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http://www.thestate.com/2010/05/14/1285785/bishop-elect-finds-an-energy-of.html#ixzz0ntmvaoff