Photo by Peter Hvizdak for the New Haven Register
The Rt. Rev. Ian Douglas, Bishop Diocesan of Connecticut, received a front page story in the New Haven Register on Sunday, as one of the candidates for the next Presiding Bishop. Especially in ‘unchurched’ New England, the amount of coverage is surprising, and suggests that this next election is important even to people who aren’t part of the Episcopal Church.
The Register profile covers Douglas’ focus on ministry at a time when Christendom is shrinking, and his acceptance and even cautious approval of the current decline, noting that not being the dominant culture is central to the theology and roots of Christianity.
Douglas notes that one of his largest changes, moving the Diocesan headquarters, was emblematic of the shift of Christianity to a humbler place.
From the article:
Douglas, 57, has been bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut for five years — Archbishop Desmond Tutu preached at his consecration — and one of the most visible actions he’s taken has been to move diocesan headquarters from “a mansion in the West End of Hartford to a former ball-bearing factory in Meriden,” a rented space called The Commons.
It has an open floor plan that Douglas designed and which he calls “iconic of the move that we in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut believe we need to make, from being a church that historically enjoyed some of the privileges and the power and the prestige of Christendom, of the establishment, to a place where we are much more called to be in the world and of the people.”
The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, Bishop Diocesan of North Carolina, was profiled on Saturday in another secular paper, the North Carolina The News & Observer. The profile notes that Curry has a strong presence on social media, where he advocates for racial and gender equality, and works for social justice. In general, Curry sees radical hospitality as a call to minister to people on the margins. The article provides a more in-depth review of Curry and his ministry.
For The Living Church, the Rev. Tom Sramek profiled all four of the candidates. He provides a brief background and the theology of each of the candidates. The Rt. Rev. Dabney Smith is stated to be a believer in evangelism, with a strong focus on the health of congregations.
The Rt. Rev. Thomas Breidenthal, his first profile, is described as an ecumenical leader who can navigate politics in order to find unity and places of agreement between otherwise polarized people. You can read his detailed profiles of all four bishops on The Living Church.
What are your impressions of the candidates? Have you seen other coverage in your local news on these four bishops?
Posted by David Streever