Ronald H. Haines, the seventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, died on Good Friday, March 21, at his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania according to Episcopal Life Online.
Haines, 73, was the bishop of Washington from 1990 until he retired in 2000. Prior to becoming the diocesan bishop, he was elected suffragan bishop in 1986 and served in that role until the sudden death of Bishop John Walker. He was elected diocesan bishop in July 1990.
He was a tireless advocate for the ordination of women priests and defender of gender equality in the church. Regarding racism as one of the greatest sins of modern America, he confronted it with passion. He listened as a pastor to those who disagreed with him, believing that people of good will and shared faith may differ but remain in communion with each other.
Read it all here.
Episcopal Diocese of Washington (DC) article is here.
UPDATE: 11 a.m. ET, 3/26
Obituaries and news stories
Bishop Haines ordained the Rev. Elizabeth L. Carl, an open lesbian who was pastor at Church of the Epiphany in Washington. The move sparked a period of protests and internal examination, and the matter still has not been fully resolved within the church.
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“The ordination of one whose life style involves sexual relations outside of marriage troubles me greatly,” Bishop Haines said in a statement at the time. But he determined that Carl’s character and priestly commitment, as well as the support of her congregation, outweighed the voices of opposition.
“He listened to both sides, always, and he didn’t turn away from anyone,” the Rev. Erica Brown Wood, who was ordained by Bishop Haines, said yesterday. “He did all of that with a great deal of courage and strength. He was deeply, deeply appreciated for his sense of inclusion.”
According to a 1992 article in The Washington Post, one of the bishop’s most vocal critics was his wife, Mary, an antiabortion activist who was vice president of the National Organization of Episcopalians for Life. She even favored her husband’s censure, which he narrowly avoided, at a national gathering of bishops.
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Bishop Haines told The Post that his mind had been opened by the diverse backgrounds of church members in the 42,000-strong Washington diocese and by his experience in raising a gay son.
“I saw the pain and the anguish that comes with secret-keeping,” he said.
He was well known as a friend and mentor of many area lay and ordained leaders of the church. In his retirement, the Bishop also became an avid runner, participating in many local races and half-marathons as well as a biker who traveled throughout the roads of Lancaster County and the South of France.
Bishop Haines is survived by his wife, who has been in residential Alzheimer’s care for several years, as well as six children: Jennifer Haines Tozier of Advance, Pa., Alicia Haines Pearson and Ronald Gregory Haines, both of Tacoma, Wash., Thomas Jeffrey Haines of Kittery Point, Maine, Jonathan Andrew Haines of Portland, Ore., and Peter Joshua Haines of Rockville, Md.; 16 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.