There probably won’t be any puffs of smoke, like they have at the Vatican to announce a new Pope.
But a new bishop will emerge from St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown on Saturday, May 19, 2018.
“We’re pretty excited,” said Associate Rector Daniel La Rue Gross.
Some 400 clergy and lay delegates from congregations across northern New Jersey are coming to St. Peter’s to elect a successor to Bishop Mark Beckwith, who is retiring as head of the Diocese of Newark in September.
Balloting will occur during a pause during a 10 am service.
The three candidates are the Rev. Scott Slater, a senior staff member of the Diocese of Maryland; the Rev. Carlye Hughes, rector of a parish in Fort Worth, Texas; and the Rev. Lisa Hunt, from Houston, Texas.
Gross explained that the winning candidate must gain a majority of votes both from clergy, and from lay delegates.
“It’s not uncommon to have three or four ballots” to settle the matter, Gross said.
Led by Rector Janet Broderick, St. Peter’s is one of the largest churches in the diocese, and the congregation is thrilled to host the convocation and tell fellow Episcopalians about its programs, Gross said.
“We do a lot of things that we’re proud of,” including co-hosting a soup kitchen, and running after-school programs and a summer camp that are especially popular with the Hispanic community, Gross said.
