April 2012
St. Mark’s News Volume 15/Issue 4
From the Rector The definition of the word Episcopal simply means, “of or relating to bishops; of, relating to, or involving church government by bishops.” It is this governance by bishops that is at the center of our self-definition as a denomination. The Episcopal Diocese of Texas, of which St. Mark’s is a part, currently has two bishops: our Diocesan, +C. Andrew Doyle, and our Suffragan, +Dena Harrison. On June 2 the Diocese will elect a second suffragan bishop, whose office will be in Tyler. A suffragan bishop is an elected assistant bishop. Nominations have to be submitted to the Diocese by March 22 and I expect we will know who the candidates are soon after that. On Saturday, May 12, there will be a “walk-about” at Camp Allen during which the candidates will be introduced. The election will be at the Cathedral in Houston on June 2. To win the election the candidate must have the majority of both clergy and lay votes. Delegates will be the same as those who represented us at the February Diocesan Council: St. Mark’s clergy, Danielle Adkins, Beth Chenoweth, Andrew Poynot, and Pattie Rose. The retirement of our former suffragan bishop, +Rayford High, did not make national or international news, nor will our election of his successor. The announced retirement that recently made both national and international news is that of the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. Williams will IN THIS ISSUE resign his post in December and in January will take the position of Master of Magdalene College at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Williams is 61, and was From the Rector .......................... 1 appointed the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002. His ten-year tenure has Holy Week Calendar ................... 2 been a time of conflict in the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Vestry Highlights ......................... 3 Church is a part. Archbishop Williams has had the unenviable task of trying to Outreach...................................... 4 maintain the unity of a communion divided by global differences of opinions Parish Life ................................... 4 Christian Formation ..................... 7 having to do primarily with the ordination of gay clergy and bishops and to a April Caffeine Ministry.................. 9 lesser extent of women bishops. Dr. Williams said that serving as archbishop has April Anniversaries ...................... 9 been “an immense privilege” and that his decision to step down had not been an April Birthdays ............................ 10 easy one. In reflecting on growing divisions within the Anglican Church he said April ROTA .................................11 there are some conflicts that would not go away “however long you struggle with The April Calendar can be found th them.” He also said that his successor, the 105 Archbishop of Canterbury, will on-line at http://stmarksaustin.org/ have to have the constitution of an ox and the hide of a rhinoceros. So, how will his successor by chosen? The responsibility for choosing the next Archbishop of Canterbury rests with the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). Its task is to submit the name of a preferred candidate (and a second appointable candidate) to the Prime Minister who is constitutionally responsible for tendering advice on the appointment to the Queen. There are 16 voting members on the CNC: the chairperson who is a lay person appointed by the Prime Minister; a Bishop elected by the House of Bishops; the Archbishop of York; six representatives from the Diocese of Canterbury; six representatives elected by the General Synod (3 clergy and 3 lay); and a member of the Primates meeting of the Anglican Communion. There are also several non-voting members of the Commission. The Commission will have an initial and extensive consultation process to determine the needs of the Diocese of Canterbury, of the Church of England, and of the Anglican Communion. They will most likely start the process at the end of May. Once the preferred candidate has been chosen, his name will be given to the Prime Minister, who
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