Resolution for the Election of a Bishop Suffragan

RESOLUTION for the ELECTION of a BISHOP SUFFRAGAN

 

WHEREAS the Bishop in the Bishop’s Address has called for a Special Session of this One-Hundred-Sixty-Third Council of the Diocese of Texas to be held on Saturday, the 2^nd of June, 2012, at Christ Church Cathedral for the purpose of electing a Bishop Suffragan,

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED to facilitate the nomination by members of this Council of some fit and qualified members of the clergy for the office of Bishop Suffragan as provided in Article 4.1 of the Constitution of the Diocese of Texas, and as provided for in the Constitution and Canons of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, that the Task Force for the Election of a Bishop Suffragan, established and named by the Bishop in the Bishop’s address, (“The Task Force”) be empowered to appoint such committees, devise such forms, and do whatever other work is necessary to effect the election of a Bishop Suffragan; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that said election process will follow the procedures outlined herein with such additions or modifications as the Task Force may deem appropriate.  It is the intention of the Council that all those nominated by these procedures will become the candidates, unless the nominee himself/herself withdraws his/her name from the process.  Because of this open process and the need for background checks to be completed, and in fairness to those nominated by this process, additional nominations from the floor of the Special Council for the Election of a Bishop Suffragan will not be accepted.

 

The nomination process will be open to all canonically eligible clergy from across the Episcopal Church. Nomination forms in English and Spanish will be readily available from the Diocesan office and on the Diocesan website.  There must be three nominators for each nominee, each of whom must be a member of this Council, and all of whom must sign the nomination form.  At least one nominator must be a clergyperson and at least one must be a layperson.  The three nominators must be from at least two congregations within the Diocese of Texas. No one may be a nominator for more than one person.  Nominations for Bishop Suffragan will be received at the Diocesan Office, 1225 Texas Avenue, Houston, Texas 77002 in form prescribed by the Task Force.  Each nominee must give his/her signed consent to the nomination and to the performance of background and reference checks on form prescribed by the Task Force.

 

Background checks will be ordered by a firm specializing in such work and engaged by the Diocese of Texas.  If the contents of the background or reference checks warrant, the members of the Standing Committee will confer with the Chancellor of the Diocese and take whatever action is deemed necessary. 

 

The completed nominating forms will include the nominees’ written answers to a series of questions developed by the Task Force and designed to help the people of the Diocese of Texas come to know their future Bishop Suffragan.  Nominations will also include a recent photo and a brief autobiography of the nominee, and a brief rationale for the nomination from one of the nominators.  All written material is subject to publication and must be submitted in both English and in Spanish.  Material submitted in one language only will not be considered as a nomination.   Nominations will be received from February 13, 2012, until 5 PM Houston time on Thursday, March 22, 2012.

 

One nominating speech and one seconding speech will be allowed for each candidate at the Special Session of Council, with a time limit for each to be determined.  Speakers must be delegates to this Council but need not be those who signed the nominating form.

 

Ballots will be taken by orders until one candidate receives a majority of clergy votes and a majority of lay votes on the same ballot and is declared Bishop Suffragan-elect. 

 

In the unexpected eventuality that an election has not been accomplished by the end of the day on Saturday, June 2, 2012, Council will recess until Sunday, June 3, 2012, at 2:00 PM.

 

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Texas will ensure that all required consents are requested, first to the holding of an election of a Bishop Suffragan and, after the election, to the consecration of the person elected.

 

The process outlined above, including the dates stated, is predicated on the assumption that all canonical requirements are fulfilled in a timely manner.

 

The Task Force will ask the Diocesan Business Manager to create a compensation package for the office of the Bishop Suffragan.

 

The people of Christ Church Cathedral will be asked to handle all administrative details of the election on Saturday, June 2, 2012, including the setting of whatever registration fee is necessary.

 

The Executive Board will appoint a “Walkabout Committee” to plan and execute a forum to give the people of the Diocese of Texas the opportunity to meet, question, listen to, and speak with the nominees.  This forum is scheduled to take place at Camp Allen on Saturday, May 12, 2012.  This committee will also plan and facilitate a “tour” of the eastern portion of the Diocese so that all nominees will better understand the breadth of the role of this Bishop Suffragan.  Such an event would take place in the same time frame as the Walkabout. 

 

The Executive Board will appoint a Consecration Committee to coordinate details of that day’s events with the Bishop, the Bishop Suffragan-elect, the Presiding Bishop’s Office, and with the staff of the venue.

 

The Executive Board will appoint a Transition Committee to assist the Bishop Suffragan in any way necessary to effect an orderly transition to the episcopate, including the moving of family.    

 

 

The Rev. Canon John A. Logan, Jr.

Secretary of the Diocese