Married lesbian among five nominees for bishop coadjutor of New York

In a report issued this morning, the Committee to Elect a Bishop of the Diocese of New York announced the names of the five individuals that it will formally nominate at the Convention to Elect a Bishop to be held at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City on Oct 29.

The winner of the election will work with the current Diocesan Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk and, upon Bishop Sisk's retirement, will become the new diocesan bishop. Bishop Sisk is canonically required to retire on or before his 72nd birthday, which will occur in August 2014.

     

The Committee selected the five proposed nominees from nearly 60 candidates who were recommended for the position. The proposed nominees are:

• Peter Eaton, who serves as the Dean of St. John’s Cathedral in Denver, Colorado. Prior to becoming Dean, he had 15 years of parish experience:  as Rector of St. John’s Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Associate Rector of St. Paul’s Church, Salt Lake City, Utah,  as well as Canon Theologian for the Diocese of Utah ; Fellows’ Chaplain at Magdalen College, Oxford, United Kingdom ; and Curate at All Saints Church, Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom for  He is 53 years old and is married to Kate Eaton. 
• Cathy Hagstrom George, who serves as Priest-in-Charge at St. Mary’s in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  She has been ordained for 25 years and previously served for 12 years as Rector at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She is 55 years old, married to Michael George, and has two children, Evangelyn and Samuel. 
• John T. W. Harmon, who has served as Rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., for the past 11 years.   As a youth,  he immigrated to the United States from his birthplace in Liberia.  His 20 years of service to parishes began at Grace Episcopal Church, Norfolk, Virginia, and he was Rector of St. Stephen’s in Petersburg, Virginia.  He is 47 years old, married to Keeva Harmon and has three children, Joshua, Jarena, and Justin. 
• Tracey Lind, who serves as Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio.  Previously, she was the Rector of St. Paul’s, Paterson, New Jersey; the Associate Rector at Christ Church, Ridgewood, New Jersey; and the Director of Community Ministry, Bronx Youth Ministry, in the Episcopal Diocese of New York.  She is 57 years old and is married to Emily Ingalls.
• Pierre Whalon, who serves as Bishop-in-Charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, Paris, France.  Prior to becoming bishop, he had 16 years of parish experience as Rector of All Souls, North Versailles, Pennsylvania ;  Rector of St. Paul’s, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; and Rector of St. Andrew’s Church and School, Fort Pierce, Florida.  He is 58 years old, married to Melinda Whalon, and has one child, Marie-Noelle.

  

(For fuller details on the nominees go  to

http://www.nybishopsearch2011.org/)