Tennessee Bishop Convention Fails to Elect a Coadjutor
03/20/2006

The Diocese of Tennessee’s history of multiple ballots over two days to elect a bishop was repeated on March 18. Clergy and lay delegates to a special convention at Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville failed to elect a successor to the Rt. Rev. Bertram N. Herlong after 14 ballots spread over 10 hours. According to the election procedure, the winning candidate must achieve a two-thirds majority in both the clergy and lay orders.

The special electing convention will resume March 25. Bishop Herlong previously announced his intention to retire next October. The rest at The Living Church


God is Doing a New Thing
Matt Kennedy+

On Saturday the Diocese of Tennessee attempted to elect a new bishop. The election went to the 14th ballot before the delegates voted to call it a day. The voting was deadlocked. Of the four candidates, only one, the Rev. Canon Neal Michell (whose writings on evangelism/mission were featured this article) maintained a rock solid base throughout the voting. Among the clergy he consistently won anywhere from 29 to 35 votes and among the laity, between 64-75. He never lost his significant edge among the laity.

To go to 14 ballots would be extraordinary for most dioceses, but not for Tennessee. Bishops in Tennessee must be elected by a 2/3rds margin which means voting often lasts for a long long time. Saturday was no exception.

But make no mistake, Saturday’s vote was extraordinary. The rest