Who will be the next primate of the Episcopal Church?

Only vague clues were discernible yesterday after both House of Bishops and House of Deputies elected 27 provincial representatives to a joint nominating committee. This advances the process to find a new Presiding Bishop when Frank Griswold steps down in June 2006 at the 75th General Convention.

Nine bishops – one from each of the nine provinces – were elected just before the house ended its session. They are: Gayle Harris, suffragan of Massachusetts (Province I); Gladstone Adams, bishop of Central New York (Province II); Peter Lee, bishop of Virginia (Province III); Duncan Gray III, bishop of Mississippi (Province IV); Kenneth Price, suffragan of Southern Ohio (Province V); Bruce Caldwell, bishop of Wyoming, (Province VI); Donald Wimberly, bishop of Texas (Province VII); Jerry Lamb, bishop of Northern California (Province VIII); and David Alvarez, bishop of Puerto Rico (Province IX).

Joining the bishops will be a clergy and a lay representative from each of the nine provinces.

Clergy elected are: Thomas Brown (Province I), Jeannette DeFriest (Province II), Mark Harris (Province III), Claiborne Jones (Province IV), Richard Tolliver (Province V), Ann Fontaine (Province VI), James Haney (Province VII), Bavi Rivera (Province VIII), and Luis Ruiz (Province IX).

Lay members elected are: Ted Mollegen (Province I), Diane Pollard (Province II), Jane Cosby (Province III), Vince Currie (Province IV), Scott Evenbeck (Province V), Don Betts (Province VI), Sarah Knoll (Province VII), Bettye Harris (Province VIII), and Blanca Echeverry (Province IX).

In addition, George Werner, president of the House of Deputies, will appoint two youth members to the committee.