Riverside (California): The Episcopal Diocese
of Los Angeles elected the first female bishop in its 114-year
history but ended voting for the day with one of two openly
gay candidates still vying for the second bishop's position.
Rev Diane M Jardine Bruce, rector of St
Clement's-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church in San Clemente, was
elected Friday at the diocese's annual convention to replace
one of two retiring assistant bishops.
Bruce, who was elected in the convention's third ballot,
is a former bank executive who has spent the past 12 years
working as a priest in Orange County.
Voting for the second spot did not produce a winner
yesterday and balloting will continue today.
The election has garnered national attention because two
of the six candidates vying for the vacant positions are
openly gay. One of those candidates, the Rev John L Kirkley of
San Francisco, withdrew late yesterday.
The other, the Rev Mary D Glasspool, of Baltimore, was
one of the top two vote-getters in the first two rounds of
balloting for the second position and is considered a
favourite.
If elected, she would be the first openly gay bishop
since Bishop V Gene Robinson was chosen in New Hampshire in
2003.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 05, 2009, 17:53