The diocese of South Carolina is pleased to announce the upcoming consecration of Mark Joseph Lawrence as its 14th Bishop on Saturday, January 26th, 2008, at the Cathedral of Saint Luke and Saint Paul in Charleston at 11:00 a.m.
Father Lawrence was born in Bakersfield, California, on March 19, 1950. He was educated at California State University, Bakersfield (BA, 1976) and Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry (M. Div. 1980). He has ministered at Church of the Holy Family, Fresno, California (1980), Saint Mark’s, Shafter, California (1981-1984), Saint Stephen’s, McKeesport, Pennsylvania (1984-1997) and Saint Paul’s, Bakersfield, California (1997-2007). Known for being a dedicated pastor-teacher, Mark also served, among many other capacities, as a member of the Commission on Ministry, the Standing Committee, and the Board of Examining Chaplains, the latter of which he chaired. He also served as a deputy to the General Conventions of 2003 and 2006.
Of course – in true lockstep – our Diocese of Southwestern Virginia didn’t consent to Fr. Lawrence’s election. When I queried those who were involved I got the answer that Fr. Lawrence was, in essence, going to have to prove a negative – that he wasn’t disloyal. This from a diocese that constantly teeters on bankruptcy. This from a diocese who had to bail out one of its largest church’s debts on a rectory. This from a diocese that has to have extra begging for its members to “sponsor a day” to pay bills to meet its budget. Pretty indicative of the whole TEC – captains not piloting the ship, but inspecting the quality of empty staterooms while the ship meanders off course. South Carolina should show us all a thing or two. Embarrassment is a great teacher.
Congratulations to Bishop-to-be Lawrence and the entire Diocese of South Carolina. They are getting a gem.
WOW! What a lineup [save one] of consecrators. Good grief, the man has a lot to live up to.
[blockquote]”Chief consecrator for the service will be E. Clifton Daniel, Bishop of East Carolina and president of the Fourth Province. He will be assisted by Edward L. Salmon, 13th Bishop of South Carolina, C. FitzSimons Allison, 12th bishop of South Carolina, Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester, U.K., Keith Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy, and Hulio Holguin Khoury, Bishop of Dominican Republic.
The preacher for the service will be Alden Hathaway, former Bishop of Pittsburgh and now bishop-in-residence at Saint Helena’s, Beaufort, South Carolina.[/blockquote]
And he has to prove he is not a dreaded fundmentalist since he went to Trinity. No one from Georgia can go there.
May your new bishop enjoy many blessed days. Axios!
Y’all in South Carolina are so blessed to be getting such a wonderful bishop. The service of consecration looks awesome; the preacher is fantastic (he has spoken at Advent and I have been blessed to hear him), you have one of the top theologians on Earth there in the consecration (Allison), and getting to meet Bishop Kwashi last spring was one of the high points of my life. Y’all are going to have a truly blessed weekend!
High and about time!
Pb, when I went through my discernment process with the diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, I was told flat out by the bishop (Charles Duval): “I will not send you to either Trinity or Nashota. Your only choices are Sewanee or Virginia.” So it’s not only Ga that won’t send candidates there.
There’s a rumor that Fr. Lawrence is openly heterosexual. Are 815 and Integrity aware of this scandalous datum?
Interesting to see Holy Family on his resume, I didn’t notice that before. A lot can change in 28 years.
As to Trinity, my Northern California used to not let people go there (Bp. Lamb’s policy). There is no policy against it now (+Beisner said in the walkabouts he wouldn’t rule out any seminary summarily, but always consider what was best for the postulant), but I don’t know of anyone who has asked to go there.
[blockquote]Good grief, the man has a lot to live up to.[/blockquote]
He will need those Godly mentors considering what he will have to contend with. God bless and protect the new bishop!
PB,
You are correct in Bishop Louttit not allowing anyone to go to Trinity for seminary. Shortly before I was approved for postulancy he and and I talked about seminary. My choices were Virginia or ETSS in Austin Texas. We chose Virginia but wish we could have gone to Trinity.
Maybe when Bishop Louttit retires and Georgia gets a new bishop the new Bishop will let folks go to Trinity.
+Bishop Lawrence: The Southern Cone Welcomes You!
Seminarian,
You said that Bishop Louttit gave you the choice of VTS and ETSS. Did you even ask him whether you could attend Sewanee?? It concerns me that an “owning bishop” would not allow attendance at what is, in real and administrative ways, a diocesan seminary!!
Of course, Trinity would be better from the viewpoint of being the better place to train you for the Lord but, if one is going to be a priest in a Southern ECUSA Diocese then Sewanee should be allowed!!
Recchip,
I did ask +Duval about Trinity, he flat out told me “No way”. He said he wanted conservatives to have an opportunity to ‘broaden their experiences’ and not be ‘insulated’ by one point of view. What I should have asked as a follow-up was “Well, then, are you sending ‘liberal’ candidates to Trinity for those same reasons?” But I didn’t. Since I was denied by the Discernment Committee (I suspect at the Bishops instructions, but cannot prove it) anyway, I dearly wish I would have. 🙂
recchip. Bishop Louttit did not put sewanee in the mix because of my wife’s potential to work it said it would have been a difficult place for her to find a job so he suggested the larger cities – thus austin and Alexandria. I don’t think Sewanee would have been a better fit than VTS was.
14…libraryjim..that is an interesting statement by the Bishop..and the other point of view other than Trinity’s would be the “unbiblical” one I guess. I can tell you also that no liberal bishop is sending liberal seminarians to Trinity for the “other” point of view–in this case, that would be the Biblical one, unless they are in disguise.
We at Trinity are all excited for Rev. Lawrence to become Bishop.
most of these names are familiar, but +Daniel of E. Carolina,what does anyone know about him?
I am a great fan of Bishop Allison’s. I heard him speak years ago at St. Timothy’s Catonsville. But didn’t he participate in the 2000 AMiA consecrations in Singapore? How did he escape inhibition? And can the PB still reach out and get him? Does it depend on whether his action take place in the United States?
May he be inhibited quicker than he was consecrated.
Daniel is a liberal, as far as I know, perhaps not as far off the edge as Curry to his west. He successfully sued an AMiA parish for its property a few years ago. There is a [url=http://www.diocese-eastcarolina.org/images/SanJoaquin.pdf]statement[/url] on East Carolina’s website expressing sorrow that the “bishop and a number of lay leaders in that diocese [San Joaquin] announced their departure from the Episcopal Church and their intention to join another denomination.”
Presumably his position as chief consecrator comes from his leadership of the TEC province to which South Carolina belongs, and is a concession allowing this to proceed without the Presiding Bishop.
Katherine, for what it’s worth: I was one of those lay leaders.