Bishops and standing committees withheld consent to the election of the Rev. Kevin G. Thew Forrester as bishop of Northern Michigan, the diocesan standing committee said today. They expressed sadness and disappointment, asked for prayers and expressed “deep gratitude as members of the body of Christ in the Episcopal Church.”

DIOCESE OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN RESPONDS TO CONSENT PROCESS

MARQUETTE, MI., July 28, 2009—The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Northern Michigan released this statement today. The members of the Standing Committee are Linda Piper, President; Marsha Kleber, Marcia Franz, Hazel Satterly, Carol Clark, Sue Jamison, and Sue Ray.

The election of the Rev. Dr. Kevin Thew Forrester to be our bishop has not received the required consents from diocesan bishops and standing committees across the Episcopal Church. Elected at a Special Convention of the Diocese of Northern Michigan held on February 21, 2009, Thew Forrester received 88% of the delegate votes and 91% of the congregational votes. We are disappointed and saddened by the outcome of the consent process.

We are a diocese of twenty-seven small congregations scattered across a wide geographical area—a forested land tucked among three Great Lakes in a place of great natural beauty and harsh climate. Our congregations are located in small towns with declining populations and in one of the country’s most economically depressed rural areas. However, while we may be small in numbers, we are committed and caring Christians who are faithful to the Episcopal Church and committed to our common life.

Now we will continue to discern God’s call to the people of the Diocese of Northern Michigan. We proceed with a sense of deep gratitude as members of the body of Christ in the Episcopal Church.

As we discern, we ask for the prayers of the people of the Diocese of Northern Michigan and of people throughout the Episcopal Church, especially diocesan bishops and standing committees.

We invite the wider church to reflect with us on what this experience can teach us about the episcopal search and consent process. Among the issues ripe for discussion are how bishops and standing committees can best be made aware of the particular needs of individual dioceses, and how new communications technologies affect the consent process. We hope that out of our disappointment can come a deeper understanding of the ways in which we can all be accountable to one another as members of the body of Christ.

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