As the House of Bishops meets in Dublin to appoint a Bishop of Clogher, one of the church’s leading laymen has raised his concern at the ongoing failure of a number of Electoral Colleges to determine appointments.
Mr Tom Stevenson, a member of Lisburn Cathedral, Connor and General Synods, has a substantial record of service to the C of I parochially, and at diocesan and national levels.
In a letter published in this week’s C of I Gazette he expresses his concern, and suggests that there is an investigation into the current process. Mr Stevenson would regard himself as an evangelical, and it is known that many who would identify themselves similarly share his concern.
There are also those who feel that the tactics of bloc voting have worked against those who have used them, and that at some colleges, text messaging seemed to be employed by some members.
The opinion column on this site (see above masthead) identifies with a need for greater transparency in appointments, and that a system similar to the Episcopal Church of Scotland be adopted.
Mr Stevenson’s letter states:
The recent failure of an Episcopal electoral college to elect a new Bishop of Clogher must have been a profound disappointment to many Church members. For the second time within weeks, an Episcopal appointment was passed to the House of Bishops. Sadly, this “fall-back” mechanism in the system is fast becoming the norm
.
There are seven dioceses in the province of Armagh, but only one bishop in the province has been chosen by an electoral college. The remaining six have all been appointed by the House of Bishops (Armagh, of course, is always appointed in this way).
I make no criticism of the appointments so far made by the bishops. The individuals chosen merit the confidence placed in them. However, the electoral college system is clearly not working. It would be undesirable if the bishops of our Church were to be perceived as a largely self-selected group and I feel sure the bishops themselves would prefer not to have the responsibility of appointment thrust upon them so frequently.
No doubt some readers will contrast the failure of electoral colleges in the northern province with their apparent success in the province of Dublin. One can only speculate on the reasons.
Perhaps the greater concentration of clergy numbers in the north means that more names are under consideration for each vacancy, making it more difficult for any candidate to secure the necessary two- thirds majority of clerical and lay votes; or the greater diversity of churchmanship in the north might cause a difficulty if some electors refuse to support a candidate with a different theological perspective from their own.
I have had the privilege (and often the frustration) of serving on a number of electoral colleges over the past 30 years. my observation is that colleges fail when voting is polarised between candidates and supporters of each refuse either to change their vote or to withdraw the name of their preferred candidate – even when it is clear that there is insufficient support for that candidate to be elected. Result: stalemate!
May I suggest that this would be an opportune time for a comprehensive review of the process for appointing bishops and finding a system that would work for the entire Church of Ireland? perhaps the Standing Committee could appoint a broadly-based group to carry out this review and make recommendations for appropriate legislation to be brought to General Synod in 2012.
Tom Stevenson
15 Pond Park Road
Lisburn
Co. Antrim
BT28 3LE