Georgians Elect Bishop on Second Ballot

Posted on: September 12, 2009

Episcopalians in the Diocese of Georgia decided quickly on Saturday when electing the diocese's tenth bishop. Convening at 9 a.m., a special diocesan convention elected the Rev. Scott A. Benhase within 90 minutes.

Fr. Benhase, rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., since 2006, was elected on the second ballot. He also led voting in both the clergy and lay orders on the first ballot. He is 52 and has been a priest for 25 years.

Like other parishes in the Diocese of Washington, St. Alban's provides blessing services for same-sex couples. "While a majority oppose, a significant minority support ordinations, blessings and marriages of gay and lesbian members," said a diocesan profile prepared in late 2008. "With rare exception, we continue in this diocese to abide with and learn from one another."

When asked in his diocesan profile about divisive issues facing the Anglican Communion, Fr. Benhase responded, in part:

"We have the opportunity to be witnesses to a different way of being Christian: one that takes discipleship in Jesus seriously, but also one that is open to the new things the Holy Spirit is up to in the world. My hunch is there are a lot of Georgians who think they have only two choices: adopt the fundamentalist agenda hook, line, and sinker or reject Christianity as being irrelevant. Wouldn't it be compelling to show them a different way of following Jesus?"

Other nominees were the Rev. William Patrick Gahan III, Wimberley, Texas; the Rev. Frank Sullivan Logue, Kingsland, Ga.; the Rev. Charles Dean Taylor, Dalton, Ga.; the Rev. William Willoughby III, Savannah, Ga.; and the Rev. Stephen Francis Zimmerman, Boca Raton, Fla.