In the middle of campaign season, about 250 Episcopalians gathered for some electioneering of their own yesterday morning as they came out to meet, greet and grill the six men and women who hope to be the diocese's next bishop.
The process of picking the new leader of the Diocese of Maryland - which encompasses the central and western regions of the state - is an unusually democratic one, with clergy and delegates from each of the diocese's 117 churches coming together to make their choice at a convention later this month.
B. Hopkins, a lay delegate from Holy Trinity Church in Churchville, called the open selection process "a virtue of our church."
"It makes it messy, but beautiful," she said.
The six nominees for the bishop post have spent much of the week in Maryland, traveling by bus from Cumberland to Lothian for these so-called "walkabouts," where they have been given the chance to introduce themselves to some of the diocese's 48,000 members. Yesterday's was held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Towson.
"It's a huge job interview," said Sharon J. Tillman, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Diocese.
The Rev. T. Stewart Lucas, associate rector at St. Margaret's Church in Annapolis, said he has spent several days traveling with the candidates and, "I still haven't decided."
"They all seem to be welcoming of our diversity, and I'm jumping up-and-down excited about the future of the diocese," he said.
The walkabout began with a prayer service and with speeches given by each of the six candidates, none of whom directly addressed issues that have caused a rift among more liberal and conservative parishioners of the Episcopal Church in the United States.
The split began in 2003 when an openly gay bishop was chosen to lead New Hampshire's diocese. Since then, some U.S. parishes have broken away or aligned themselves with bishops outside the country who share more conservative views on Scripture. Locally, a group of dissatisfied parishioners from St. John's Episcopal Church in Glyndon left the diocese in 2005 to start their own church.
The bishop candidates are:
The Very Rev. Peter Eaton, 49, a native of Washington, who is dean and rector of St. John's Cathedral in Denver;
The Rev. Canon Dr. Mark Gatza, 52, a staff member of the Diocese of Maryland who has served the diocese in various roles since 1981;
The Rev. Jane Soyster Gould, 51, rector of St. Stephen's Church in Lynn, Mass.;
