Bishops are chosen in the Dioceses of Florida, Montana, Oregon and Nebraska in a busy spring for elections.

Florida

Clergy and lay deputies to a special convention in the Diocese of Florida chose the Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard, vicar of Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York City, to be bishop coadjutor on May 16 in Jacksonville.

Fr. Howard, who was a lawyer prior to his ordination, achieved a majority in both the clergy and lay deputations on the fourth ballot from among a field of five candidates.

Montana

Of the five nominees for the May 17 episcopal election in the Diocese of Montana, the Rev. C. Franklin Brookhart was one of two with no previous connection to Big Sky Country. The lack of local roots did not prevent the rector of Lawrenceville Parish Church in Wheeling, W.Va., from being chosen bishop-elect.

Fr. Brookhart led throughout and received the required two-thirds majority in both the clergy and lay orders on the third ballot at the Church of the Incarnation in Great Falls.

Oregon

The Diocese of Oregon elected the Rev. Canon Johncy Itty as its ninth bishop from a field of six on the fifth ballot during a special convention May 17 at Trinity Cathedral in Portland.

The bishop-elect is canon residentiary of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, N.Y. His ordained ministry has considerable experience in matters of social justice.

Previously he was the social justice officer for the Presiding Bishop. He also served as human-rights officer in the Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations from 1995 to 1998. He is a native of India who transferred from the Church of South India in 1995.

Nebraska

Organizers of a special convention to elect a bishop coadjutor for the Diocese of Nebraska employed a variety of new technology partly on the assumption that voting could take as many as 11 ballots on May 9 at St. Mark’s Pro-Cathedral in Hastings.

Instead it took less than one hour to complete the one ballot necessary to declare the Rev. Joe G. Burnett bishop-elect. Even after the completion of Holy Eucharist and socializing, convention organizers had to enlist the help of clergy and lay deputies to dispose of the hundreds of box lunches that had been ordered.

Fr. Burnett is professor of pastoral theology at the University of the South’s School of Theology.