Delegates to the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota’s 152nd annual convention have elected the Rev. Brian Prior as the diocese’s ninth bishop. Fr. Prior, rector of Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Spokane Valley, Wash., has served as vice president of General Convention’s House of Deputies since 2006.

Fr. Prior was elected on the fifth ballot. He led in voting among laity from the first ballot on Saturday. By the third ballot he secured the necessary majority among the laity. Clergy favored the Rev. Mariann Budde, rector of St. John’s, Minneapolis, on the first three ballots.

On the fourth ballot, Fr. Prior needed only two more votes among clergy to be elected. Dr. Budde had only six fewer clergy votes than Fr. Prior on the fourth ballot. Fr. Prior was far ahead among the laity at 133-88.

Other nominees were the Rev. Bonnie Perry, rector, All Saints’, Chicago; the Rev. Douglas Sparks, rector, St. Luke’s, Rochester, Minn.; and the Rev. Doyle Turner, supply priest and pastor, Trinity Church, Park Rapids, Minn. Dr. Perry and Fr. Doyle withdrew after the third ballot. Fr. Sparks withdrew after the fourth ballot.

This was the first diocesan election since the 76th General Convention that included a nominee in a same-sex partnership. Meeting in July, General Convention approved Resolution D025, which said that gay and lesbian persons “have responded to God’s call and have exercised various ministries in and on behalf of God’s one holy catholic and apostolic Church and are currently doing so in our midst.”

When the 74th General Convention met in Minneapolis in 2003, Fr. Prior was a chaplain in the House of Deputies and led prayers for God’s guidance as the deputies voted to confirm the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.

Pending approval by a majority of bishops and standing committees, Fr. Prior will be consecrated on Feb. 13, 2010.

Douglas LeBlanc

Get the next 52 weeks of The Living Church Online, plus convenient access to more than a year of archived issues, all for just $25! Click here to start your subscription to the TLC Online Edition today!