Bishop Elected on Historic Day - Promises Action, Reconciliation

By Val Hymes

March 29 was a gray and chilly day in Baltimore, but one that was historic for the Diocese of Maryland.

That day, the St. James’ Parish delegation to the election convention of the 14th bishop of Maryland joined an estimated 450 fellow Episcopalians in historic St. James’ Church on Lafayette Square.

They filled the pews, the choir loft and folded chairs for a Eucharist celebrated by Bishop John L. Rabb and then they voted on the first ballot. While they waited, they visited and drank gallons of coffee in the fellowship hall. They expected more ballots to select one of the remaining five nominees. But there was no second ballot.

Bishop Rabb stood and announced, “We have an election.” Clergy and lay delegates leaped to their feet, shouting, throwing their hands up in the air and applauding. The Rev. Canon Eugene T. Sutton, 54, pastoral associate at the Washington National Cathedral, had received 210 of the 370 ballots cast, needing a majority in the same ballot from both clergy and laity.

The bishop-elect responded to the news with a prayer. “May our life together be infused by the grace of truth and the spirit of reconciliation; in times of celebration may we freely rejoice, and in times of distress may we listen to and forgive one another in love, always eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

The election of the first African American elected bishop of the Diocese of Maryland was held in the first black parish established south of the Mason/Dixon line in Baltimore. The election on the first ballot for diocesan bishop was only the second time that has happened in the diocese’s 227-year-old history.

The first time was for the Rt. Rev. Thomas John Claggett, the first bishop consecrated on American soil in 1792. Two years earlier, the first American census of 1790 showed that the overwhelming majority of clergy and lay delegates to the convention of the Diocese of Maryland owned slaves. They included Claggett, who was listed as owning seven slaves while serving as rector of St. James’ Parish. The archives also show, “The Lay Delegate from the parish, Richard Harwood, Esquire, owned 35 …” Bishop-elect Sutton was born in segregated Washington, D.C. He said of Bishop Claggett, “As spiritual and gifted as he was, I think on March 29 he was rejoicing in heaven, saying, ‘Thank God, they are finally getting it. They are undoing some of the injustices that even I was a part of’ and that he is resting in peace a bit better.

“Just as the Thomas Claggett ordination was an occasion for bringing about reconciliation in the Episcopal Church in his day,” said Sutton, “I want my ordination and ministry to be characterized by Maryland leading the way toward more reconciliation in the Anglican Communion between traditionalists and progressives, black and white, rich and poor.”

The bishop-elect plans to be proactive in the often-violent community surrounding the diocesan center. “When a young person is killed on the streets of Baltimore,” he said, “these are our people living in our diocese. As bishop, I want to be there praying with the family, to be present, I want our people to know the Diocese of Maryland cares; that the church is there and God cares.”

He also plans to be an advocate for the environment. “More than being known as the first black bishop of Maryland, I’d like to be known as the ‘green bishop.’” He said he wants to initiate discussions on a statewide level about what the diocese and congregations can do to protect the Chesapeake Bay for future generations.

The youth of the diocese are vital to its health, he said. “I came to my commitment to Christ as a 17-year-old through the ministry of Young Life.” he said. “I will make myself available to young people, sharing my faith with them.”

On the issue of gays and lesbians, Sutton said, “We have to welcome all people. I’ve had a conversion. I used to believe that gay people were going to hell; that they chose to remain in sin. I’ve had to repent of that bigotry and that I used the Bible to justify my own prejudice. But the Gospel agenda is not a bigotry agenda,” he said.

Reconciliation, he said, is the key to the health of the diocese – and the church. “It begins with prayer, reconciling each individual to God, and then it spreads out into all the world. There is no situation in the church – however toxic, distrustful or destructive – that cannot be redeemed.”

Canon Sutton will be consecrated by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori June 28 in Washington National Cathedral. He succeeds Bishop Robert W. Ihloff who retired in April 2007. Bishop-in-charge John L. Rabb will resume his former position as bishop suffragan of the diocese.

Sutton’s, wife, Sonya S. Sutton, is director of music at St. Alban’s Parish in Washington. They have four children and stepchildren.