Dallas diocese elects suffragan bishop

On March 29, 126 clergy and 207 lay delegates met to elect a bishop suffragan for the Diocese of Dallas. At 8 a.m., the convention met to determine a quorum and then recessed to the cathedral to celebrate the Eucharist. In his Eucharistic sermon, Bishop Stanton quoted from the bishop’s ordination “Examination” (BCP, p. 517 – 518) with emphasis and elaboration on the following.
1) “A bishop is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ’s sovereignty as Lord of lords and King of kings.”
2) “You are called to guard the faith, unity and discipline of the Church …to be in all things a faithfu lpast rand wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ.”
3) “With your fellow bishops you will share in the leadership of the Church throughout the world. Your heritage is the faith of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and those of every generation who have looked to God
in hope.”

After the Eucharist, the convention reconvened to begin the election process. During each of the ballots, participants observed a time of silent prayer before voting and continued without speaking to each other until the pages had collected all ballots. It took six ballots (during which the Rev. Ally Perry and Cn. Dr. Neal O. Michell withdrew their names from the election) to confirm a concurrent majority of both orders — clergy (requiring 63 out of 124 votes) and lay (requiring 102 out of 203 votes) — to elect Cn. Paul Lambert.

The final vote was:
The Rev. Leander S. Harding, Ph.D. Clergy: 24 Laity: 49
The Rev. Canon David W. Holland Clergy: 29 Laity: 33
The Rev. Raymond E. Jennison, Jr. Clergy: 0 Laity: 1
The Rev. Cn. Paul E. Lambert Clergy: 71 Laity: 120

Cn. Lambert was born May 19, 1950 in Reno, NV, and his parents raised him as a Roman Catholic. It was during his student years at the College of the Sequoias Community College in Visalia, CA, that he became an Episcopalian at St. Paul’s. In his spiritual biography, he remarked, “In this community of faith, I experienced what it meant to be loved by a community that lived out the reality of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.”

He then transferred to Cal. State University, San Francisco, where he attended St. Matthew’s in San Mateo. It was there that he first sensed the call to ordained ministry; so, after graduation, he proceeded to Nashotah House Theological Seminary. While there, he met and married Sally L. Nicholls.

After completing seminary, he began his ministry as curate at St. Paul’s (Modesto, CA) and St. Matthias (Oakdale, CA). Since then, he has served as vicar of St. Andrew’s (Taft, CA), assistant at Transfiguration (Dallas, TX), rector of St. John’s (Great Bend, KS), vicar of St. Mark’s (Lyons, KS), assistant at Holy Nativity (Plano, TX), rector of St. James’ (Texarkana. TX), and presently, Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Dallas.