Dr. Kevin Thew Forrester, Anglican priest and Zen meditator (right)
George Conger (Religious Intelligence, 7/31/09)
The election of America’s "Buddhist bishop" has been vetoed by the bishops and diocesan standing committees of the Episcopal Church.
The February 21 election of Dr. Kevin Thew Forrester as Bishop of Northern Michigan was “null and void,” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori announced on July 27, as he had not received the necessary “consents” from a majority of the church’s diocesan bishops and standing committees.
Dr. Forrester’s rejection marks the first time in 77 years that the election of an American diocesan bishop has been repudiated by the Episcopal Church....On April 24 The Church of England Newspaper predicted the election would be rejected by the House of Bishops, as early returns showed a 3 to 1 negative margin with Dr. Forrester failing to hold together the left-liberal bloc of bishops that backed Gene Robinson’s 2003 election as Bishop of New Hampshire.
Shortly after his election The Living Church Magazine reported that the bishop-elect had received “lay ordination” as a Buddhist and according to his former bishop “walk[ed] the path of Christianity and Zen Buddhism.”
Dr. Forrester denied that he followed two faiths, telling the Marquette Mining Journal, “there’s one faith and it’s Christianity,” and that his Christian faith had been “deepened by my meditative practice and I’m eternally grateful to Zen Buddhism for teaching me that practice and receiving me as an Episcopal priest.” More>>
The election of America’s "Buddhist bishop" has been vetoed by the bishops and diocesan standing committees of the Episcopal Church.
The February 21 election of Dr. Kevin Thew Forrester as Bishop of Northern Michigan was “null and void,” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori announced on July 27, as he had not received the necessary “consents” from a majority of the church’s diocesan bishops and standing committees.
Dr. Forrester’s rejection marks the first time in 77 years that the election of an American diocesan bishop has been repudiated by the Episcopal Church....On April 24 The Church of England Newspaper predicted the election would be rejected by the House of Bishops, as early returns showed a 3 to 1 negative margin with Dr. Forrester failing to hold together the left-liberal bloc of bishops that backed Gene Robinson’s 2003 election as Bishop of New Hampshire.
Shortly after his election The Living Church Magazine reported that the bishop-elect had received “lay ordination” as a Buddhist and according to his former bishop “walk[ed] the path of Christianity and Zen Buddhism.”
Dr. Forrester denied that he followed two faiths, telling the Marquette Mining Journal, “there’s one faith and it’s Christianity,” and that his Christian faith had been “deepened by my meditative practice and I’m eternally grateful to Zen Buddhism for teaching me that practice and receiving me as an Episcopal priest.” More>>
