Convention to Elect A Bishop Suffragan

One of the traditional duties of a postulant for ordination is to assist at diocesan conventions, so I was among the ballot-takers and supernumeraries at the convention to elect a bishop suffragan:

At 2.40 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, at the special election convention held at Manhattan’s Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the Rev. Allen K. Shin was declared the bishop suffragan-elect of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The new bishop suffragan will work alongside and under the direction of the 16th Bishop of New York, the Rt. Rev. Andrew M.L. Dietsche.
Shin, who is currently rector of St. John’s Church, Huntington, LI, NY was elected on the 4th round of balloting by a majority of the active clergy and of delegates from all of its congregations. The information and answers to questions given by the bishop suffragan-elect during the nomination process is available here; a short video is here.
Shin was one of five candidates nominated in early October by the Committee to Elect a Bishop, which began work following the call for the election of a suffragan by Bishop Dietsche’s predecessor as diocesan, Bishop Mark S. Sisk, at the diocese’s annual convention in November 2012. Bishop Sisk retired, and Bishop Dietsche was installed as XVI Bishop of New York, on February 2, 2013.
The bishop suffragan-elect must now receive the consent of a majority both of the other diocesan bishops of the Episcopal Church and of the standing committees of the Church’s dioceses, before being consecrated in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Saturday, May 17, 2014

The candidates were all remarkable, and meeting with, and speaking with my friends and mentors among the clergy and laity during the few breaks was, as always, inspiring. I never interact with my colleagues in the process, my two class-mates especially, without feeling confirmed and honored by the call.