DALLAS: Canadian bishop set to become rector of Church of the Incarnation
Episcopal News Service. April 21, 2008 [042108-04]
Mary Frances Schjonberg
Anthony Burton, bishop of the Diocese of Saskatchewan in the Anglican Church of Canada, is leaving his post to become rector of the Church of the Incarnation in the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Dallas.
In a letter read to Saskatchewan congregations April 20 and posted on the diocese's website, Burton, 48, wrote that "our sense of call to Texas is a positive one but at the same time I felt that it would be an opportunity for the Diocese to be overseen with a fresh pair of eyes, and to enjoy the excitement and momentum a change of bishop brings."
Burton, who has been bishop for nearly 15 years, said that he "cannot begin to express" his "gratitude for the privilege of serving" first as dean and, since 1993, as bishop.
"The person you will choose to carry this ministry forward will be greatly blessed," Burton wrote. "This Diocese is well known for the singular spirit of cooperation, good will, and thoughtfulness you bring to the challenges of the day. I have good hope and every reason to believe that God has another fruitful season in store for you.
"It was said that St. Paul had a thousand friends and loved each as his own soul, and died a thousand deaths when the time came for him to leave them. I suppose every departing bishop feels something of this sense of loss but I feel it acutely today because of the exceptional generosity and openness of heart with which you have consistently encouraged me. I hope to visit with many of you before we go."
At the time of his election in 1993, Burton, was the youngest bishop in the world-wide Anglican Communion and the youngest Canadian bishop that century, according to the Saskatchewan website. He is now the second-youngest of the Canadian bishops.
In 2004 he was one of seven people on the slate for election as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. At the time, he described himself as a moderate, saying that same-gender blessings and ordination of gay clergy would be divisive for the diocese. The San Diego Times-Union called him a "front-runner among conservatives" in the diocese. At the electing convention on March 13, 2004, although Burton was in second place from the first ballot, James Mathes was elected on the third ballot.
Burton will become the 15th rector of the Church of the Incarnation. Former rector Larry P. Smith retired in 2007. The Canadian Anglican Journal News' coverage of Burton's new ministry, including an interview with the bishop, is available here.