Garver Elected L.A. Suffragan
Episcopal News Service. February 21, 1985 [85036]
LOS ANGELES (DPS, Feb. 21) -- On Feb. 16, the Rev. Canon Oliver Bailey Garver, Jr. was elected suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles.
The election, which took only four ballots, was the first held there for suffragan bishop in 21 years, the last having been the Rt. Rev. Robert Rusack, the current diocesan bishop here.
Garver, who has served the diocese as executive assistant to the bishop (Canon to the Ordinary) since 1974, is a native of southern California. A graduate of U.C.L.A. and Harvard Business School, he spent ten years as an executive for Lockheed before entering what was then the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Mass.
He was ordained to the priesthood in 1963. Most of his ministry has been exercised in the greater Los Angeles area, with the exception of the years 1965-66, when he was assistant at Epiphany in New York City. He chaired the diocesan commission on liturgics and church music from 1969-72 and served as master of ceremonies from 1970-73.
Garver has been prominent in ecumenical and community work, with a special interest in refugees and their needs. His work in the latter area has included serving as convenor for the Episcopal Church National Consultation on Immigration and Refugee Ministries 1979-80. Among other involvements, he has, since 1981, chaired ADVOCATES, a support group for the county human relations commission.