South Dakota diocese elects Tarrant as bishop coadjutor
Episcopal News Service. May 9, 2009 [050909-01]
ENS Staff
The Very Rev. John Tarrant was elected on May 9 to serve as bishop coadjutor (bishop with right of succession) of the Diocese of South Dakota.
Tarrant, 57, currently rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Pierre, South Dakota, was chosen on the second ballot in an election held in Pierre. Out of a total of 53 clergy and 139 lay votes, Tarrant received 44 clergy votes and 101 lay votes on the last ballot. He will be the 10th bishop of South Dakota.
The other candidates were the Rev. John Floberg, the Rev. Douglas Dunn and the Rev. Peter Stebinger, who withdrew after the first ballot. Results are posted on the diocesan website.
"It's a weighty thing to be elected a bishop of this church. My first idea is to get out amongst the folks and listen. My style has never been to go into groups as if I had all the answers," said Tarrant in a phone interview shortly after his election.
Among the difficult issues he will be facing, he said, are social conditions at some of the 60 Episcopal congregations in the diocese located on Indian reservations. "At one, the suicide rate is epidemic and the church has to be a beacon of hope in those situations," said Tarrant, who is not from a native background.
One of his priorities, Tarrant said, will be to visit the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where the current bishop, Creighton Robertson, last year closed nine churches, citing declining contributions and attendance.
Tarrant, who has served in Pierre since 2005, also noted that other issues include effects of the current recession and isolation that many clergy feel in sparsely populated areas. "I'm looking forward to serving," he said, adding also that he had "mixed emotions" since he will be leaving a congregation in Pierre of "people that I love."
Based in Sioux Falls, the diocese covers the state and includes 80 congregations plus one in Minnesota and two in Nebraska. About 12,000 Episcopalians live in the diocese, of whom about half are Dakota or Lakota (Sioux) Indians.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Tarrant was raised in rural Michigan. He holds a B.A. Degree in political science from Michigan State University, and a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary.
Before arriving in South Dakota, Tarrant served parishes in western Massachusetts and Connecticut. He and his wife Patricia are the parents of a combined family of 11 grown children.
The bishop-elect must be ratified by the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, set for July 8-17 in Anaheim, California. Tarrant's consecration as bishop is set for October 31.