Nebraska diocese elects J. Scott Barker as bishop
Episcopal News Service. June 4, 2011 [060411-01]
ENS staff
The Rev. J. Scott Barker was elected on June 4 as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, pending the required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of the Episcopal Church.
Barker, 47, rector of Christ Church, Warwick, New York, was elected on the second ballot out of a field of three nominees. He received 78 votes of 111 cast in the lay order and 49 of 74 cast in the clergy order. An election on that ballot required 57 in the lay order and 38 in the clergy order.
The election was held during a special diocesan council meeting held at St. Mark's Pro-Cathedral in Hastings, Nebraska.
Pending a successful consent process, Barker will succeed Bishop Joe G. Burnett, who resigned as bishop of Nebraska and has taken a position as assistant bishop in the Diocese of Maryland.
Under the canons (III.11.4) of the Episcopal Church, a majority of bishops exercising jurisdiction and diocesan standing committees must consent to the bishop-elect's ordination as bishop within 120 days of receiving notice of the election.
Barker was ordained a priest in 1992 in the Diocese of Nebraska. He began his ministry as a priest in the Diocese of Nebraska at Trinity Cathedral in Omaha and then moved on to serve as rector of Church of the Resurrection in Omaha. From 2002 until the present, he has served as rector of Christ Church in Warwick, New York.
Barker is married to Annie and they have two children; Emily, a college sophomore, and Sam, a high school senior.
The consecration is due to take place Oct. 8 in Omaha, Nebraska.
The other nominees were the Rev. Margaret Duncan Holt-Sammons and the Rev. Canon Sarah J. Shoftsall. Information about all the nominees is available here.
The Diocese of Nebraska contains 51 parishes and comprises the entire state of Nebraska.