Heistand Elected Bishop Coadjutor of Arizona
Episcopal News Service. May 11, 1976 [76168]
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- The Rev. Joseph T. Heistand, rector of St. Philip's-in-the-Hills, Tucson, was elected Bishop Coadjutor of Arizona in a special one-day convention of the diocese April 29.
As Bishop Coadjutor, Fr. Heistand, who was elected on the tenth ballot, will automatically succeed Arizona's present Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Joseph M. Harte, upon the latter's retirement. In calling for the election of a Coadjutor, Bishop Harte said that although he does not plan to retire until 1979, the new bishop would begin immediately to assist him in administrative and pastoral duties in the diocese, which encompasses the entire state of Arizona.
In addition to his duties as rector of St. Philip's-in-the-Hills, Fr. Heistand is chairman of the Diocesan Council and a member of the diocesan Commission on Ministry. He has also been elected a deputy to the Episcopal Church's General Convention which meets this September in Minnesota.
Fr. Heistand, 52, is a graduate of Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., and the Virginia Theological Seminary. He was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in 1952 and served parishes in Pennsylvania and Virginia before becoming rector of St. Philip's in 1969. He is the son of the Rt. Rev. John T. Heistand, retired Bishop of Harrisburg (Pa.)
Fr. Heistand married Roberta C. Lush in 1951, and they have three children.