West Texas Elects Hauser Suffragan Bishop
Episcopal News Service. May 17, 1979 [79157]
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The Rev. Stanley F. Hauser, rector of St. Mark's Church, San Antonio, was elected Suffragan Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas at a special council meeting here, Tuesday, May 8.
Receiving a majority vote in both the lay and clergy order on the ninth ballot, taken about 5:30 p. m. and reported shortly before 6 p. m., Mr. Hauser, 56, became the ninth rector of St. Mark's to be elected a bishop of the Church.
Called "The Mother of Bishops," the historical downtown parish, which dates back to 1850 and boasts the oldest non-Roman Catholic church edifice in San Antonio, actually has seen 11 clergymen elevated -- nine rectors and two former assistant rectors.
Thirty clergymen, including one suffragan bishop, were nominated at the council which convened at 10 a.m. in St. Mark's Church. Advance notice of intent to nominate 14 clergymen had been received in advance by the Diocesan Standing Committee. Included in that list were Mr. Hauser and the three or four other West Texas clergymen who immediately gained substantial support.
Following a service of Holy Communion for the 268 lay delegates and 100 clergymen from 81 of the 87 parishes and missions in the Diocese, the council first voted to admit St. Margaret's Mission of San Antonio into union as the 88th congregation in West Texas and then submitted nominations by secret ballot.
The list of the 30 nominees was presented about 12 noon when the first ballot was taken. Balloting began again at 1:30 p. m. and continued through the ninth and last ballot.
A check of previous elections indicated that this council set a record in the number of ballots needed to elect a bishop in West Texas. The previous high was set at the special council in 1975 to elect the present Diocesan Bishop, Scott Field Bailey -- which came to six, one more than the number to elect his predecessor, Bishop Harold C. Gosnell.
On the first ballot, the leaders were the Rev. Canon C. Eugene Jennings, Cathedral House; Mr. Hauser; the Rev. John H. MacNaughton, Christ Church, San Antonio; the Rev. Harold N.B. Nickle, Trinity, San Antonio; and the Rev. Canon David Veal, Cathedral House, in that order. By the third ballot, Mr. Hauser was closing on Canon Jennings, with 68 lay votes to 76 and 28 clergy votes to 30.
As balloting continued through the afternoon, heaviest voting went to Mr. Hauser, who moved ahead on the fourth ballot, followed by Canon Jennings, and the Rev. Charles J. Dobbins, Good Shepherd Church, Corpus Christi. Mr. Dobbins gained second place on the seventh ballot.
With a few laypersons and clergy departing as the day wore on, the final ballot showed Mr. Hauser elected with 142 to 100 lay votes and 49 to 43 clergy votes.
He broke into a broad smile as Bishop Bailey rose to announce, "We have an election." Shortly thereafter, St. Mark's bell tower clock struck 6 p. m.
Maintaining composure as family and well-wishers thronged around him, the suffragan-elect declared to the assembly, "I hope to serve this diocese as faithfully as I possibly can."
A lifelong San Antonian, Mr. Hauser was born Aug. 7, 1922. Oddly enough, he relates, he actually was born in Laredo. While his parents were San Antonio residents, it so happened that his mother was in Laredo with Stanley's sister when "the time came."
A 1943 graduate of the University of the South, he was graduated in 1946 from Virginia Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon in 1945, and priest the following year by Bishop Everett H. Jones.
Mr. Hauser has experience in the rural, small city, suburban, and urban ministries. From 1946 to 1951, he served churches in Menard, Ft. McKavett, Sonora, Junction, Llano, San Saba, and Brady and was the first resident rector of St. John's, Sonora.
He was rector of Zion Church, Charles Town, W. Va., from 1951 to 1960 and rector of St. Mark's, Houston, from 1960 to 1968 prior to becoming rector of St. Mark's, San Antonio, in 1968 following the election of the then rector, Harold Gosnell, as coadjutor of West Texas.
A deputy to General Convention three times, he is a member of the Diocesan Executive Board and the Venture in Mission Cabinet and is a past president of the San Antonio Council of Churches. His diocesan service has included, among others, the Commission on Theological Education, Commission on Ministry, Examining Chaplains, and Episcopal Church Corporation.
He is married to Madelyn M. Horner of San Antonio and they have five children.