People
Episcopal News Service. October 4, 1991 [91194Q]
The Rev. Peter H. Beckwith, 52, was elected bishop of the Diocese of Springfield on September 14. His election came on the fifth ballot of a selection process to choose a successor to Bishop Donald Hultstrand from among six candidates. While characterizing his election as "a very overwhelming and humbling experience," Beckwith did not immediately confirm his acceptance but said he would make his decision known before the diocesan synod meets on October 18. If Beckwith accepts the election, he will be consecrated on February 29, 1992. He is currently rector of St. John Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Southern Ohio. Bishop Hultstrand retired on September 1. The Diocese of Springfield comprises 42 parishes in the southern half of Illinois.
The Rev. Martin Barahona, 48, was elected bishop of El Salvador on September 7. He is the first indigenous diocesan bishop elected in the Diocese of El Salvador. Barahona was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1968, and was received into the Episcopal Church in 1972. Barahona fled political persecution in El Salvador in 1978, and moved to the Diocese of Panama where he served parishes and as supervisor of the Bayano-Darien Region. Barahona will be consecrated on January 6, 1992. El Salvador has been without a resident bishop since 1980.