People
Episcopal News Service. June 23, 1993 [93129Q]
The Rev. Joe Morris Doss was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of New Jersey on June 18. Doss, presently a rector at St. Mark's Church in Palo Alto, California, was elected on the third ballot. Doss has a law degree from Louisiana State University and is an expert on death penalty appeals. He has published in many law journals and has written a book, Law and Morality. Following consent by the church's standing committees and diocesan bishops, Doss will be consecrated bishop-coadjutor on September 19, and will become bishop of New Jersey when Bishop G.P. Mellick Belshaw retires. Belshaw has not yet announced his retirement.
The Rev. Claude E. Payne was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Texas on June 18. Payne, rector of St. Martin's Church, Houston, Texas, was elected on the sixth ballot. Payne has served for 13 years as assistant to Bishop Scott Field Bailey when Bailey was secretary of the House of Bishops and has also chaired the grants committee for the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief. Following consent of the church's standing committees and bishops, Payne will be consecrated in October and will eventually succeed Bishop Maurice Benitez when he retires. Benitez has not announced his plans to retire.
The Rev. James Malone Coleman was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of West Tennessee on June 19. Coleman, rector of St. John's, Memphis, Tennessee, was elected on the 46th ballot. An initial convention, May 29, recessed after casting 35 ballots that failed to culminate in an election. Reconvening on June 19, the convention elected Coleman after 11 additional ballots. Coleman is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and the School of Theology of the University of the South. He has served in parishes in Tennessee and Louisiana, and served as chaplain at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Following the consent of the church's standing committees and bishops, Coleman will be consecrated in November and will become bishop of West Tennessee when Bishop Alex Dickson retires. Dickson has not announced his plans to retire.