People
Episcopal News Service. February 26, 1998 [98-3004L]
Roger Wilson Blanchard, former bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio, died on Tuesday, February 17, after a long illness. He was 88. Blanchard was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Southern Ohio in 1958 and became diocesan bishop one year later, serving until 1971. In 1970, Presiding Bishop John Hines appointed him vice-president of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. After retirement in 1974, he served both as an assistant at Trinity Church in Boston and as an assisting bishop in the Diocese of Massachusetts. For the past 18 years, he worked as a volunteer with the prisoners of the Maine State Prison System and their families. A memorial service will take place on Saturday, April 4, at 2 p.m. at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston.
The Rev. Harry R. Bainbridge was elected bishop of Idaho on the second ballot on February 14. He is currently rector of Christ Church, St. Peter's Parish, Easton, Maryland. He received his master of divinity and doctorate in ministry from the School of Theology of the University of the South. Bainbridge's consecration is scheduled for June 6. He succeeds Bishop John Stuart Thornton who is retiring on November 13.
The Rev. James Curry, rector of Trinity Church, Portland, Connecticut, was recently appointed the Diocese of Connecticut's canon to the ordinary by Bishop Clarence Coleridge. The canon to the ordinary is a senior administrator in the diocese and the executive officer to the diocesan bishop. "We have worked together on many occasions and I trust that his particular gifts for ministry and his sensitivities will serve me and our diocese well," Coleridge said. "I hope that his presence on this staff will allow me to spend more time in pastoral outreach and community work." Curry will replace Rev. Canon Richard Tombaugh, who retired on February 6, 1998. He will begin his new position after Easter.