The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith was elected Bishop of Connecticut on June 19. Bishop Smith, the diocese's bishop suffragan since 1996, was elected on the second ballot from a slate of six candidates, three from Connecticut and three from outside the diocese.

"If he had been elected coadjutor [instead of suffragan] and not gone through this election, he wouldn't have known how much support he has, how loved he is," said Pat Crane, of Trinity Church, Wethersfield.

The other candidates in the election included the Rev. Leander S. Harding, rector of St. John's, Stamford, Conn.; the Rev. Canon John E. Kitagawa, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Maryland; the Rev. Martyn Minns, rector of Truro Church, Fairfax, Va.; the Rev. Leslie C. Smith, rector of Trinity Church, Princeton, N.J.; and the Rev. E. Bevan Stanley, rector of Grace & St. Peter's Church, Hamden, Conn.

Bishop Smith was the clear favorite on the first ballot and on the second ballot earned well beyond the votes needed to elect (see ballot).

In his remarks to the convention immediately following his election, Bishop Smith placed the day's events, and the future, in the context of a community moving together.

"This is a chapter in the sacred story of God's people throughout the ages," Bishop Smith said, "and together we are participants in a holy drama, the holy drama of salvation. And the play at times has struggled mightily and at other times has had its brilliant moments. And now its next chapters will unfold as we move together in faith, hope, and love into our future, as a band of Christ's people, known as the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, seeking always, above everything, to know Christ, and make Christ known."

In a brief interview, Bishop Smith said he's excited about starting his new ministry, which will begin after his investiture Oct. 16 at Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford. He will succeed the Rt. Rev. Clarence Coleridge.

Bishop Smith is looking forward to building on Bishop Coleridge's initiative with young people "so that we as a diocese can move more broadly into ministry with youth and ministry about youth." Bishop Smith said he wants to look at new ways to help congregations become centers of mission in Christ; new ways for the bishops to have an even greater apostolic presence in the diocese - getting out to people in parishes more, and making the personal and spiritual connections as well as sacramental ones; and, new ways for people, both clergy and laity, to engage in conversation. "A measure of our unity as we go forward will be in opening ourselves to one another," he said.

Bishop Smith has served his entire ministry in Connecticut. He was curate at Trinity Church, Hartford, 1967-71; assistant at St. John's, Waterbury, 1971-76; rector of St. Michael's, Naugatuck, 1976-85; and rector of St. Mary's, Manchester, 1985-96. He was elected bishop suffragan in 1995.

Bishop Smith lives in Manchester with his wife, Kate Trafford Smith. The couple has two daughters, ages 25 and 21.