Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE REVEREND Canon Robert McLean Thompson, rector of the St. Andrew Parish Church, was elected Suffragan Bishop of Kingston by the 135th Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands yesterday.
"I thank God for this," he said. "I think God guided the whole process and I trust the decision that has resulted as God's will not only be for me but for the church."
Although Canon Thompson was the only candidate for the position, church rules dictate that an election had to be held. It also states that a successful candidate must receive a two-third majority in both the clergy and lay community (non-clergy).
Canon Thompson was elected on 77 of 105 votes from the clergy and a 193 of 220 votes from the laity in the first ballot.
Despite being absent from the actual proceedings, Archbishop of the West Indies the Most Revd. Drexel Gomez expressed his pleasure at Canon Thompson's election.
"I am very pleased that the election went smoothly and he was elected on the first ballot," said Revd. Gomez, during a telephone interview with The Gleaner yesterday. "I have known him from the time that he was a theological student and I have followed him through his career since ordination."
VERY CHALLENGING MINISTRY
"He will have a very challenging ministry as a Bishop in Jamaica especially at this time," Revd. Gomez continued. "I look forward to welcoming him into the house of Bishops and working with him as we try to get leadership in these critical times."
Canon Thompson told The Gleaner that a part of his role in this new position will be finding "a way to getting the church more connected to the membership of the church."
Having completed a doctoral dissertation entitled 'Theology for Social Transformation', Canon Thompson also stated that the "the church now needs to critique the ideologies that shapes and informs our culture."
At the opening of Synod on Tuesday, The Lord Bishop the Rt. Reverend Dr. Alfred Reid also called on the Anglican Church to break its silence on controversial issues affecting the society without being political.
Anglicans from across Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are meeting for a four day conference at the Starfish Hotel, in Trelawny under the theme: Growing in Christ Sharing the Love of God.
