Maine's more than 10,000 Episcopalians have elected a bishop. A majority of 261 voters, including clergy members and lay people, voted on Saturday night to choose the Rev. Thomas James Brown to lead the church in Maine.The Rev. Maria Hoecker was president of the search committee for the new bishop. She says she's particularly pleased because the appointment of Brown - who is Maine's first openly gay bishop - is no longer hugely controversial.
That's as opposed to the first openly gay bishop in the U.S., Gene Robinson, in 2003, and the country's first African-American woman bishop, Barbara Harris, in 1989.
"When she was elected, she had to wear a bulletproof vest," Hoecker says. "When Gene Robinson was elected, he had to wear a bulletproof vest. We're not worried that Thomas has to wear a bulletproof vest."
The election has to be confirmed by other Episcopal dioceses in the U.S., and Brown is expected to become bishop in June.
"He's the chairman of the board for our pension fund," Hoecker says. "He's well known all across the church as a gifted and compassionate leader."
