Anglican Communion News Service

[ACNS source: Diocese of New Hampshire]. The Revd Canon Gene V Robinson was elected bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire today on the 2nd ballot.

Canon Robinson is the first openly gay man in the Episcopal Church to be elected as a bishop.

The other nominees were: the Revd Ruth Lawson Kirk, rector of St Peter's Church in Glenside, PA; the Revd Canon Pamela Mott, pastor at Trinity Cathedral in Portland, OR; and the Revd Robert Tate, rector of St Martin-in-the-Fields parish in Philadelphia, PA. A fifth nominee, the Revd Joe Goodwin Burnett was elected bishop of Nebraska in May.

The leadership of the national Episcopal Church now must ratify Canon Robinson's election during the General Convention, meeting in Minneapolis in late July. Both the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies will need to approve his election by a two-thirds majority.

Canon Robinson has served as canon to the ordinary in New Hampshire since 1988 where he coordinates diocesan staff and ministry of the current bishop, the Rt Revd Douglas E Thuener. Since 1983, Canon Robinson has served as executive secretary of the Episcopal Province of New England, and since 2001 on the Board of Trustees of the General Theological Seminary in New York.

A 1969 graduate of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, he has a BA in American Studies/History. In 1973, he completed the MDiv at General Theological Seminary; after ordination he served as curate at Christ Church, Ridgewood, New Jersey. Upon moving to New Hampshire in 1975, he co-owned and directed an accredited girls' summer camp and horse farm. As founding director of Sign of the Dove Retreat Center in Temple, New Hampshire, he facilitated spiritual direction and designed programs for a variety of groups. He also managed the diocesan Living into Our Baptism program of spiritual growth and development.

Canon Robinson enjoys entertaining and cooking, gardening, music and running. The father of two grown daughters, Jamee and Ella, he lives with his partner Mark Andrew, employed by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.