The Petition Process
Requirements for Petition Candidates for Bishop of Maryland
Please Note: The petition process closed on January 29, 2008.
On January 8 the slate of candidates presented by the Search Committee was announced to the Standing Committee. The 14th Bishop of Maryland will be elected in Special Convention on Saturday, March 29 at St. James’ Church, Lafayette Square. In addition to the nominees presented by the Search Committee, candidates were nominated by Petition through the process indicated below.
- Petition on the provided forms, signed by at least fifteen (15) communicants in good standing from congregations in the Diocese of Maryland, AND any five (5) clergy canonically resident in the Diocese of Maryland. Signatories must represent at least three (3) regions and five (5) congregations. You may submit the nomination signatures in counterparts, that is, all endorsers do not need to sign the same copy of the nomination form. However, the Petition must be received in hardcopy (i.e., not electronically) as a single unit with all original signatures attached.
- Current Resume -- one page.
- Current C.D.O. Profile.
- Concise, narrative biography of no more than 125 words written in the third person.
- Greeting - Petition candidates will be asked to write a statement of no more than 250 words introducing themselves to the diocese.
- A Photo for publication, submitted electronically – one digital JPEG color photo of the nominee, 600x800 pixels minimum. The photograph should be of the nominee only, showing head and shoulders against a neutral background. The nominee should be wearing clericals or other professional dress, but not liturgical vestments. The photograph should be royalty-free, and the Diocese of Maryland reserves the right to publish it.
All petition materials must be received no later than 5 p.m., January 29, 2008. All materials, with the exception of the Petition itself, may be sent either electronically or in hardcopy.
Ms. Christine N. Kinard, Secretary
The Standing Committee
Diocese of Maryland
4 East University Parkway
Baltimore, MD 21218
Or
In Addition:
- The petitioner must be eligible for election as a Bishop according to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.
- Petitioners shall be subject to the same background checks as nominees of the Search Committee. If we do not receive background check results prior to publication of the petition candidate names and if a petition nominee does not satisfactorily complete the Oxford Document Services background check we will expect a speedy and gracious withdrawal by the petition nominee. The Standing Committee will pay for Background Checks for all candidates – Search Committee candidates and Petition candidates alike.
- The Standing Committee shall certify a petitioner only if all requirements are met.
- Petitioners shall participate in the presentation of candidates on the same basis as other nominees. The presentations, or “walkabouts,” are scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 – Saturday, March 8, 2008.
- The names on the ballot at the Electing Convention will be arranged in alphabetical order.
- Nominations will not be accepted from the floor of the Electing Convention.
Application and Endorsements
Click here to download the Application and Endorsements form in Adobe PDF format.
