BALTIMORE – The Rev. Canon Eugene T. Sutton will be consecrated as the XIV Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland on Saturday, June 28 at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Over 3,000 people are expected to attend the festive consecration service, where the presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be the chief celebrant. Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori is the first woman head of The Episcopal Church. Nearly 30 Episcopal bishops from around the country and throughout the Anglican Communion will also participate in the service. The Rev. Dr. Barry C. Black, a native of Baltimore and the first African-American Chaplain of the US Senate, will preach at the service.
WHAT: Consecration of the XIV Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
WHO: Bishop-elect Eugene T. Sutton with the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA as the chief consecrator. The Rev. Dr. Barry C. Black, US Chaplain of the US Senate will preach.
WHEN: Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 11:00 am
Camera and audio set ups by 9:30 am. Please call to acquire credentials.
WHERE:Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues
BACKGROUND:
Bishop-elect Eugene T. Sutton will be the first African-American bishop of the Diocese of Maryland. He was elected on the first ballot at a special convention of the diocese on March 29. He shares this distinction with only one predecessor, the first Bishop of Maryland, John Claggett, who was invested as a bishop in 1792. Prior to his election, Bishop-elect Sutton was the canon pastor and director of the Cathedral Center for Prayer and Pilgrimage at the Washington National Cathedral. Bishop-elect Sutton succeeds Bishop Robert Ihloff, who retired in April 2007.
Sutton will deliver his first sermon as the new Bishop of Maryland on Sunday, June 29 at a Welcoming and Seating service at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore. Sutton will begin the day at The Church of the Guardian Angel, which is an Episcopal parish with a focused outreach to homeless people in Baltimore. Following his visit and breakfast with the congregation, Sutton will lead a procession—a Bishop’s Urban Walk through the streets of Baltimore—to the Cathedral, just over a mile away from Guardian Angel. According to Anglican custom, Sutton will knock on the cathedral doors and will be greeted by a delegation from the cathedral congregation. Sutton will be joined on his Urban Walk by young people who have spent the week in a homeless shelter. The Bishop’s Urban Walk and sermon will be his first official activity as the leader of 44,000 Episcopalians in a geographical region that includes rural and urban Maryland, including the cities of Baltimore, Annapolis and Frederick. The diocese also contains 116 parishes, many of them established over 200 years ago.
For more information about the Diocese of Maryland, Bishop-elect Eugene T. Sutton and consecration events, please visit www.ang-md.org.
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The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland is a Christian community of 22,000 households with nearly 44,000 members in 116 congregations covering 10 counties and Baltimore City. The Episcopal Church is a community of 2.4 million members in 100 nationwide dioceses, 10 overseas dioceses and six extra-provincial territories; www.episcopalchurch.org. The Anglican Communion is a global community of 77 million Anglicans in 38 member churches/provinces, including The Episcopal Church; www.anglicancommunion.org.
THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF MARYLAND
4 East University Parkway
Baltimore, Mayland 21218
www.ang-md.org
pressroom@ang-md.org
SOURCE: Washington National Cathedral