South Dakota elects its tenth Bishop

in only two ballots from a fine field of thoughtful and engaging candidates.


Here's a little about him from the Rapid City Journal:

With their children grown, the couple moved to Pierre because they were looking for a congregation that could benefit from their experience but perhaps didn’t have the financial resources of the wealthier East Coast churches he had previously served.

"We just clicked," he said of his call to South Dakota. "We absolutely love it. We love the landscape, we love the people. I love the work I’ve been able to do on the reservation.”

A self-described optimist and theological moderate, Tarrant said he thinks the Episcopal Church can be a witness to the rest of the world about how “we can live in unity even in the midst of our diversity" -- despite the national church’s schisms over the issues of same-sex marriage and the ordination of gays.

...

"I hate labels, but I would call myself a moderate," Tarrant said. "I think we need liberals to respect conservatives and conservatives to respect liberals and for all of us to not forget that we really do need to respect each other."

He admits that the national church hasn’t done a great job of that so far, but said past failures shouldn’t preclude the possibility of future success.

(Rev. Tarrant is a former chaplain of an Integrity chapter in Massachusetts.)