Byline: LESLIE HAGER-SMITH THE ROANOKE TIMES
CHRISTIANSBURG -- New River Valley clergyman and community leader Harry B. Scott III has been elected to be the next bishop of the Anglican Catholic Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic States.
Rector since 1978 of the Church of St. Peter the Apostle in Christiansburg, he was elected by a special synod of the diocese, meeting Saturday in Richmond. Scott, 54, will become the spiritual leader of a diocese that takes in 21 traditional Anglican parishes in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee.
Speaking from his home parish Thursday, Scott called the development "a very humbling experience." Though he knew his name would be offered in nomination, Scott never anticipated that his would be the only one. Election required a two-thirds majority of both the lay and clerical orders of the diocese.
A native of Lexington, Ky., he graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1969 with a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria in 1972 with a master of divinity degree.
Scott came to Christiansburg in 1974 as rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. Four years later, he became rector of St. Peter's, when the Episcopal Church split on matters including revision of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the ordination of women. The Anglican Catholic church has 11 dioceses, however not all are led by bishops; Scott will be one of only seven church bishops, worldwide.
Soon after arriving in Christiansburg, Scott founded the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program. Scott said the organization is modeled on a similar program he became acquainted with while serving his first parish, in northern Kentucky. MCEAP provides food, clothing and financial assistance to low-income, elderly and handicapped individuals and families in the county. Twenty-six years later, Scott remains president of the organization, which this year delivered $116,000 in aid to more than 1,700 clients.
The affable clergyman with the smoke-cured voice called it the organization's "biggest year ever." Since 1993, he has also served as chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Social Services.
Scott and his wife, Sheila, have two sons and three daughters, all grown. "We love this community," he said. "We've raised our children here." Scott's new role as bishop will not require him to leave the area, but he does expect a considerable amount of traveling.
Scott said his new role will probably require him to be away one or two Sundays a month; he expects to tap other priests who will take the pulpit at St. Peter's during his absences. On Sunday, Scott broke the news to his congregation at its annual meeting - the timing was a happy coincidence. Since then, he has had a busy week meeting with both MCEAP and social services board members, assuring them of his intentions to stay involved.
Scott succeeds the Most Rev. John T. Cahoon Jr., who died of brain cancer Oct. 4. Cahoon was archbishop of the Anglican Catholic Church, as well as bishop for the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Scott assumes only the role of bishop. The Most Rev. Brother John-Charles of the Diocese of New Orleans has become archbishop of the church.
Leslie Hager-Smith can be reached
at 381-1643 or leslieh@roanoke.com.
CAPTION(S): Photo - LESLIE HAGER-SMITH THE ROANOKE TIMES The Rev. Harry B. Scott III, rector of Christiansburg's Church of St. Peter the Apostle, has been a fixture in social services issues in Montgomery County for years.COLOR