ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 23, 1996 TAG: 9606240075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
Southwest Virginia Episcopalians elected an Oregon priest as their new bishop Saturday.
Frank Neff Powell, currently executive assistant to the bishop of Oregon, was selected by a close vote of the clergy and lay members of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia.
Powell, 48, won the fifth ballot during the election ceremony at St. John's Episcopal Church in Roanoke. Through the balloting, five candidates were narrowed down to two main contenders, Powell and Mark C. Sullivan, a priest from Easton, Md.
On the final ballot, Powell outlasted Sullivan by winning 32-25 among the clergy and 72-68 among lay delegates.
None of the candidates attended the balloting.
In a pre-election answer to questions from the diocese's nominating committee, Powell said the most divisive issue in the church today is the "tendency in some corners of the church toward a rather narrow, restricted or pinched reading of scripture, particularly focusing on the rules. This can lead to a neglect of the repeating messages of hospitality to strangers, concern for the poor, widows and orphans ... and the joy of faith."
He pledged to take steps to help invigorate smaller churches and help them "stay connected" with the larger church and their communities.
Powell, who was born in Salem, Oregon, earned degrees from Claremont McKenna College in California and the Episcopal Divinity School. He was ordained in 1974.
He was curate in a parish in Portland until 1975 and vicar of a church in Forest Grove, Oregon, from 1975 until 1983. He was archdeacon of the Diocese of North Carolina from 1983 to 1990 before returning to Oregon.
He is married to Dorothy Ruth Powell. They have three teen-age children.
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Powellby CNB