I haven’t been keeping up with the Anglican blogosphere in the past couple of years, but it seems to me that one of the very interesting effects of the internet on the Episcopal Church has been the way in which things that once were probably almost unnoticed, have become matters of great significance throughout the Anglican Communion and indeed, often far beyond.

One example of this is bishop elections. I’ve never actually participated in one, on either the lay or clerical side, but I’ve been Episcopalian for nearly twenty years and have never even been cognizant of the politicking involved until the last few. Probably it was the controversy surrounding the consents to the election of the current Bishop of South Carolina that brought elections to the front of my mind. But certainly the failure of the bishop-elect of Northern Michigan to receive consents from bishops and standing committees elevated the profile of elections to a matter of national and international significance.

The slate of candidates for Bishop of Upper South Carolina was announced a couple of weeks ago. I am interested because until mid-September, I was canonically resident in that diocese, and I was nominated, though thankfully not selected to serve on the search committee earlier this year. It’s clear that the internet has changed the dynamics of the election process. There is discussion in various quarters about the relative merits of each candidate, and about the process itself.

On one level, such conversation can help to bring issues of enormous significance to the fore. I do think that the controversy surrounding the election in Northern Michigan was useful to some degree. It remains to be seen, however, whether any candidate can survive close internet scrutiny. We are allowing ourselves to be shaped by the way in which the blogosphere has shaped the political process nationwide. One wonders whether the church will be any better off than the nation as a result. If you want to know more about the candidates for bishop of Upper South Carolina, I commend Deacon Tim Ervolina’s blog.

Tim is a deacon of the church and one of the few voices of progressivism in church and state in South Carolina.