The Rev. Susan Bunton Haynes was
ordained and consecrated as the 11th bishop of the Diocese of
Southern Virginia at 11 a.m. on February 1 at Williamsburg Community Chapel in
Williamsburg, Virginia. Approximately 1,300 people attended the historic
service, and over 1,000 watched the live stream, as Haynes became the first woman
bishop in the diocese’s 128-year history. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry led
the service as chief consecrator. The Rt. Rev. Edward S. Little II, seventh
bishop of Northern Indiana, was the preacher.
Haynes was elected at a Diocesan
Special Council in Dinwiddie, Virginia on September 21, 2019. One of six
nominees, she was elected on the eighth ballot. Prior to the election, Haynes served as the rector of St. Paul’s in Mishawaka,
Indiana, for 11 years.
The service, held on the Eve of the
Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, began with a Candlemas
ceremony by candle light. Congregants held candles blessed at the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem especially for use at this service.
A hymn written especially for the
consecration by the Rev. Canon Henry G. Randolph, Jr. was sung during
Communion. Randolph’s text is set to the tune Kingsfold, a
well-known tune from The Hymnal 1982. Randolph, a friend and colleague to
Haynes, is also distantly related to The Rt. Rev. Alfred Magill Randolph, the
first bishop of Southern Virginia. The hymn was also shared with parishes
in the Diocese of Northern Indiana, from which Haynes came, in order to be sung
on February 2 during worship, as their way of supporting a priest from their
own diocese who has become bishop.
Haynes earned her Master of Divinity
degree at Vanderbilt Divinity School and was ordained in 2004. She is married
to the Rev. Thomas Haynes, and they have two adult daughters, Sarah and Avery.
Haynes succeeds the Rt. Rev. Herman
Hollerith IV who served as the 10th bishop of Southern Virginia, who
served the diocese for 10 years, retiring in January 2019.
The Diocese of Southern Virginia
encompasses 101 congregations from Virginia’s Eastern Shore to the Dan River.
Photo: Bishop Haynes is presented the Pastoral Staff by the Rt.
Rev. Herman Hollerith IV, 10th bishop of Southern Virginia. Photo by Susan Pederson (St. Andrew's, Norfolk)
