ESCANABA -The Rev. Rayford Ray, a member of the Episcopal Ministry Support Team in the Diocese of Northern Michigan, has been elected as the diocese's 11th bishop.
Ray, 54, a four-time deputy to General Convention who serves several parishes in the south central region of the diocese, was elected on the second ballot from a slate of three nominees at a convention held at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Escanaba.
During more than 20 years in the diocese, Ray has worked as a ministry development coordinator and collaborated with parishes across the Upper Peninsula. He was recently an adjunct instructor at Episcopal Divinity School. An alumnus of Nashota House, he lives in Rapid River, Michigan with his wife, Suzanne Ray. They have three grown children and four grandchildren.
Northern Michigan has been without a diocesan bishop since the Rt. Rev. Jim Kelsey died in a car accident in June 2007. In February 2009, the diocese elected the Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester as bishop, but he did not receive the consent of the wider church. Bishop Tom Ray (no relation to the bishop-elect) serves as assisting bishop. The canonical authority in the diocese since Bishop Kelsey's death has been the Standing Committee.
The Diocese of Northern Michigan, founded in 1895, encompasses 27 congregations and about 1,770 Episcopalians in the U.P.
