John McKee Sloan Ordained

 Bishop Suffragan of Alabama 

Story by: the Rev. Michael Rich  with contributions from Norma McKittrick, and Episcopal Life Online

Photos by: the Rev. Polk VanZandt, Michael Rich and Richard Schori

Symbols and voices from summer church camp were woven into the consecration service for the Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan as Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. More than 1,000 people attended the service, held Saturday (Jan. 12) in the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, presided at the service. Also laying hands on Sloan as part of the consecration ceremony were the Rt. Rev. Henry N. Parsley Jr., bishop of Alabama; the Rt. Rev. Robert O. Miller, retired bishop of Alabama; the Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray III, bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi; and the Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray Jr., retired bishop of Mississippi, and nine more bishops from around the Southeast.

Bishops of the Episcopal Church from throughout the Southeast lay hands on John McKee Sloan to ordain him Bishop Suffragan of Alabama.

Also attending were clergy of the Roman Catholic, the Greek Orthodox, and the Cumberland Presbyterian churches.

The Rev. David H. Meginniss, rector of Christ Church in Tuscaloosa and president of the diocesan Standing Committee, preached (Listen). He reminded Sloan and all bishops present that the shepherd's staff, known as a crozier, is never used as a weapon - despite what young shepherds in Christmas pageants may think.

Jurdy Warnock, left, a Special Session camp attendee reads the Old Testament lesson during ordination service.  With her is Verger Jeannie Randall.

Instead, the staff is to be used as shepherds do: as an aid in walking and to keep their flocks moving to new pastures, Meginniss said.

Later in the service, the new bishop was given a hand-carved crosier by Barbara and Larry Meyer of St. Thomas Church in Huntsville, Alabama, where Sloan served as rector for 14 years before his election as suffragan.

Along with the traditional shepherd's staff, Sloan received from Camp McDowell a carved walking staff representing his longstanding love for church camp. Sloan, 52, traces his ministry through a series of church camp experiences going back more than 25 years.

The Rt. Rev. Sloan is presented with the crozier by Larry & Barbara Meyer of St. Thomas Chruch in Huntsville.

The reader of the Old Testament lesson at Saturday's service was Jurdy Warnock, a five-year attendee of Special Session camp, which Sloan inaugurated and directs.  The New Testament lesson was read by Brian Fluker, who has served for several years as a counselor.  The Special Session opens the diocesan camp for a week each summer to mentally and physically challenged campers.

The congregation warmly welcomed both Sloan and the Presiding Bishop. Each received a separate sustained standing ovation during the service. The congregation also applauded Sloan's family; he is married to the former Tina Marie Brown, and they have two children, McKee and Mary Nell.

Bishop. Sloan (center) celebrates his first Eucharist following ordinaton.  From left are Bishop Parsley, Deacon Drachlis, and Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori.

The liturgy opened with preludes for organ and brass quartet under the direction of Dr. Stephen G. Schaeffer, the cathedral's music director and organist. The cathedral choir offered anthems and lead the congregation in singing hymns.  Kathy Sharp Heim, former St. Thomas Church Choir Director, offered a solo during communion.

C. H. Janes Jr. and the Rev. Andy Keyse were cantors, the Rev. Brent Norris was litanist, and the Rev. Deacon Dave Drachlis (reading in English) and the Rev. Deacon Mary Jane Taylor (reading in Spanish) were

The Rev. David Meginniss preaches at ordination of Alabama's new Bishop Suffragan

gospelers. The Rev. Marianne Stephens Kroll, rector of St. John's Deaf Church in Birmingham, signed throughout the service.

Diocesan Bishop Parsley thanked Dean Frank F. Limehouse III and the cathedral congregation for their welcome to the landmark stone church, where services were first held in 1893.

"This is a jubilant occasion in our diocese as we consecrate our new bishop suffragan," Parsley said in a January 11 news conference at Carpenter House, site of diocesan offices visited by the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "I am excited by

There was standing room only at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, as more than 1000 people, clergy and lay persons, attended the ordination of John McKee Sloan as Bishop Suffragan of Alabama.

the gifts Kee Sloan will bring to us in this important ministry...and I look forward to the mutual ministry Kee and I will share in the years to come."

Parsley described the Alabama diocese as "strong and vital" and "deeply unified in our worship of Almighty God and in or mission to spread the transforming love of Christ.

"In the midst of the recent conflicts in the Episcopal Church we have kept our balance and spiritual maturity, seeking to be a joyful church centered in Christ's reconciling work and a place of grace and welcome for all people."

Brian Fluker reads the Epistle lesson during ordination service

Reflecting upon her January 11-13 visit to Birmingham, (see related story), the Presiding Bishop praised the Alabama diocese's "great vitality and hospitality."

Sloan was elected to serve as suffragan, or assisting bishop, by the diocese at a special convention on Sept. 30.  He will assist Bishop Parsley in various duties, including: pastoral care of clergy, small church ministries, college ministries and multicultural ministry programs; and implementation of Alabama's ACTS II Capital Campaign objectives.  He will visit parishes for baptisms and confirmations, and will participate in councils of the church on the national and international levels.

Sloan, 52, previously served as chaplain to the University of Mississippi and priest in parishes in Grenada, West Point, and Olive Branch, Miss.  He is a graduate of Mississippi State University and the University of the South, Sewanee.  

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori (right) and the Rev. Robert Childers administer communion during ordination service.

More Photos

The Diocese of Alabama includes 36,000 members in 91 parishes and worshiping communities, covering north and central Alabama and the Black Belt region. The diocese has three campus ministry centers and eight campus chaplains.  The diocese has established 11 new Episcopal churches since 1990. It is active in a number of ministries of outreach including significant work in Haiti. The Diocese of Alabama is one of 110 dioceses in The Episcopal Church, which is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Consecrating Bishops are (from left) the Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray Jr., the Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray III, the Most Rev. Katharine Jeffert Schori, the Rt. Rev. Henry N. Parsley, and the Rt. Rev. Robert O. Miller.