The Principal of Wycliffe College, Toronto has been elected the 7th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. The Rev. Canon George Sumner (60) was elected on the fourth ballot at a special meeting of diocesan convention held on 16 May 2015 at the Episcopal School of Dallas.
A graduate of Harvard and Yale Universities, Dr. Sumner serves as principal of Wycliffe College, an evangelical Anglican theological college and as Helliwel Professor of World Mission. He teaches in the area of the history of mission and recently has led doctoral seminars studying the theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg and hamartiology. And most recently published a commentary on the Book of Daniel.
Elected on the fourth ballot, Dr. Sumner received a majority of clergy and lay ballots, 77 and 107, on the fourth ballot. Three other candidates were also offered to the convention for consideration; the Rev. Mike Michie, the Rev. David Read and the Rev. Leigh Spruill.
“I am humbled and grateful to God for my election,” Dr Sumner said following his election. “It will be a great privilege to share in the ministry Christ has given us all together in the Diocese of Dallas. I would like to express my appreciation for my fellow candidates and the remarkable transition team. I ask for your prayers and help in the days to come.”
The Suffragan Bishop of Dallas, the Rt. Rev. Paul E. Lambert, who serves as bishop pro-tem since the retirement of the Rt. Rev. James Stanton in May 2014 said he looked “forward to working with Bishop-elect Sumner as we move into our next period of transition, the consent process. The future of the diocese looks bright and is in good hands.”
Dr. Sumner is affiliated with the conservative think tank, the Anglican Communion Institute. During the run up to the election, Dr. Sumner told members of the diocese attending candidates’ forums that he would continue the policies of his predecessor, Bishop Stanton, on issues of human sexuality, and was not persuaded of the merits of the plan offered by the Bishop of Texas, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Doyle, of devolving the issue of same-sex blessings to the parish.
