Western Kansas diocese elects Michael Pierce Milliken as bishop
Episcopal News Service. August 21, 2010 [082110-01]
Pat McCaughan
The Rev. Michael Pierce Milliken was elected Aug. 21 as the fifth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas, pending the required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of the Episcopal Church.
Milliken, 63, rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Hutchinson, Kansas, since 1998, was elected on the second ballot from a field of three nominees during a special electing convention at St. Michael's Church in Hays, Kansas. On that ballot, he received 33 votes out of 62 cast in the lay order and 22 out of 27 in the clergy order. A simple majority of votes in each order was needed to elect.
Pending a successful consent process, Milliken also will continue as Grace's rector while serving as diocesan bishop, according to the Rev. Laird McGregor, vicar of St. Anne's Church in McPherson and a member of the diocesan Standing Committee.
Though the exact details of that arrangement have yet to be worked out, such a division of time, duties and salary between the diocese and a local parish or mission has been seen as a likely outcome since the bishop search process began last spring, McGregor explained.
Following the election, Milliken said juggling the duties of bishop and rector would be a challenge. One of his first priorities as bishop is to build community among congregations of the geographically large diocese.
"We don't have a lot of people. We have to create a community atmosphere among these places, so everyone will know everyone else," he said.
Milliken would succeed the Rt. Rev. James M. Adams, the fourth bishop of the diocese, who resigned earlier this year to become vicar of Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church in Lecanto in the Diocese of Central Florida.
During more than 35 years of ordained ministry Milliken has served in a variety of local church and community capacities, including as a parish priest in Kentucky and Kansas as well as a lecturer in theology.
Well known in the Kansas diocese, his other commitments include serving as the vice chairman of New Beginnings, Inc., a community homeless ministry in Hutchinson. He also is the vice president of the board of directors for St. Francis Community Services, the largest private provider of children's services in Kansas.
His current diocesan responsibilities include serving as acting president of the diocesan council and chair of stewardship. His provincial involvements include serving as a member of the Province VII council and as chair of the commission on ministry network.
He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky in 1970 and a Master of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Kentucky, in 1973. He also holds a Master of Art degree in theology from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was a lecturer in theology from 1992-1993.
He was ordained to the diaconate May 26, 1973, and to the priesthood Nov. 30, 1973.
From 1973-1977, Milliken served as vicar of St. Matthew's Church in the Diocese of Lexington, in Kentucky. In 1977, he became rector of Grace Church in Florence, Kentucky, where he served for 21 years before moving to his current parish in Hutchinson.
A lecturer in the Old and New Testaments at Hutchinson Community College, in Kansas, he also has served for many years as a director and chaplain for summer youth camps. He also has been a spiritual director for a number of Cursillo weekends as well as retreat leader for several men's and women's groups.
Milliken was previously a candidate for bishop, in 1994, when the Rt. Rev. Vernon Strickland was elected third bishop of Western Kansas, according to McGregor.
Milliken was born March 13, 1947 in Lexington, Kentucky. He and Kathleen Smith married Aug. 2, 1969. They have one son who is a National Park Service Ranger in Alaska.
The other nominees for bishop were:
- the Rev. Robert Allen Rodgers, 65, deployment officer in the Diocese of Eau Claire; and
- the Rev. Bryce Dennis Zimmerman, 58, rector of St. Cornelius Episcopal Church in Dodge City, Kansas.
The Diocese of Western Kansas encompasses the western two-thirds of the state of Kansas and represents about 2,100 parishioners in 28 congregations. The diocese was a missionary district from 1901 until 1973, when it achieved full diocesan status.
Under the canons (III.11.4) of the Episcopal Church, a majority of bishops exercising jurisdiction and diocesan standing committees must consent to the bishop-elect's ordination as bishop within 120 days of receiving notice of the election.
The consecration has been tentatively set for Saturday, Feb. 19, at Christ Cathedral in Salina, with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori serving as chief consecrator and celebrant.