The Diocese of Massachusetts elected one of its own as bishop suffragan Nov. 4 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. The Rev. Roy F. (Bud) Cederholm, Jr., rector of Christ Church in Needham, Mass., was elected on the sixth ballot by the clergy and lay delegates to the annual diocesan convention.

A simple majority of votes was required from both the clergy members and lay delegates on the same balloting round. The announcement of Fr. Cederholm's election was met on Saturday with sustained applause and cheering from a packed cathedral church. "Thank you for your trust and faith," he responded in a voice choked with emotion.

The bishop-elect will serve alongside the Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, Bishop of Massachusetts, and the Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris, bishop suffragan.

Also nominated were the Rev. Bruce A. Freeman, rector of the Church of the Epiphany in San Carlos, Calif.; the Rev. Robert J. O'Neill, rector of Epiphany, Winchester, Mass.; the Rev. Margaret R. Rose, rector of St. Dunstan's, Atlanta, Ga.; the Rev. Canon Joseph Y. Seville, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania; and the Rev. Lydia Agnew Speller, rector of St. Mark's, St. Louis, Mo.

The consecration is scheduled to take place on March 24, 2001, at Trinity Church in Boston, provided that consent is achieved from a majority of standing committees and bishops of the other dioceses.

Fr. Cederholm, 56, was born in Brockton, Mass. He is a graduate of Boston University and completed his seminary studies at Bexley Hall Divinity School. Ordained to the priesthood in 1972 in the Diocese of Massachusetts, he served as associate rector of St. Stephen's Church in Cohasset, Mass., from 1971 to 1976 and as rector of St. Paul's Church in White River Junction, Vt., 1976-89. He has been the rector in Needham since 1989.

He has been a Christian education consultant in the dioceses of Massachusetts and Vermont and was the religious education coordinator for Province 1 from 1988 to 1991. In Vermont, he was a deputy to the General Conventions in 1982 and 1988.

In Massachusetts, he is the president of the standing committee and a member of the Leadership Development Institute Board and the Clergy Sabbatical Committee. He co-chaired the diocese's Decade of Evangelism Committee. He is involved with Habitat for Humanity and is a member of the Needham Human Rights Committee.

He is married to Ruth Ann Lyon. They have two children and one grandchild.