The Rev. J. Gary Gloster, vicar of the Chapel of Christ the King in Charlotte, N.C., was elected Suffragan Bishop of North Carolina March 23 in a special convention at St. Andrew's Church, Greensboro. Fr. Gloster was elected on the fourth ballot after the diocese had failed Feb. 3 to elect in 12 ballots over three days [TLC, March 3].

Fr. Gloster, 59, has been vicar of Christ the King since 1988. He had been the top vote-getter in the earlier election, having achieved a majority of lay votes on the sixth ballot, and having been within eight votes of being elected in the clergy order on the eighth ballot.

The bishop-elect is a native of Hopkinsville, Ky. He graduated from Wabash College and Virginia Theological Seminary, and received a D.Min. from VTS in 1990.

He was vicar of St. Augustine's, Danville, Ind., 1962-66; program director at Waycross Camp and Conference Center (Ind.), 1966-67; associate rector of Church of the Redeemer, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1968-71; rector of Christ Church, Pulaski, Va., 1972-80; and associate rector of Christ Church, Charlotte, 1980-88.

He and his wife, Nancy, are the parents of three children.

Others who participated in the election were the Rt. Rev. Benoni Y. Ogwal-Abwang, former Bishop of Northern Uganda, now rector of St. Paul's, Harrisburg, Pa.; the Rev. Kenneth Henry, rector of the Church of the Holy Comforter, Charlotte; and the Rev. Elizabeth Claiborne Jones, rector of Church of the Epiphany, Atlanta. All three had been listed on the first 12 ballots.

Fr. Gloster will succeed the Rt. Rev. Huntington Williams, who retired as suffragan bishop Feb. 3. The Rt. Rev. Robert C. Johnson, Jr., is diocesan bishop.

The consecration has been scheduled for July 27 at the Duke University Chapel in Durham.