Anglican Church to elect new bishop of Jamaica amid financial strain, membership worries

A new Anglican bishop for Jamaica is expected to be elected on Monday as the church grapples with declining membership, financial headwinds, and broader concerns about persons abandoning traditional denominations.

Approximately 200 clergy and lay representatives will gather at St Luke’s Church Hall in Cross Roads, St Andrew, for a special synod, following an opening service.

Bishop of Montego Bay Leon Golding and Bishop of Kingston Garth Minott are considered front-runners for the position, although the nominees will not be officially known until certain pre-conditions are met.

The new bishop will succeed Dr Howard Gregory, who retired on December 31, 2024, after serving twelve years as the 14th bishop of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Up until his retirement, he was also the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in the West Indies.

The Anglican Church, once a state institution during British colonialism, owns vast properties and numerous schools across Jamaica, as well as other charities and social programmes.

The leadership change comes on the heels of the Diocese’s celebration of its 200th anniversary. It also marks a time when traditional Christian denominations are grappling with reform and adaptation to a secularising society and growing distrust in established institutions.

In a recent Sunday Gleaner article, Reverend Dr Glenroy Lalor, former head of the Jamaica Baptist Union, noted that the decline in church membership, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, not only affects the number of students enrolling in pastoral studies but also blunts the effectiveness of the church.

He also acknowledged the global trend of secularisation reaching Jamaica, warning of the potential societal consequences of this shift.

“The church is the centre of social and spiritual life, and just life in a community. Sometimes it’s the only major organisation that provides anything holistic for families and communities, so when it dies, it’s the death of the community and the death of a country,” said Lalor, who is pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in St Andrew.

The Associated Press recently reported that several Protestant denominations in the United States, including the Episcopal (Anglican), Presbyterian, and Methodist churches, have seen declines in membership, aging congregations, and schisms as they shift towards more progressive views. The rise of nondenominational churches and religiously unaffiliated individuals has been a notable trend over the past decade.

The election of a new Anglican bishop will require a quorum of three-quarters of both the House of Clergy and the House of Laity for the vote to proceed. Priests over the age of 30 from anywhere within the Anglican Communion are eligible for nomination.

Candidates must secure written endorsements from five members of the Synod and express their willingness to serve. Nominee names will be disclosed once the assembly is constituted, after which they will withdraw as members deliberate and cast votes.

The election process requires candidates to secure a two-thirds majority from both Houses. Any nominee receiving less than 10 per cent of the votes in either house will be required to withdraw. The church rules allow up to twelve rounds of voting; if no candidate secures the required majority after 12 ballots, a selection committee will make the final decision.

Since Archbishop Gregory’s retirement, Bishop Golding has served as Canonical Administrator, overseeing the diocese until the election of a new bishop.

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