Welcome to the official website of the Search for the Eighth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. Here you will find news and updates from the Search Committee and Transition Committee along with information about upcoming events related to the process. All members and congregations of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina are invited to offer daily prayers for this important process. As we move further along in the process, this page will be updated to provide you with the most current information. Ongoing summaries of committee meetings and activities will be posted on the Search Committee and Transition Committee pages.

The Rev. W. Andrew Waldo was elected as the eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina (EDUSC) on December 12, 2009. He was elected on the third ballot.

Fr. Waldo has been rector of Trinity Church, Excelsior, Minnesota, since 1994. Born in Douglas, Georgia, and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, he is the second of six children in an Episcopal clergy family. He received his M.Div. from Sewanee, M. Mus. from the New England Conservatory of Music, and B.A. from Whittier College, and is a graduate of Indian Springs Preparatory School, Helena, Alabama.

Previous clergy positions include curate of Grace Church, Manchester, New Hampshire, and rector of St. Mark's, LaGrange, Georgia. He currently serves on the Minnesota Diocesan Council and Constitution and Canons Committee. His previous service includes Standing Committee, Liturgy and Music Commissions (Minnesota, Atlanta, and New Hampshire), and Diocesan Board of Examining Chaplains. He is a member of the Spiritual Faculty of CREDO, a national clergy wellness initiative of the Church Pension Group.

Fr. Waldo is married to Minnesota native Mary Halverson Waldo, a musician and teacher. They reside in Shorewood, Minnesota, and have three sons: Jonathan (Amber), James, and Benjamin. His recreational interests include biking, music, history and model trains.

Under the canons of the Episcopal Church, a majority of bishops exercising jurisdiction and diocesan standing committees must consent to the ordination of Fr. Waldo as bishop. Provided he receives the required consents, he will succeed EDUSC's seventh bishop, Dorsey F. Henderson, who has served the diocese for the past 15 years. The ordination and consecration is scheduled for May 22, 2010, at Christ Church in Greenville because the restoration of the Cathedral will not be complete by that date.

For more information about Fr. Waldo, click here to view his video presentation. To view his answers to the Search Committee's questions, click here.

Other nominees were: The Very Rev. John B. Burwell, The Very Rev. Dr. Philip C. Linder, The Rev. Canon Neal O. Michell, The Rev. David F. O. Thompson, and The Rev. Jerre Stockton Williams, Jr. To see their videos and responses to the Search Committee's questions, click here.

	First Ballot*		Second Ballot		Third Ballot**
	Clergy	Laity	Clergy	Laity	Clergy	Laity
Burwell	4	20	2	3	1	0
Linder	39	31	35	33	25	22
Michell	14	52	20	61	22	76
Thompson	13	25	6	11	2	1
Waldo	36	72	51	103	64	129
Williams	8	31	2	24	2	6
* The first ballot was invalid due to a lay delegate who voted prior to completing registration. ** 59 clergy votes and 118 laity votes were needed to elect.