First Black Episcopal Bishop in West Ordained
The Episcopal Church ordained its first black bishop in the Western United States in an elaborate ceremony Saturday at the Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena.
The Rev. Chester Lovelle Talton, 49, was ordained suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles in a 2 1/2-hour ceremony. The diocese is the fourth-largest in the nation and encompasses all or parts of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
After the ceremony, Talton said he believed his experience--including service as a pastor at a Harlem church--would be an asset in his new job. “I come out of a community that understands something about oppression and being left out and on the margins in a very firsthand way,” he said. “I see that as more of an opportunity to share.”
About 3,500 parishioners packed the church to see the installation, which featured a procession and music by a 250-person choir, said Robert Williams, a diocese spokesman.
“This is a day of celebration for all Episcopalians and especially African-Americans within the church,” Williams said.
Guests included Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, 100 parishioners from Talton’s former diocese in New York and 40 parishioners from another former posting in Oakland.
Born Sept. 22, 1941 in Eldorado, Ark., Talton was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended schools in Oakland.
He graduated from Cal State Hayward in 1965 and from Church Divinity School of the Pacific with a master’s degree in 1970.
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