Father John Stuart Thornton, who was ordained Saturday as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho, has two passions - church and agriculture.
During the ordination, the staff he used to herd sheep on his Oregon ranch became his bishop's staff, or croiser.In an interview this week, 57-year-old Thornton, wearing cowboy boots, said he has "been in and out of Idaho since the 1950s," when he hauled cattle from Wyoming to Idaho Falls.
Thornton was chosen in May after a yearlong search to replace Bishop David Bell Birney, who left in March 1989 to serve as one of three bishops in Boston.
The bishop-elect comes to Idaho from Stayton, Ore., near Salem, where he lived eight years, serving as vicar of Christ the King parish and overseeing a working farm that doubled as a retreat for Episcopal priests.
"I would call him a real savvy guy," said Father Bryce McProud, a fellow member of the Episcopalian Diocese of Oregon. "He assesses situations as fast as anybody I've been around."
In addition, he said, Thornton "is a very holy man. He lives his faith all the time."
He also is ready to travel to the far-flung parishes in his rural diocese. He is undaunted by national figures showing Episcopal Church membership declining by 1 million, to 2.5 million in the past decade.
"That doesn't mean we're weaker," he said. "We may be down to our real strength now."
Part of the reason for the national decline may be the church's fairly liberal stands on issues such as abortion, Thornton said.
"We have to stop telling women what to do with their lives," he said. "I feel very strongly that men need to take a look at their behavior."