The Rev. Caryl A. Marsh, rector for the past 31/2 years of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, is one of seven nominees for two suffragan bishop's positions in the Diocese of Virginia.
The priest, who came to Salt Lake City in August 1989 from Spokane, Wash., where she was director of Christian growth and development for the Diocese of Spokane, is among nominees for a May 1 election by all clergy and lay delegates from churches in the diocese, which has headquarters in Richmond.A suffragan bishop's post is considered prestigious, since that diocese is one of the oldest and is the third largest (77,000 members) in the Episcopal Church in America. Of historical note, the first service of holy communion was held in the United States at the founding of Jamestown.
A suffragan bishop is one elected to assist the diocesan leader, in this case the Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee, the diocesan bishop.
One of three female and four male nominees, the Rev. Marsh was born in West Wickham, Kent, England, and lived in Britain until she was 26. Born to Anglican parents, the priest said she was active in the church as a child and as a teen but not particularly active as an adult.
She moved in 1965 to San Francisco, where she was married and later divorced, an event that led her to seek support from her local Episcopal Church. The Church of England and the Episcopal Church are both affiliated with the Anglican Communion, with members of both denominations looking to the Archbishop of Canterbury for spiritual leadership.
The Rev. Marsh graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from San Jose State University in 1974. She then attended and graduated with a master of divinity degree in 1977 from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, one of 11 Episcopal seminaries in the U.S.
"It was discovering that church could be a community of support and new life that led me to discern a call to the ordained ministry at a time when the Episcopal Church had not yet approved the ordination of women," said the Rev. Marsh said in an interview at the Salt Lake church, located at 261 S. 900 East.
In her three and one-half years in Utah the Rev. Marsh has come to love serving at the church, built in Tudor architectural style around a grass courtyard. Originally located at 400 S. Main, the church moved to its present location in 1917, when construction was started on the rectory and parish house. Work on the main part of the present church building, which features ornate carvings, huge beams that support the roof and beautiful stained-glass windows, was started in 1927.
The Rev. Marsh, whose strong British accent even fits the style of the Salt Lake church, was ordained a deacon in June 1977 in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral and was called as an assistant minister at All Saints Church in Richland, Wash. She was ordained a priest a year later in Richland and was appointed vicar of two small rural congregations, serving five years in Medical Lake and Cheney, Wash.
She became director of Christian growth and development post at the Diocese of Spokane in 1984.
The Rev. Marsh, who served as president of the Central Salt Lake Council of Churches from 1991 until two weeks ago, said she was surprised but happy to be nominated for the position in Virginia.
"I am happy to wait for the discernment of God's will as to who is elected. I would be contented either way. I have no desire to leave Salt Lake City and this congregation of about 850 members. I have enjoyed it here, but at the same time I would be willing to accept the challenge of a new ministry. Any priest is honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve the wider church," she said.
The priest, who was cordial as she discussed her beliefs and conducted a tour through the church, said she "hopes to see churches increase in their ability to serve the needs of people - both socially and spiritually - and to be less interested in issues of power and who is right and wrong. We further the kingdom of God by working together rather than in opposition to each other."