Source: Chicago Tribune and CBS2 Chicago
The Reverend Jeffrey Lee was elected the new Episcopal bishop of Chicago on Saturday, culminating an election that drew world-wide attention to select the next leader of the 41,000 member church.

At their annual diocesan convention in suburban Wheeling, church leaders elected Lee from a slate of eight candidates, which included a lesbian priest, Rev. Tracey Lind.

Lee is rector of St. Thomas Church in Medina, Wash. He becomes Chicago's 12th bishop and succeeds the Rev. William D. Persell, who has served as bishop since March 1999.

The Chicago election was closely watched by the worldwide Anglican community because of Lind, dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, who has a female partner.

Lind came in fourth in the first ballot Saturday morning. No one won the majority required on the first ballot, but Lee received the most votes.

In the second ballot, Lee received a total of 337 votes, which included 134 clergy and 203 lay people. In second place was Rev. Petero Sabune, a chaplain at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Rev. Lind received 16 votes, which included seven clergy and nine lay people.

The Chicago election marked the most recent flashpoint in the long-running conflict between the Episcopal Church and the 77-million member worldwide Anglican Communion over homosexuality. Discord began in 2003 with the consecration of the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Since then, 65 of the more than 7,000 U.S. parishes are breaking with the national church. Other dioceses have aligned with conservative Anglican bishops overseas, mainly from Africa.

In a conference call before a room full of hundreds of Episcopal delegates, Lee said he accepted and would serve as bishop.

"I can't tell you how honored and humbled I am," said Lee, who was born and raised in Sturgis, Michigan.

New York Times quotes outgoing bishop, the Rev. William D. Persell, who said the election “should not, in any way, be seen as a vote against a gay or lesbian person.” He said women make up a third of the rectors and vicars in the diocese, and that gays and lesbians are “some of our most creative clergy.”

“We’re committed to full inclusion,” Bishop Persell added.

While agreeing that the Chicago diocese has mostly muted the issue of sexual orientation, Joan Barr Smith, a non-voting parishioner from Evanston, said she expected a Lind victory would have caused some turbulence. “And we dodged that bullet,” Ms. Smith said.