Wednesday, March 29, 2000 proved to be a long day for the Clergy and Lay Representatives of the Anglican Church in Barbados. However, on the fourth ballot, the Elective Assembly of the Synod of the Diocese of Barbados elected The Reverend Canon Dr. John Walder Dunlop Holder, Vice Principal of Codrington College and Priest-in-Charge of The Church of the Holy Cross as the 13th. Bishop of the Diocese.
Members of the Elective Assembly from 48 parishes across the Diocese gathered at 9:30 a.m. for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at The Church of St. Barnabas to pray for God's Holy Spirit in guiding the Assembly to choose a Chief Pastor for the Diocese.
The Eucharist, which was presided over by the Diocesan Administrator and Archdeacon, The Venerable James L. Springer and assisted by Members of the Cathedral Chapter, began with the hymn "Come, gracious Spirit, heavenly Dove." The Old and New Testaments were read by Lay Representatives Mr. Martin Haynes (St. Michael's Cathedral) and Mrs. Veda Gill (St. Augustine) respectively. The Gospel was read by The Reverend Canon Frank Marshall, Rector of St. Mary and Rural Dean of St. Michael. Immediately after the Nicene Creed, The Reverend Canon Ivan Harewood, Rector of Christ Church led the Prayers and Intercessions. The one hour long service ended with the hymn "Holy Spirit, Truth Divine."
Immediately following the service the members drove to the nearby Sherbourne Conference Centre to elect a new leader. After a brief brunch, the Diocesan Administrator and President of the Elective Assembly called the Elective Assembly to order at 11:15 a.m. He ensured that there were no strangers present. The Diocesan Secretary, Mrs. Elenor Lawrence was invited to call the Roll (out of a possible 68 Clergy and 79 Laity) and announce the Quorum.
The Diocesan Administrator, who remained as the President of the Election Process, was accompanied at the head table by the Chancellor of the Diocese, Mr. Charles Leacock,the Registrar, Mr. Ivan Jessamy and the Diocesan Secretary. The Registrar then read the document from the Archbishop of the Province, The Most Reverend Drexel W. Gomez declaring the See vacant. Synod decided to choose a Bishop by election rather than delegate choice to a Selection Committee.
The Administrator then invited nominations for the office of Bishop. The Candidates nominated were: The Proposers and Seconders began highlighting the achievements and reasons why the candidate they have nominated should be considered for Bishop. Having deliberated on three of the five candidates, lunch was served at 1:15 p.m. The Assembly was recall to order at 2:15 p.m. to hear debate from the Proposers and Seconders on the other two candidates and from persons of each House desiring to contribute towards the debate.
After much lengthy deliberations, The President nominated The Reverend Canon Eric Payne, The Reverend Gregston Gooding, Mr. Victor Griffith and Mr. Colin Kirton as scrutineers. This was approved by Synod and the scrutineers appointed Canon Payne as the Chairman of the Scrutineers. The Diocesan Secretary called the Roll and announced that there were 62 members of the House of Clergy present and 79 members of the House of Laity present.
At approximately 5:30 p.m. the voting began. Members of the Houses of Clergy and Laity, sitting in separate houses, formed separated lines to cast their ballots. With members talking with each other as they voted, the first balloting was soon completed and the scrutineers moved into an adjoining room to count the ballots. Approximately half-of-an-hour later, the President, Archdeacon Springer, called the Assembly to order to inform Synod of the results. Having announced the votes cast for each candidate in the Houses of Clergy and Laity, it was realised that the two-thirds majority required for election had not been reached. At the stage, although candidates were not obligated to withdraw at this point, Father Eric Lynch, Dr. Michael Clarke and Canon Frank Marshall withdrew their candidature, leaving Canon Knight and Canon Holder.
The second and third ballots, on separate occasions, were called and the process was repeated. After the announcement of the third ballot, the impending possibility of the election continuing the next day and with Canon Holder in the lead but not amassed the required two-thirds majority for election, Canon Knight withdrew his candidature.
The proceedings then went into a fourth ballot to ensure that Canon Holder received the required two-thirds majority vote necessary from both houses. At approximately 9:30 p.m., the President announced that in the fourth ballot, Canon Holder had received 57 votes from 63 in the House of Clergy and 76 votes of the 78 who sat in the House of Laity. The President declared that the two-thirds majority having been obtained in both houses, Canon Dr. John Holder is hereby elected as the next Bishop of Barbados. The Elective Assembly erupted into applause and stood in support of the new Bishop-elect.
The President then invited the Synod to sing the Doxology, an ancient hymn of the church, which gives praise to God "from whom all blessings flow." He congratulated the new Bishop-elect in which he made mention of his contributing in part towards the ministry of the new bishop. Retired Diocesan, The Right Reverend Dr. Rufus T. Brome also congratulated Dr. Holder and assured him of his support.
The new Bishop-elect then rose to speak. He began by inviting the Synod to join him in a very familiar prayer: Canon Holder then proceed to thank his mother who has passed on, in being instrumental in his Christian and spiritual formation and in bringing him to this day. He also thanked The Reverend Canon Eric Payne, his former parish priest who recommended him and the President of Synod and Diocesan Administrator, Archdeacon James Springer for the part he played in his final year as a seminarian. He urged Synod to support him and by working together and through God's Holy Spirit we will all be able to carry the church forward.
On that note and to another round of applause, the President ended with a Prayer. Members of the Elective Assembly then congratulated Bishop-elect Holder afterwards.
The Reverend Fr. Eric E. Lynch, Rector of Christ the King
The Reverend Canon George W. Knight, Rector of St. Thomas and Rural Dean of St. Peter's Deanery
The Reverend Canon Dr. John W. D. Holder, Vice Principal of Codrington College and Priest-in-Charge of Holy Cross
The Reverend Canon Frank B. H. H. Marshall, Rector of St. Mary and Rural Dean of St. Michael's Deanery
The Reverend Dr. Michael Clarke, Director of Anglican Youth Ministries Service.
"Go before us O Lord in all our doings with your most gracious favour and further us with your continual help, that in all our work begun, continued and ended in you we may glorify your Holy Name and finally by your mercy obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Born in February 1948 to Cameron and the late Ada Holder in Welch Village in the rural parish of St. John, Barbados, The Reverend Canon Dr. John Holder received his primary education at the Welch Village Primary School and the St. John Mixed School. He then attended the Princess Margaret Secondary and later the Modern High Schools where he received his secondary education.
Being greatly influenced by his parish priest, The Reverend Canon Eric Payne, who was Rector of St. John Parish Church led him to enter the ordained ministry.
In 1971, Canon Holder enrolled in Codrington College in conjunction with the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus where he read for his degree in theology and trained for the ordained ministry. Four years later, he graduated with his B.A. in Theology and a Diploma in Theological Studies.
In 1978, he pursued a Master's Degree in Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, U.S.A. as a Part-time Student majoring in Old Testament Studies. In 1981, he entered King's College, University of London, where he did his Ph.D. in Old Testament Studies. While in England, he was Honorary Chaplain of the University Church of Christ the King.
Dr. Holder has lectured and taught Old Testament Studies at a number of international schools and colleges. At Codrington College, where he is presently the Vice Principal, he teaches Biblical Studies with special emphasis on the Old Testament.
Ordained Deacon in December 1974 and elevated to the Priesthood in September 1975, the new Bishop-elect served as Curate of St. George's Cathedral in St. Vincent, Diocese of the Windward Islands (1975-1977); Assistant Priest of St. John's Parish Church (1977-1981), St. Michael's Cathedral (1984-1986), St. Augustine's Church (1986-1989). Between 1989 until the present, he was Priest-in-Charge of St. Augustine, St. John Parish Church, St. Mark and St. Catherine, Holy Trinity and Holy Cross. He was made a Honorary Canon of the Diocese in 1996 by The Right Reverend Rufus Brome, the recently retired Diocesan.
Over the years, Dr. John has published a number of articles and papers on various aspects of theology including Set the Captives Free: The Challenge of the Biblical Jubilee (1987), Religion and Theology: A Journey into the Experiential (1990), The Issue of Race: A Search for a Biblical Perspective (1993) and Religious Trends in Barbados during the Last Sixty Years (1998). He has attended a number of conferences, seminars and short courses and has been a former member of the Board of Management of Codrington College and The Lodge School.
Canon Holder has been married for 12 years to Betty Lucas-Holder, a teacher of the Alleyne School. They met when she was reading for her degree in theology at Codrington College. They have a seven year old son named Stuart who enjoys his swimming and karate classes when he is not playing cricket or football with his father.
(Information formulated on March 31, 2000)
