Utah's new Episcopal bishop happy to return to the Beehive State

SALT LAKE CITY — The recent selection of Utah's new Episcopal bishop-elect presents a study in contrasts for members of the statewide diocese, who will say goodbye to their retiring leader, Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish, this fall.

Gender is the most obvious difference, followed by family of origin. The Rev. Scott Byron Hayashi's Asian childhood includes a self-described "un-churched" nuclear family. He is still "the only active Christian" among them.

Bishop Irish's family heritage runs generations deep inside the Mormon church, of which she was a child-

hood member before becoming an Episcopalian. Her father, businessman and philanthropist O.C. Tanner, was a community leader and paved the way for his daughter's success in the jewelry company he founded.

The Rev. Hayashi returns to Utah not as the son of a widely known community leader, but relatively unknown outside of Ogden, where he served as rector of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church for eight-plus years, creating a program for inner-city youths that continues today.

He and his wife will celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary Sunday and have raised three daughters together, with the youngest still in high school. Bishop Irish's first marriage dissolved, and she spent years as a single mother of four before marrying again within the past decade.

She was the third female bishop ever elected in the Episcopal Church and returned to Utah as a ground-breaker of sorts, who was delighted at her role in what many considered the church's most conservative diocese. The Rev. Hayashi said he had never considered or desired the bishop's role and applied only after a friend and fellow priest from Utah persuaded him to allow his name to be placed in consideration.

As Utah's new Episcopal shepherd, his new assignment means people will compare his ministry with that of Bishop Irish's, and he's OK with that.

When asked if being bishop anywhere had ever been a goal, he said, "The short answer is no," though in the latter part of his career, people began asking whether he would be interested at some point.

"I pretty much rejected that as well. It just wasn't on my to-do list. But there's this thought in the church that says if the church calls you, you have to pay attention. The church at large started calling me and inviting me into processes. Sometimes I said 'no thank you' and other times I would say yes, but (being a bishop) was one of those things that didn't seem as if that was my calling."