Released : Friday, June 30, 2006 4:00 AM

Jun. 30--Even before he became a priest in the Episcopal Church, the Rev. Brian Prior reached out to young and old, to people of color, to populations sometimes left out of mainstream society.

As Prior takes over as vice president of the House of Deputies, one of the two groups that make up the governing body of the Episcopal Church, his commitment to diversity comes at a critical time.

As in other mainline Protestant denominations, membership in the Episcopal Church has been declining for years and has remained predominantly white. More than a quarter of its 2.3 million members nationwide are 65 or older. Prior, longtime rector of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Spokane Valley, is determined to change that.

"At its breadth and depth, (the Episcopal Church) is really a diverse church," said Prior, who was chosen last week during the historic 75th General Convention in Columbus, Ohio, where church leaders elected their first female presiding bishop. "It's a church of inclusion. We're in a huge transition in leadership right now and it's important to get everybody at the table."

At 46, Prior is the youngest person to be elected to that position. He is also one of the few from the West.

In addition to his duties as pastor, Prior will serve in his national position alongside the House of Deputies' president, Bonnie Anderson -- a lay deputy from the Diocese of Michigan and another woman who was elected to an influential position last week in the Episcopal Church. During the General Convention meeting, Episcopalians made history by picking Katharine Jefferts Schori as their presiding bishop -- the first female to lead a province in the Anglican Communion, which has 77 million adherents worldwide.

"The election of the presiding bishop was an amazing experience," said Prior, recalling how jaws dropped when her name was announced as the winner. Although it's been three decades since the Episcopal Church first started ordaining female priests, the decision was still met with surprise, he said.

"It was one of those great moments," said Prior. "Regardless of her gender, she is the right person at this time."

In 2003, the Episcopal Church USA also stunned the Anglican world by electing the first openly gay bishop -- V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Aftershocks of that decision continue to strain the already troubled relationship between Episcopalians and many in the other 37 Anglican provinces. This week, the Archbishop of Canterbury proposed a process that could ultimately force the American church to split off from the Anglican Communion.

The Episcopal Church will refrain from ordaining more gay bishops at this point, but will continue the conversation to pursue "greater healing and reconciliation," said Prior.

Although the controversy over same-sex union ceremonies and gay ordination has dominated much of the coverage surrounding the Anglican Communion, the day-to-day business of the churches still revolves around unity and faith, Prior said.

"Our priorities are still peace and justice, children, congregational transformation ... That's who the Episcopal Church is," he said. "The divergent center continues to move ahead in mission and ministry."

As the new vice president of the House of Deputies, his goal is to usher in the next generation of leaders -- the much-needed youth in an aging denomination.

"Kids will teach you things you never learn anywhere else," said Prior, who grew up in the Diocese of Spokane and began his ministry at church youth camp. "I've learned a lot from working with young people."

Besides being a dad to two boys, ages 11 and 14, Prior has worked on a number of youth committees and spent nearly a decade as the executive director of the Episcopal Diocese's Camp Cross on Lake Coeur d'Alene. He's also the assistant coach for the girls basketball team at Freeman High School.

The nearly 500 parishioners at Spokane Valley's Episcopal Church of the Resurrection were thrilled to learn that their pastor was elected vice president last week, but many figured it was inevitable. Prior, after all, is already a member of the Episcopal Church's executive council. In 2003, during the last meeting of the General Convention, he was chosen to serve as the chaplain of the national gathering.

"We've been surprised that we've been able to keep him for as long as we have," said Bobbi Rollins of Post Falls, a former senior warden at the Church of Resurrection. "He is quite a leader. ... His faith and spirituality are just phenomenal."

Others describe him as a reformer who has challenged his congregation to grow.

Although he was voted "most likely to be a bishop" by his classmates in divinity school and has been pegged as a rising star on the national Episcopal scene, Prior said he simply wants to be part of a "ministry-centered community that grows in faith and reaches out to the community."

"You go where God calls you," he said. "It's not about aspirations. It's about where God leads you."

Copyright (c) 2006, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.