A woman who has served as assistant to Bishop Donald McCoid has emerged as the leading candidate to replace him as bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

With 506 clergy and lay delegates voting at Thiel College in Greenville, Mercer County, the Rev. Martha Clementson had a commanding lead after the second ballot, with 181 votes. The balloting is scheduled to continue through today.

She also had a wide lead on the first ballot, which produced 65 names.

After the second ballot, only the top seven vote recipients continue to the next ballot, which will take place this morning.

In addition to the Rev. Clementson, they are the Rev. Kurt Kusserow, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Latrobe, with 70 votes; the Rev. Sandra Kessinger, assistant to the bishop, 50 votes; the Rev. Kevin Anderson, pastor of Forks-Zion Lutheran Church, Leechburg, 33 votes; the Rev. Blair Morgan, senior pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Shaler, 28 votes; the Rev. David Gleason, pastor of First Lutheran Church, Downtown, 27 votes; and the Rev. Jeffrey Schock, senior pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Latrobe, 26 votes.

For the Rev. Clementson the first-place showing was a gift for her 27th wedding anniversary, which was yesterday. She and her husband, the Rev. Kevin Clementson, a pastor in Ross, met as students at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Adams County. She is a third-generation Lutheran pastor in the Pittsburgh region.

If the Rev. Clementson or the Rev. Kessinger is elected, she would be the first woman in any major denomination chosen to be a resident bishop in the Pittsburgh area.

The Rev. Clementson was cautious about her future, saying that there were many fine nominees and that the person who leads in early balloting does not always win the election. But she credited Bishop McCoid with making it possible for her and the Rev. Kessinger to be considered.

"Bishop McCoid has created an atmosphere in which we all had opportunities to serve and to show our abilities. He has created a sense of equality in the synod," she said, noting that there are already other women serving as ELCA bishops elsewhere.

Elections for bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church work a bit like papal elections. There are no declared candidates prior to the assembly, and it is considered very bad form to appear to express any interest in being elected.

Bishop McCoid, 63, had announced his desire to retire after 20 years as bishop, and the members of the assembly honored his request not to nominate him for another six-year term.

Any Lutheran pastor can be nominated on the first ballot, in which every voting member writes a name on a blank piece of paper. After the results of that ballot are announced, nominees may withdraw their names.

The second ballot is drawn from the remaining names. A 75 percent majority is required to win election on either the first or second ballot.

The third ballot is limited to the top seven vote-getters from the second ballot. A two-thirds majority is required to be elected on the third ballot.

The fourth ballot is limited to the top three vote-getters from the third ballot. A 60 percent majority is required for election on the fourth ballot.

Any subsequent ballots are limited to the two top vote-getters from the previous ballot, and election requires a majority of votes.

The voting is scheduled to last through today but could end sooner.

The Rev. Clementson has been an assistant to Bishop McCoid throughout his 20-year tenure. Prior to that she spent five years in ministry with her husband at churches in Baden and Conway. Other pastors say she is widely liked, and is considered to have Bishop McCoid's strong pastoral skills and orthodox theology. A vote for her is considered, among other things, a vote for continuity.

The Rev. Janet Grill, pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Shadyside, and one of the most liberal pastors in the largely conservative synod, said she was pleased to see that the synod was so open to female leadership.

"How delightful that our synod is really looking for the person who God has called, and is willing to listen to the Holy Spirit," she said.