CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- New Hampshire Episcopalians have a new bishop.

The Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld was consecrated as bishop on Saturday in a ceremony that began with a procession of 300 people and included a special anthem composed for the event. The choir included parishioners from Grace Church in Amherst, Mass., where Hirschfeld had been rector, along with singers from New Hampshire congregations.

In a statement, Hirschfeld said the trust and hope that have been placed in him is both humbling and exhilarating.

Hirschfeld succeeds The Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican church. He was chosen in May from a field of three candidates to lead New Hampshire's approximately 14,000 Episcopalians in 47 congregations.