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Episcopal Church Elects First Female Presiding Bishop

Orginally published on Tuesday, June 20, 2006 at 6:54 AM
by Todd Rhoades

Nevada Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori became the first woman elected to lead a church in the global Anglican Communion when she was picked Sunday to be the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. It was another groundbreaking and controversial move for a denomination that consecrated Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop just three years ago.

Standing before cheering delegates to Episcopal General Convention, Jefferts Schori said she was “awed and honored and deeply privileged to be elected.” Outgoing Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold was at her side as she was introduced after closed-door balloting.

The choice of Jefferts Schori may worsen - and could even splinter - the already difficult relations between the American denomination and its fellow Anglicans. Episcopalians have been sparring with many in the other 37 Anglican provinces over homosexuality, but a female leader adds a new layer of complexity to the already troubled relationship.

Jefferts Schori will be installed to her nine-year term at a ceremony Nov. 4 in Washington National Cathedral.

She will inherit a fractured church. The Pittsburgh-based Anglican Communion Network, which represents 10 U.S. conservative dioceses and more than 900 parishes within the Episcopal Church, is deciding whether to break from the denomination. The House of Bishops recently started a defense fund that will help fight legal battles against parishes that want to leave and take their property with them.

Membership in the Episcopal Church, as in other mainline Protestant groups, has been declining for years and has remained predominantly white. More than a quarter of the 2.3 million parishioners are age 65 or older.

[from AOL News / Thanks, Jeff for the link]

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TRACKBACKS: (0) There are 5 Comments:

Posted by

Tuesday, June 20, 2006 at 12:48 PM

Yesterday, one day after being installed, Jefferts Schori not only announced that she didn’t think homosexuality was sinful, she claimed that God created homosexuals to love people of the same gender. Look for the fracture to widen.
Posted by

Tuesday, June 20, 2006 at 1:18 PM

Keith,

I would just encourage that we keep the issue of women in leadership and homosexuality separate. I know many people who hold to a completely egalitarian view of women in ministry, that the bible affirms women in all leadership roles while also holding to the view that God’s plan for sexuality is between men and women in monogamous marriage relationships.

Wendi
Posted by

Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 10:49 AM

Wendi--I know you’d like to keep this issue on a different level from the egalitarian view of the church...but for many of us, these issues are intertwined (as I believe Jefforts-Schori illustrates). It’s a bummer that this might offend you, but I can’t let you define the rules of discussion here when some of us believe these issues are related. We can--however--agree to disagree and just not address each others’ comments.

For those interested, Driscoll has posted some good thoughts on this subject (and has added to the egalitarian/homosexuality debate) that should make you think....or make you mad.

http://theresurgence.com/md_blog_2006-06-22_more_salt_in_the_episcopalian_wounds
Posted by

Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 12:46 PM

Rick,

Sorry . . . I read Driscoll’s post and I don’t find him to make any points of connection between the egalitarian and homosexuality issue. He says:

[First, there are varying degrees of “Christian” feminism and the more hardened variety is the battering ram on the church door that opens the way for homosexuality. What I mean is this: if we deny the basic Biblical tenets that we were made equal but distinct as male and female, with differing God-intended roles in the church and home, then homosexuality is the logical conclusion.]

What???? homosexuality is the logical conclusion. Why on earth would a church (like WC) that supports women in leadership have to also support homosexuality (which they do not)? He offers neither explanation nor biblical support, and I don’t think anyone else has.

Indeed, people who tend to have liberal views in many things might support both egalitarianism and homosexuality in the church, just as people who tend to have conservative views would take the stand against both. But the fact that one has a bias toward what we would call liberal or conservative views doesn’t make all our ideas and opinions logically or appropriately or biblically connected to one another.

Wendi
Posted by

Tuesday, July 11, 2006 at 12:17 AM

Rick wrote: “Driscoll has posted some good thoughts on this subject...”

Sorry Rick, I have to disagree - I’ve heard Driscoll speak on several occaisions, and as a “recovering fundamentalist”, I’d have to say he’s one of the most dangerous doctirinal legalists in religious circles today.

Wendi - I totally agree with you, these are totally separate issus - until that is, people quit allowing individuals the right to hold different interpretations of scripture (see the Rev. Driscoll).

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Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.