Episcopalians Install Katharine Jefferts Schori First Female Presiding Bishop

[DeepModem Mom]

WP/AP: Episcopalians Install First Female Leader
Jefferts Schori Becomes Presiding Bishop at National Cathedral Ceremony
Rachel Zoll
Associated Press
Saturday, November 4, 2006;

Katharine Jefferts Schori took office Saturday as the first woman presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, a first not only for her denomination but also for the global Anglican Communion, which has never before had a female priest leading one of its provinces.

In a ceremony at the cavernous Washington National Cathedral, filled by more than 3,000 well-wishers, Jefferts Schori took leadership of the U.S. church as the Anglican rift over the Bible and sexuality threatens to erupt into schism.

Jefferts Schori, 52, was bishop of Nevada when she was the surprise winner of the election for presiding bishop at the Episcopal General Convention in June....

She will now represent the American denomination to the many Anglican leaders angered by the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Her job is further complicated by her personal support for Robinson's election. She believes the church should ordain gays and bless same-sex couples, though she insists she won't impose her views on others....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/04/AR2006110400381.html

[xchrom]

1. ...

:woohoo: :applause: :woohoo: :applause: :woohoo: :applause: :woohoo: :applause:

[kwassa]

2. I was there, it was wonderful.

I'll write more about it later.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

3. I look forward to it!

I congratulate my denomination for not caving.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

4. One more thing...

Every priest in my life in the last 10 years has been a woman. Two different women buried my parents. A woman baptised my grandson and son in law. My church now has a woman priest. I mentioned something to my son in law about "women priests" and he (25 years old) mentioned he had never met a male priest!

It will just take a generation to die and get out of the pews and the whole thing will calm down. I don't know if the gay ordination issue will go as easily. Perhaps. I hope so.

[JerseygirlCT]

5. I'll look forward to reading that

How exciting this is!

[kwassa]

6. My experience at the investiture

Today we saw the investiture of Kathrine Jefferts Schori as the new Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church at National Cathedral in Washington.

We arrived about a hour and a quarter early and the place was already packed. The cathedral is a massive building built in the Gothic style, with huge stained glass windows, which were just glowing in the bright sunshine today. It sits on a hilltop, and is a major landmark in DC.





We had to sit in the folding chairs in the side trancepts. The view is blocked by huge stone pillars, so Cathedral's high-tech way to overcome this issue is to put flat screen t.v.s on the backside of all this gothic pillars. There was a large t.v. crew stationed on platforms around the cathedral, broadcasting live

There were carillon, and organ and instrumental preludes. The music became very multicultural, with a Hispanic band named Sol performing before and during the service. An African-American gospel group from St. Thomas in Philadelphia also performed during this time and later in the service. The cathedral also has great choirs of its own, and a major brass section, and all was blended together.

The procession started from the west end with Native American drummers and smudgers, which is a burning of sage, sweetgrass and cedar incense. They moved through the cathedral, smudging the building as a blessing to the proceedings. They were from different tribes, but all from Nevada, where Jefferts Schoiri had been bishop. After that acolytes with streamers flying from tall flexible polls proceeded, leading various groups of bishops and other clergy into the cathedral. There were also very good liturgical dancers, all dressed in white, with large flags in vibrant colors, proceeding with dances down the aisles.

Jefferts Schori was not there yet; she had to wait outside until she was welcomed into the cathedral. Frank Griswold, current presiding bishop, and other official proceeded down the entrance as the official greeting party. Jefferts Schori knocked three times with her staff on the outside door, the doors were opened, and this was the official transfer of power in the ceremony that followed at the entrance, with short statements by Griswold and Jefferts Schori.

Jefferts Schori had this great custom liturgical outfit with matching mitre. It was mostly purples and blues, and actually represented a sunrise, with green hills and a rising sun at the base of the robe, and the blues and purples representing the sky and clouds.

She received ovations at a number of times in the process, and this was one of them. They all processed back up to the altar, a long walk in this cathedral, and then went through a ceremony where she received symbols of her ministry, which included the gospels, holy water, bread and wine, and oil, as a symbol of healing and reconciliation. The last group were presented by a rabbi, an Episcopal archbishop from South Africa, and an Islamic woman who was a professor of law, and who presented in Arabic. At the end of this section Bishop Griswold presented Jefferts Schori with a staff, representing her authority.

Multiple languages were used throughout the service, at different points.

The next part was a standard Episcopal service, with readings from the Old and New Testament, the Psalms, the Gospel, and then the homily from Jefferts Schori. The music selections were a combination of classic hymns, and church music from other countries. A popular South African hymn that we have sung before in English was now sung in Zulu, English, and Spanish, for instance.

This service also included the renewal of the baptismal covenant, which was done at a huge font in the middle of the cathedral, with the liturgical dancers proceeding with what looked like large turquoise Grecian urns and filling the font. Some goddess imagery going on here. Very unusual, but effective.

The prayers of the people were done in Haitian Creole, Mandarin, and Yoruba, the last being done by a parishioner from our local church.

Spotted in the audience: Madeline Albright

Jefferts Schori was interrupted in the middle of her homily with applause, something that never happens in Episcopal churches. Her entire sermon is online here: http://216.26.134.151/3577_79214_ENG_HTM.htm



The rest was the communion, split up in multiple stations all over the cathedral, as there were several thousand communicants there.

What was wonderful about it was the sense of joy in the cathedral among all of us. We know we have the right leader for the right time, that we are watching history in the making, and responding to the forces that want to drag this church backwards. Jefferts Schori's response to the conservatives has been thoughtful, open, and appropriate, and in no way turning back.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

8. Thank you so much

for this description. I recently made the decision to join a church in town that has been all but decimated by the conservative folks high-tailing it to a strip mall down the street. This makes me glad I stayed. It sounds like a wonderful experience.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Thanks for the description, kwassa!

It sounds like one of those peak experiences.

We had to sit in the folding chairs in the side trancepts. The view is blocked by huge stone pillars, so Cathedral's high-tech way to overcome this issue is to put flat screen t.v.s on the backside of all this gothic pillars. There was a large t.v. crew stationed on platforms around the cathedral, broadcasting live I saw this setup at the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford, England, too. It was very effective.

[kwassa]

12. I think we could see better than many closer to the altar

The other point that dawned on us this morning;

Despite this rift between ECUSA and the African bishops, the Archbishop of Capetown and Primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, the Most Reverand Njongonkulu W.H. Ndungane participated in the service itself! So the African bishops are not a monolith.

I liked the symbolic nature of this.

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. I thought Tutu was the Primate of South Africa?

Or is he now Archbishop Emetrius? I believe that, other than York, all Archbishops in the Anglican Communion are the primates of their respective province (except when, as in the US, there are no archbishops.)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. He may be retired

:shrug:

[Vidar]

11. Thanks for sharing.

[kwassa]

7. and here are some of the reasons why I like her

The Washington Post did a great background piece on her in today's paper.

Here are a couple of excerpts:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/03/AR2006110301357.html

Leading an Embattled Church
Jefferts Schori, a Risk-Taker, Is First Woman to Preside Over Episcopal Church

By Rachel Zoll
Associated Press
Saturday, November 4, 2006; Page B09

excerpt:

The 2.4 million-member denomination is at the center of a worldwide Anglican feud over how to interpret what the Bible says about sexuality and other issues. Though Jefferts Schori unapologetically supports ordaining gays and allowing blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, she also defends a moratorium on those actions. In 2003, she voted to confirm New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop. The uproar over his consecration is threatening to split the Anglican family, of which the Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch.

"I'm clear about this role involving the entire breadth of the Episcopal Church," Jefferts Schori said. "But at some level, I don't think it's appropriate for me to disguise what my own theological understanding is. I'm someone who believes transparency is incredibly important. It's part of integrity."

(jump)

Her theological outlook has given Episcopalians and Anglicans with traditional views of the Bible plenty to criticize. Jefferts Schori personally believes in a relationship with God through Jesus but does not see it as the only true path.

"If we insist we know the one way to God, we're putting God in a very small box," Jefferts Schori said.

(jump)

Jefferts Schori hopes to find a way to reconcile with Anglican leaders overseas and conservatives at home. She has started work at Episcopal headquarters, where her predecessor, Bishop Frank Griswold, has just finished his nine-year term.

"At some level, if it becomes clear that the relationship is broken, that there's no possibility for a new life in that relationship, then the pastoral thing to do is to find a creative way to separate, a gracious way to separate," Jefferts Schori said. "I hope we don't have to go there. My hope is for finding life that is still present in relationships, and if we go the separation route, the door is left open and the lights on."

(much more in the article)

[Vidar]

10. I was an Episcopalian for several years. I still respect the

denomination & congratulate them.

[kwassa]

13. I forgot to tell you about this ...

I saw a newer version of this button on many of the people at the ceremony. This is the one that came out when she was first elected.