Joy greets the first-ever Anglican woman leader
-19/06/06
Though the worldís media has
Joy greets the first-ever Anglican woman leader
-19/06/06
Though the worldís media has rushed to seek reaction from those in the Anglican Communion who oppose womenís Episcopal ministry, the predominant reaction at the Episcopal Church USAís General Convention is said to be one of elevation following the election of the Rt Rev Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Bishop of Nevada, as its next presiding bishop.
Ms Jefferts Schoni is not only the first woman leader of ECUSA, but the first female provincial head in the Anglican Churchís history. This makes her the most senior woman priest within the 77-million-strong Communion.
ìIt is hard to underestimate that boost this has given the conventionî, says the Diocese of Washington communications director, Jim Naughton.
Bishop Barbara Harris, ECUSAís first woman bishop, and Bishop Jane Dixon, both now retired and working for the Church in honorary capacities, were among the first to welcome the news.
ìThank God we didnít have to hear the news in heaven,î Bishop Dixon declared. ìWe want to celebrate the goodness of God’s creation. Male and female he created them in the image of God.î
Writing from Columbus, Ohio, where representatives of the American church are gathered, Jim Naughton comments:
ìJefferts Schori, who has never served as a rector and leads one of the Church’s smaller dioceses, was considered a long shot, but she had impressed those who had worked with her Ö particularly the Special Committee on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, which has helped craft the Church’s response to the Windsor Report.î
The Bishop of Nevada, who gave portions of her acceptance speech in Spanish, ìhad strong support among the [ECUSAís] 12 women bishops and bishops from the province that includes parts of Central and South America and the Caribbeanî, he says.
In addition to being the Church’s first female presiding bishop, Jefferts Schori is also believed to be the first presiding bishop with a PhD in the sciences (oceanography) and a pilotís license, Naughton comments.
ìShe is brilliant. She is thoughtful. She brings clarity of vision… and she speaks Spanish!î declared the Rev Gay Jennings of the Diocese of Ohio, in supporting the nomineeís election in the House of Deputies.
Jefferts Schori’s nomination was even supported by Blanca Echeverry, the wife of the Columbian Bishop Eduardo Duque-Gomez, who was himself a candidate. ìShe is a person who knows the Latin American Church,î said Echeverry, speaking through an interpreter.
Only one person spoke against the confirmation. The Rev Eddie Blue of Maryland said he was ìshockedî and ìsaddenedî by the vote from the House of Bishops, commenting on, ìthe peculiar genius our Church has for roiling the waters [of the Anglican Communion].î
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, one of several UK Anglican leaders who have sought to bring pressure on ECUSA as it debates its response to the Windsor Report, has been talking of there being ìvirtually two religionsî within the Communion, and in an article in the Daily Telegraph appears to presage an ìalmost inevitableî split in the Church.
And the Rt Rev Dr Tom Wright of Durham has called for a categorical ECUSA apology for the appointment of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.
However, Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, has said that he thinks Bishop Jefferts Schori could be accepted by Anglican primates whose provinces do not believe women should be priests because ìbeing a member of the primates meeting is not a sacramental function.î
When asked about this issue at a press conference after her confirmation, the Presiding Bishop elect, who will be installed at Washington National Cathedral on 4 November, said: ìFace to face, human beings build relationships. I will bend over backwards to build relationships with people who disagree with me.î
The initial reaction of Dr Peter Akinola, Anglican Primate in Nigeria, and seen by many as leader of the conservative majority in the developing world, was unhappy.
And commentator David W. Virtue, whose website claims to be ìthe voice of global Anglican Orthodoxyî wrote of Jefferts Schoriís election as ìa slap in the face of [the] Global Southî.
The Diocese of Fort Worth has appealed to Lambeth Palace for ìimmediate alternative Primatial oversight and Pastoral Care.î
When the Rev Chris Sugden of the conservative British advocacy group Anglican Mainstream asked her how she thought average Anglicans, whom he described as ìpredominantly young, poor, African and evangelicalî, would respond to the news that she had voted to confirm the election of the Rt Rev Gene Robinson (an openly gay man) as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, Bishop Jefferts Schori said she thought if Sugden’s description were correct, the average Anglican was probably more interested in issues including hunger, inadequate housing, unclean water and limited access to education.
Giles Goddard and Philip Chester from the progressive UK InclusiveChurch network said yesterday (18 June) that ECUSA was in my respects ìthe scapegoatî of the Anglican Communion.
In the latest of a series of on-the-spot commentaries, they wrote: ìColumbus is an unlikely setting for a gathering which is receiving so much attention from around the world, but what is happening here in these days is important, and Ö [the] overriding impression is of a church that is healthy, passionate and God-centred. The commitment to Anglicanism is heartfelt, and it is worth repeating that the sense of Anglican identity is undoubtedly stronger here than in some other churches of the Communion.î
Meanwhile the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, issued a statement declaring: ìI send my greetings to Bishop Katharine and she has my prayers and good wishes as she takes up a deeply demanding position at a critical time. She will bring many intellectual and pastoral gifts to her new work, and I am pleased to see the strength of her commitment to mission and to the Millennium Development Goals.î
He continued: ìHer election will undoubtedly have an impact on the collegial life of the Anglican Primates; and it also brings into focus some continuing issues in several of our ecumenical dialogues. We are continuing to pray for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church as it confronts a series of exceptionally difficult choices.î
Earlier today (19 June 2006) Dr Rowan Williams spoke to Bishop Schori by telephone to assure her of prayers as she prepares to take up her post, said Lambeth.
[Also on Ekklesa: Don’t practice divisive religion, UN man tells Episcopalians 18/06/06; Worrying new Anglican dispute about David Beckham 19/06/06 Inclusive Church reports on key US Episcopal gathering 16/06/06; Episcopal Church USA faces pressure on Anglican gay split; Lord Carey says ordaining a gay bishop verges on heresy; Conservative Episcopalians break away ahead of Eames report; African bishops say Windsor Report is offensive; Windsor Report does not call for apology; Episcopal bishop rejects Nigerian criticism on gays; Episcopal leader calls for aid focus on Palestine-Israel; Church in Haiti keeps hope alive amid violence and poverty; US Anglicans seek to end Cuban isolation]
Joy greets the first-ever Anglican woman leader
-19/06/06
Though the worldís media has rushed to seek reaction from those in the Anglican Communion who oppose womenís Episcopal ministry, the predominant reaction at the Episcopal Church USAís General Convention is said to be one of elevation following the election of the Rt Rev Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Bishop of Nevada, as its next presiding bishop.
Ms Jefferts Schoni is not only the first woman leader of ECUSA, but the first female provincial head in the Anglican Churchís history. This makes her the most senior woman priest within the 77-million-strong Communion.
ìIt is hard to underestimate that boost this has given the conventionî, says the Diocese of Washington communications director, Jim Naughton.
Bishop Barbara Harris, ECUSAís first woman bishop, and Bishop Jane Dixon, both now retired and working for the Church in honorary capacities, were among the first to welcome the news.
ìThank God we didnít have to hear the news in heaven,î Bishop Dixon declared. ìWe want to celebrate the goodness of God’s creation. Male and female he created them in the image of God.î
Writing from Columbus, Ohio, where representatives of the American church are gathered, Jim Naughton comments:
ìJefferts Schori, who has never served as a rector and leads one of the Church’s smaller dioceses, was considered a long shot, but she had impressed those who had worked with her Ö particularly the Special Committee on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, which has helped craft the Church’s response to the Windsor Report.î
The Bishop of Nevada, who gave portions of her acceptance speech in Spanish, ìhad strong support among the [ECUSAís] 12 women bishops and bishops from the province that includes parts of Central and South America and the Caribbeanî, he says.
In addition to being the Church’s first female presiding bishop, Jefferts Schori is also believed to be the first presiding bishop with a PhD in the sciences (oceanography) and a pilotís license, Naughton comments.
ìShe is brilliant. She is thoughtful. She brings clarity of vision… and she speaks Spanish!î declared the Rev Gay Jennings of the Diocese of Ohio, in supporting the nomineeís election in the House of Deputies.
Jefferts Schori’s nomination was even supported by Blanca Echeverry, the wife of the Columbian Bishop Eduardo Duque-Gomez, who was himself a candidate. ìShe is a person who knows the Latin American Church,î said Echeverry, speaking through an interpreter.
Only one person spoke against the confirmation. The Rev Eddie Blue of Maryland said he was ìshockedî and ìsaddenedî by the vote from the House of Bishops, commenting on, ìthe peculiar genius our Church has for roiling the waters [of the Anglican Communion].î
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, one of several UK Anglican leaders who have sought to bring pressure on ECUSA as it debates its response to the Windsor Report, has been talking of there being ìvirtually two religionsî within the Communion, and in an article in the Daily Telegraph appears to presage an ìalmost inevitableî split in the Church.
And the Rt Rev Dr Tom Wright of Durham has called for a categorical ECUSA apology for the appointment of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.
However, Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, has said that he thinks Bishop Jefferts Schori could be accepted by Anglican primates whose provinces do not believe women should be priests because ìbeing a member of the primates meeting is not a sacramental function.î
When asked about this issue at a press conference after her confirmation, the Presiding Bishop elect, who will be installed at Washington National Cathedral on 4 November, said: ìFace to face, human beings build relationships. I will bend over backwards to build relationships with people who disagree with me.î
The initial reaction of Dr Peter Akinola, Anglican Primate in Nigeria, and seen by many as leader of the conservative majority in the developing world, was unhappy.
And commentator David W. Virtue, whose website claims to be ìthe voice of global Anglican Orthodoxyî wrote of Jefferts Schoriís election as ìa slap in the face of [the] Global Southî.
The Diocese of Fort Worth has appealed to Lambeth Palace for ìimmediate alternative Primatial oversight and Pastoral Care.î
When the Rev Chris Sugden of the conservative British advocacy group Anglican Mainstream asked her how she thought average Anglicans, whom he described as ìpredominantly young, poor, African and evangelicalî, would respond to the news that she had voted to confirm the election of the Rt Rev Gene Robinson (an openly gay man) as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, Bishop Jefferts Schori said she thought if Sugden’s description were correct, the average Anglican was probably more interested in issues including hunger, inadequate housing, unclean water and limited access to education.
Giles Goddard and Philip Chester from the progressive UK InclusiveChurch network said yesterday (18 June) that ECUSA was in my respects ìthe scapegoatî of the Anglican Communion.
In the latest of a series of on-the-spot commentaries, they wrote: ìColumbus is an unlikely setting for a gathering which is receiving so much attention from around the world, but what is happening here in these days is important, and Ö [the] overriding impression is of a church that is healthy, passionate and God-centred. The commitment to Anglicanism is heartfelt, and it is worth repeating that the sense of Anglican identity is undoubtedly stronger here than in some other churches of the Communion.î
Meanwhile the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, issued a statement declaring: ìI send my greetings to Bishop Katharine and she has my prayers and good wishes as she takes up a deeply demanding position at a critical time. She will bring many intellectual and pastoral gifts to her new work, and I am pleased to see the strength of her commitment to mission and to the Millennium Development Goals.î
He continued: ìHer election will undoubtedly have an impact on the collegial life of the Anglican Primates; and it also brings into focus some continuing issues in several of our ecumenical dialogues. We are continuing to pray for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church as it confronts a series of exceptionally difficult choices.î
Earlier today (19 June 2006) Dr Rowan Williams spoke to Bishop Schori by telephone to assure her of prayers as she prepares to take up her post, said Lambeth.
[Also on Ekklesa: Don’t practice divisive religion, UN man tells Episcopalians 18/06/06; Worrying new Anglican dispute about David Beckham 19/06/06 Inclusive Church reports on key US Episcopal gathering 16/06/06; Episcopal Church USA faces pressure on Anglican gay split; Lord Carey says ordaining a gay bishop verges on heresy; Conservative Episcopalians break away ahead of Eames report; African bishops say Windsor Report is offensive; Windsor Report does not call for apology; Episcopal bishop rejects Nigerian criticism on gays; Episcopal leader calls for aid focus on Palestine-Israel; Church in Haiti keeps hope alive amid violence and poverty; US Anglicans seek to end Cuban isolation]