Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of the Diocese of Nevada, was yesterday elected and confirmed as the next Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
In the Bishops' vote, she was elected on the 5th ballot, gaining 95 votes out of a total of 188. Bishop Schori was the leader in every ballot except the 2nd, when she was tied with the Bishop of Alabama, Henry N. Parsley, at 49 votes each. From that point on, it was a "two-horse race", with each of them gaining votes in every ballot. In the final test, Bishop Schori received 95 votes (the exact number required to win) to Bishop Parseley's 82.
The House of Deputies, required under the rules to confirm Bishop Schori's election, did so overwhelmingly in both orders (lay and clerical). Lay deputies voted 94-8 for confirmation, while the clergy tally was 98-9.
The election of a woman to the post of Presiding Bishop has to be a momentous event. For one thing, it is a wondrous culmination of the 50+ years of struggle for the full inclusion of women within the structures of the Episcopal Church. The least we can do here is to honor the thousands of women - lay and clergy, known and unknown - whose commitment and work have brought us all to this moment. Hopefully, Bishop Schori's nine-year term as Presiding Bishop will open up a new era for our Episcopal Church, one marked by other 'victories of inclusion', as well as service to the nobodies of this world.
Before we attempt to gauge the impact of what the General Convention (with an assist by the Holy Spirit) has done, perhaps we need to know a little about this woman - Katharine Jefferts Schori. As well as being the first woman elected as Presiding Bishop - she breaks the mold in other ways. Her ordination to the priesthood was a mere 12 years ago. Prior to beginning her theological studies, she was an oceanographer (M.S. & Ph.D. from Oregon State University) working for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle. Bishop Schori is also an active, instrument-rated pilot, who has logged more than 500 flight-hours. She married Richard Miles Schori, a retired theoretical mathemetician, in 1979. Their daughter, Katharine Johanna, 24, is a second lieutenant and pilot in the United States Airforce.
A typical incumbent of the post of Presiding Bishop? "NOT!" as our kids or grandkids might say. "Not hardly," as John Wayne would say.
I'll be back with a summary of reactions to these events, from friends and foes alike.
(For more on our new Presiding Bishop, go here)
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