Katharine Jefferts Schori

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**Katharine Jefferts Schori**


Denomination	The Episcopal Church
Senior posting
See	Washington National Cathedral
Title	Presiding Bishop
Period in office	2006 —
Predecessor	Frank Tracy Griswold
Successor	incumbent
Religious career
Priestly ordination	1994
Previous bishoprics	Bishop of Nevada
Previous post	Bishop
Personal
Date of birth	26 March 1954
Place of birth	Pensacola, Florida

The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, D.D., Ph.D. (pronounced: [ˈkæθ(ə)ɹɨn ˈʤɛfɝts ˈʃɔɹi]; born March 26, 1954 in Pensacola, Florida) is the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church in the USA. She is the first woman elected primate in the Anglican Communion.

Jefferts Schori was raised in the Roman Catholic Church until 1963, when at the age of eight her parents brought her into the Episcopal Church in conjunction with their own move out of Roman Catholicism. She attended school in New Jersey, then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in biology from Stanford University in 1974, and a Master of Science in oceanography in 1977 and a Ph.D. in 1983, also in oceanography, from Oregon State University. She earned her Master of Divinity in 1994, and was ordained priest that year. She served as assistant rector at the Church of the Good Samaritan, Corvallis, Oregon, where she had special responsibility for pastoring the Hispanic community (she speaks Spanish fluently). In 2001, she was elected and consecrated Bishop of Nevada. She was awarded a Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) in 2001 from The Church Divinity School of the Pacific. (It is a common practice for a bishop in The Episcopal Church to be awarded an honorary doctorate from her or his alma mater seminary.) She is an instrument-rated pilot.

She married Richard Schori, an Oregon State professor of topology, in 1979. They have an adult daughter, also Katharine, also a pilot: she is a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

1 Election as Presiding Bishop and Primate
- 1.1 Consecrators
2 Recent Controversy
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Election as Presiding Bishop and Primate

The Episcopal Church met in General Convention in Columbus, Ohio, in June 2006. Jefferts Schori was elected Presiding Bishop by the House of Bishops on June 18, from among seven nominees on the fifth ballot with 95 of the 188 votes cast. The House of Deputies, consisting of deacons, priests, and laity, overwhelmingly approved the House of Bishops' election later that day. Jefferts Schori is the first woman Primate in the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Although Jefferts Schori's election was an indication of widespread support in the Episcopal Church in the United States for ordaining women to the historic episcopate, the Diocese of Fort Worth, which opposes women in holy orders, has asked the Archbishop of Canterbury for "alternative primatial oversight" (a previously unheard-of expression), analogous to the "alternative episcopal oversight" suggested in the Windsor Report. Several other conservative dioceses affiliated with the Anglican Communion Network, including some that do ordain women, have made similar requests.

See also Provincial episcopal visitor

Jefferts Schori voted to consent to the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, the controversial appointment of a non-celibate gay man to the episcopate; therefore, her election as Presiding Bishop has been regarded by some conservative Episcopalians as a confirmation that the Episcopal Church is unwilling to change its institutional views on homosexuality and Christianity, specifically non-celibate gay persons in ordained ministry. Jefferts Schori's election may also be an issue for some bishops of other churches in the Anglican Communion, which does not universally recognize the ordination of women.

See also Anglican views of homosexuality

At a news conference on 18 June 2006, the Presiding Bishop-elect articulated a willingness to work with conservatives. She expressed her hope to lead the church in the reign of God, rooted in imagery from Isaiah and including such United Nations Millennium Development Goals as eradicating poverty and hunger: "The poor are fed, the Good News is preached, those who are ostracized and in prison are set free, the blind receive sight."

Nevertheless, on 21 June 2006, Jefferts Schori's homily, preached at the closing Eucharist of the Convention, disconcerted moderate and conservative Episcopalians with the words "Our mother Jesus gives birth to a new creation." (Full text from Episcopal News Service available as an external link below.)

Jefferts Schori remained as Bishop of Nevada until taking up the position of Presiding Bishop officially on November 1, 2006; her investiture and seating in the office was held on November 4 at the (Cathedral Church of SS. Peter and Paul) Washington National Cathedral. Her official seating was held the following day, also at the National Cathedral. An Episcopal Presiding Bishop's term typically lasts for nine years, but it runs in three years cycles in conjunction with General convention.

[edit] Consecrators

The Rt Revd Jerry A. Lamb, Bishop of Northern California
The Rt Revd Robert L. Ladehoff, Bishop of Oregon
The Rt Revd Carolyn Tanner Irish, Bishop of Utah

Bishop Jefferts Schori was the 963rd bishop consecrated in the Episcopal Church.

[edit] Recent Controversy

Since her Installation, the Presiding Bishop has stirred controversy with an interview she gave to the New York Times Magazine on November 19, 2006 (see below for interview and reaction). In that interview she stated that "Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children." Since then, many Roman Catholics and Mormons (as well as Evangelicals) have expressed a widespread view that the Presiding Bishop and the Episcopal elite regard their own low fertility rate as grounds for snobbery.

[edit] References

The Episcopal Church Annual. Morehouse Publishing: New York, NY (2005).
Q & A With Bishop Jefferts Schori from The Living Church magazine

Katharine Jefferts Schori, A Wing and a Prayer: A Message of Faith and Hope. New York: Morehouse Publishing (January 2007) ISBN 978-0-8192-2271-8

[edit] External links

Episcopal Church elects first woman Presiding Bishop — Episcopal News Service
News article on her taking her leave from the Church of the Good Samaritan
Gifted Service by Tom Sramek — The Living Church Foundation
In Their Own Words: Katharine Jefferts Schori — Witness Magazine
Interview with the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of Nevada — Witness Magazine
Into the Breach: Interview with Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori — Guardian UK
Multimedia and stories about Presiding Bishop-elect Jefferts Schori from Episcopal News Service
State of the Church: Questions for Katharine Jefferts Schori - New York Times Magazine
Ruth Gledhill: Articles of Faith - London Times Online
From Columbus: Text of Presiding Bishop-elect's June 21 homily - Episcopal News Service

Preceded by Stewart Zabriskie	9th Bishop of Nevada 2001 – November 1, 2006	Succeeded by —
Preceded by Frank Tracy Griswold	26th Presiding Bishop November 1, 2006 – Present	Succeeded by —