The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, spoke Thursday night before a crowd of about 250 people at Oregon State University, drawing on her experiences in both the scientific and the religious worlds and concluded that both are essential.

“Both science and religion have important things to say to all human endeavor … and at this stage in human history, we may not develop an adequate response to the dilemmas of existence without attention to both ways of knowing,” Schori said.

Creating a world of peace and justice and one in which human beings can survive physically depends on the ability of science and religion to talk to each other and build alliances that can respond to suffering the world, according to Schori.

“Both science and religion lead people to see the world with enormous awe. The response can either be a burning desire to understand the workings of the physical world, or an equally burning desire to connect with whatever has brought this world in existence.

“Both kinds of passion can help us to care for this world and all its inhabitants and both are going to be needed if we are going to relieve the suffering of many and bring increasing hope to our own species and all others,” Schori said.

Read it all.

The Boston Globe reports:

Saying "I don't believe that there is any will in this church to move backward," the top official of the Episcopal Church USA said yesterday that the election of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire has been "a great blessing" despite triggering intense controversy and talk of possible schism.

In an interview during a visit to Boston, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori compared the gay rights struggle to battles over slavery and women's rights, and said she believes that it has become a vocation for the Episcopal Church "to keep questions of human sexuality in conversation, and before not just the rest of our own church, but the rest of the world."

Tell the story, turn chaos to Shalom, Presiding Bishop tells Communicators

By Pat McCaughan April 25, 2007 [Episcopal News Service, Virginia Beach]

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori challenged a gathering of Episcopal Communicators April 25 to engage gifts such as proclamation, witness, storytelling, moviemaking, language, images to help usher in the biblical vision of shalom, of equality and justice for everyone.

"There is something gravely and sinfully wrong with a world where the division between the rich and poor continues to expand, where some still live in palaces and recline on ivory couches while others starve outside their gates," she told about 120 parish, diocesan and national church communicators from around the country.

"In our day, the prophets still speak for a world where the hungry are fed, the ill are healed, where all children are educated and no one is denied the basic necessities of life."

Read it all here.

The Presiding Bishop in Iowa:
"...one of the great joys I've had in my first six months, getting to travel and see the health and vitality that exists in this church,'' she told a crowd of about 300 at Christ Episcopal Church [Cedar Rapids.] "I know it's not always what you read in the newspaper or hear on the news, but it's true.''

Read more »

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, addressed the graduates of the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest on Tuesday in Northwest Austin. After the commencement, Jefferts Schori, the first woman to lead the national church, sat down with an Austin American-Statesman reporter to talk about her denomination's challenges, including tensions within the 2.4 million-member American province and with Anglicans worldwide and her recent public row with Nigerian bishop Peter Akinola. Jefferts Schori, 53, also touched on her view of smart church growth and why this is the "most exciting time to be an Anglican in generations." She's most passionate about what her church is doing that doesn't make headlines: feeding the hungry, empowering the poor, educating children.

Read the interview.

"Opening remarks by the PB:

‘One of the great gifts of serving in this position is that I get to travel around the church and see what’s going on. I get to meet people and hear stories about how the church lives its life in different places and contexts. And there’s enormous good news in that. Every diocese I have gone to visit has stories of health and vitality to tell. I discovered … last week that some people were annoyed by my talking about that. But I talk about that certainly because it’s true but also because it, I think it’s essential to counteract what the headlines have to say about the Episcopal Church, which is a tiny fraction of what is going on … the stories of health and vitality come from congregations and people and communities who are paying attention to the needs of their neighbors and are engaged in that mission to serve the world. I think that’s great and glorious good news and there simply needs to be more of it, and teach the other parts of the church or challenge other parts of the church to be about that work as well.’"

Thursday morning, June 7, the Presiding Bishop, the Most Reverend Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, will testify before the United States Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee on the urgent need for legislation to address Global Warming.
According to the Episcopal Church Public Policy Network, the hearing will be on-line via a Live Webcast tomorrow, June 7, 2007 at 10 a.m. ET.

To View the Hearing CLICK HERE and look for the red "Live Hearing" button on the front page at the time of the hearing.
You will need "Real Player" to view the hearing - it can be downloaded for free here

More information on the Episcopal Public Policy Network HERE

UPDATE: News report from Hearing HERE

Testimony from the Presiding Bishop HERE

Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori talks with Bill Moyers about science, the environment, and the rift in her Church over the ordination of gay and lesbian priests. According to the Religion and Ethics Newsletter from Thirteen: WNET New York, the Presiding Bishop, spiritual leader to 7,500 congregations and more than two million members, will be on "Bill Moyers Journal," airing Friday, June 8 at 9 p.m. (check local listings).

Thanks to The Diocese of Arizona Nature and Spirituality Program for the information.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori continues to be the Episcopal Church's best ambassador to the wider culture. Watch her appearance Friday night on Bill Moyers Journal. Or read the transcript.

In Vancouver, British Columbia for the annual meeting May 18 to 20 of the Anglican Indigenous Network (AIN), which includes peoples from Canada’s First Nations, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australian and Torres Strait Islanders, Native Hawaiians, and Native Americans (U.S.), the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church discussed the current contoversies in the Anglican Communion and the work of indigenous communities around the world.

The presiding bishop ... unflinchingly predicts the high decibel back-and-forth currently pre occupying the top level of international church may well go on for another decade or more.

“I think the best outcome would be to ratchet down the level of conflict several notches,” Jefferts Schori said. “We have some very anxious people who need to have this resolved structurally right now.”

Those anxious people, personified by the 38 Anglican primates, have given ECUSA a September 30 deadline to cease-and-desist from same-sex blessings and the consecration of gay bishops. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, will arrive just days before that for the regular fall meeting of ECUSA’s bishops.

“I hope that he can hear and believe the church is far less divided than he believes it is,” said Jefferts Schori.

“I read Genesis and I see chaos as a necessary precursor to creation,” she said. “Anglicans embrace order and freedom. Both parts are essential. It’s a case of having patience to live with organic messiness to see what emerges.”

But she assured her audience that the work of the church goes on underneath the radar focused on the primates. A March meeting in Boxbourg, South Africa brought together 400 people from 33 Anglican provinces. “Nobody talked about sex,” she said. “They talked abut feeding people, about preventing disease, about how we can build constructive relationships.”

While she listened more than she talked to the AIN delegates, Jefferts Schori did suggest that true reconciliation with natives lies far ahead for the United States. “In some way, Canada has had a gift in wrestling with residential schools which the United States hasn’t done publicly,” she said.

For indigenous people, who feel themselves to be a powerless minority often quarreling among themselves, Jefferts Schori recalled members of the Latino community in California letting down their barriers to each other and uniting for the first time, only to discover they were then a large force in the church.

“Together, all the marginalized can change things,” she said. “The secret is those in power are relatively few.”

And to the plea for native priests ordained in and for their own communities, she said, simply: “Continue to challenge your church.”

Read it all Here

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori wraps up her 3-day 15-town tour of western Kansas today. As reported by The Hay Daily News she's been well received, and has not sugar-coated difficult subjects:

The audience [Monday night], which was about 75, questioned her about the best way to minister to rural, western Kansas.

“The question is whether a full-stipend priest is really needed or appropriate in a town of 400 when the congregation is 12,” she said. “There’s not enough for a priest to do there. But that said, there’s important ministry to do in that place — sacraments have to be provided.”

Perhaps a priest could minister to several congregations. Others, she said, have forgone owning their house of worship, instead choosing to meet in people’s homes or rented space.

“I think there are many answers that have to grow out of local context,” Jefferts Schori said. “The biggest challenge is often just opening our minds to new possibilities. The church doesn’t have to continue to look like it did 50 years ago.”

The Rev. Dennis Gilhousen, pastor in Norton, said Jefferts Schori’s visit is important — not just for her, but for the people in the diocese.

“We’re sort of out here, stuck in our isolated place,” Gilhousen said. ... “But with this visit, the presiding bishop actually came to spend time with the people of this diocese where we are, instead of at a gathering someplace,” Gilhousen said. “It gives us a genuine sense of being cared for and cared about.”

Jefferts Schori suggested the diocese could care for additional members, including non-English speakers.

“They may not look like many of you, but that is the field that is ripe for harvest out there,” she said. “I think the core of the Episcopal church is about living together with diversity, honoring that diversity and claiming it as a blessing. Many of the approaches we may take have to do with changing our ideas about what a normative Episcopalian looks like.”

Jefferts Schori said the community benefits from having members that speak different languages, have skin of different colors, have different ethnic background, and who represent a different social classes and ages.

“When most of our members are senior citizens, we tend to focus less on the needs of those less represented in the congregation,” she said. “My sense is that the young people are less well-represented than the other end of the spectrum. One reason is that Episcopalians do not do evangelization by reproduction. We also don’t do a terribly good job at retaining the offspring we do produce.”
...
Lifelong member of St. Michael, Jim Brooks has not been present at a presiding bishop’s visit before Monday.
...
“It is very easy for people to be kind of isolated out here,” Brown said. “I think we got to hear her pastoral heart and her heart for evangelism and the heart of the church not only for now, but for the years to come.”

The Bishop of western Kansas has invited the highest-ranking official of the Episcopal Church to visit.

But not before receiving letters and phone calls from congregations making it clear they didn't want to miss the opportunity.
...
The invitation and the bishop's response came on the heels of a letter sent by Adams, saying he did not agree with Jefferts Schori's philosophy or the direction she is leading the Episcopal Church.
...
Bishop Dean Wolfe of the Episcopal diocese of Kansas...said it was wonderful the presiding bishop was making herself available. "It's a big deal for a couple of reasons," Wolfe said. "She comes from a smaller diocese, she more than others has an understanding of smaller and rural parishes."

Wolfe said her leadership shows a concern for the middle of the country, not just both coasts.

Bishop James Adams has caught the attention of the newly appointed Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori with a letter stating he disapproves of her theology. In response, the first female primate in the 500-year history of the Anglican Church has offered to visit the Western Kansas Diocese, which has about 2,500 members.
...
The next move in their exchange will be up to Adams - under church protocol, Jefferts Schori cannot visit unless invited.
...
"I don't deny she is the presiding bishop; she was duly elected," Adams said. However, in his letter sent to Jefferts Schori, after her installation in November 2006, he denied her authority over him.
...
Adams struggles with Jefferts Schori's theology, worried that she and some others in the church seem to give up the claims of Christ to avoid offending anyone.
...
Adams may think he understands her theological positions, Jefferts Schori said, but "I have a broader understanding of how salvation works."
...
"It's not that she is not talented or smart," Adams said, "but she has little experience in the church."

He said Jefferts Schori had been a priest only since 1994, and never a rector before she was appointed bishop in 2000. During the 75th General Convention in June 2006, she was elected the 26th Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church.

"I didn't vote for her. That doesn't mean I don't like her, I just don't think she's qualified," he said.

The AP has also covered the visit.

Listen to a podcast of The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori interviewed by Cathy Lewis on HearSay, a program of WHRO broadcasting over an area from Richmond, VA to the Outer Banks. The Presiding Bishop answers questions of why it is exciting and challenging to be an Anglican in this time, difficulties with change, hopes for the future, legal issues, and being a Christian and scientist in the 21st century. HearSay is a call in show with questions from callers, baptism, combatting pedophilia and abuse, Windsor Report, fallout with churches who are breaking away, the Anglican Communion remaining one body and its importance for mission, growth, and immigration The Presiding Bishop talks about how she balances work and rest in a demanding position.

From the website:
Listen to Segment B: From Pilot to Peacemaker
In the second portion of the show, join Cathy for an intimate conversation with Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, spiritual leader to more than 2.4 million Episcopalians.

Listen to this Podcast here

HearSay website is found here

At a "reconciliation Eucharist" held July 4 in Houston, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori talked about the relationship between freedom and reconciliation, saying that neither is fully experienced despite being "fully around us."

"We live in a world that is not yet whole, and we understand our vocation to be its healing or repair," she said in a sanctuary filled with both black and white Episcopalians. "Our Jewish brothers and sisters call it 'Tikkun Alam,' the repair of the world."

A healed world is an ancient dream, the presiding bishop said during her sermon. Telling stories of both joy and grief is part of the healing process.

"Over and over and over again, the prophets railed against those who brought greater divisions to the world, those who bring more injustice, those whose deeds sow destruction," she said.

Jefferts Schori said there are many kinds of reconciliations — "between individuals, within families, among nations, between politicians and, yes, even theological factions."

She also told the congregation gathered at at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Houston that when one is oppressed, all are oppressed. Also in attendance were members of the Union of Black Episcopalians, who were gathered for their 39th annual meeting.

Read the whole thing in the Houston Chronicle.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori weighs in on issues of salvation and evangelism in her most recent column for Episcopal Life, expanding on statements she has made in interviews with the media.

She writes:

Is baptism necessary for salvation? Theologians have wrestled with this in a number of ways and made some remarkably gracious and open-ended responses. Vatican II affirmed that salvation is possible outside the church, even though some statements by Roman Catholic authorities in years since have sought to retreat from that position.

Karl Rahner spoke about "anonymous Christians," whose identity is known to God alone. John MacQuarrie recognized the presence of the Logos or Word in other traditions.

And:

When we look at some of the lives of holy people who follow other religious traditions, what do we see? Mahatma Gandhi and the Dalai Lama both exemplify Christ-like lives. Would we assume that there is no grace present in lives like these? A conclusion of that sort seems to verge on the only unforgivable sin, against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:30-32).

If I believe that God is more than I can imagine, conceptualize or understand, then I must be willing to acknowledge that God may act in ways that are beyond my ken, including in people who do not follow the Judeo-Christian tradition. Note that I include our Jewish brothers and sisters, for Scripture is very clear that God made a covenant with Israel. That covenant was not abrogated in Jesus. Scripture also speaks of a covenant with Abraham that extends to his offspring, including Ishmael. Our Muslim brothers and sisters claim him as their ancestor. In some way, God continues to act in the tradition we call Islam.

Well, if God is already at work in other religious traditions, why would we bother to teach, make disciples or baptize? The focus of our evangelical work can never be imposing our own will (despite the wretched examples of forced conversion in the history of Christianity), but there is a real urgency to sharing the good news.

Can you imagine not saying to another, "Let me introduce you to my best friend. I think you would enjoy getting to know him"? We are certainly not loath to do that when it comes to the latest movie or book or restaurant we've enjoyed, and unless we are leery of sharing, we will not stay silent long.

We've argued before that those who say the Presiding Bishop's views on salvation are outside the Christian mainstream seem to believe that the Catholic Church is outside the mainstream as well. She makes that case indirectly here herself. Note especially the reference to Matthew 12, where she gently but firmly suggests that it is her Bible-quoting critics who have misread the Scriptures and are flirting with the unpardonable sin.

The Corvallis Gazette-Times in Oregon interviews Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori one year after her election as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Jefferts Schori is still hopeful tensions within the denomination and the worldwide Anglican Communion can be resolved.

“I think as a Christian you have to live in hope of reconciliation always,” Jefferts Schori said during a brief stop in Corvallis at the beginning of a weeklong vacation.

“If we can get people to get out of a face-saving mode and refocus on the mission of the church, I think we can learn to live together and stay one body.”

During her many travels over the past nine months since her installation at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., however, Jefferts Schori said she’s seen a “softening around the edges.”

By the end of the year, the 53-year-old former oceanographer will have been in nearly a third of the 110 Episcopal dioceses in which she has oversight and more than half a dozen foreign countries including Tanzania, Cuba, Brazil, Ecuador, Honduras and Colombia.

She said she has been pleasantly surprised by how many primates from other countries have invited her to visit. Many of the invitations have come because of the work American missionaries did to help start Episcopal churches in other nations. But other invitations have sprung from common interests, she said.

Read it all here

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori addressed the recent convocation of Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Basing her remarks on Isaiah 61:1-9 she encouraged the incoming class to "dream along with God." According to Mary Frances Schjonberg and Daniel Webster in Episcopal Life Online:

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori told the incoming class ... that they need to consider, how theological thinking is going to help to shape the rest of your life.

The task of theological education really is to help us learn to do theology -- to relate our own stories, and the stories of those around us, to the great stories of our faith, so that we may be able to give an account of the faith that is within us. Theological education can bless us with the ability to see the need and hurt and injustice of the world, the ways in which God's dream is not yet being realized.

In his introduction of the Presiding Bishop, Union President Joseph C. Hough, Jr. said that her election is "emblematic of the determination of the Episcopal Church to embody a new church for the 21st century and to forge a model for a prophetic church in a radically changing world." ... a "prophetic statement to the church and the world at a time when aggressive misogyny has reared its ugly head in many Christian communions, determined to restore the full grip of male hegemony in the leadership of Christian Churches."

"She and her church in full view of the world have defied this trend and engendered hope for many of us Christians who abhor this sort of male exclusivism," Hough continued.

Hough said that "since misogyny is almost always accompanied by homophobia, it is hardly surprising that she has been the object of virulent attacks for her openness to gay ordination from some of her fellow bishops and clergy in the Anglican Communion."

"What is so wondrous for me to see is her refusal to engage in white hot polemics in response to this ecclesiastical skullduggery," he added.

Read the news story here

Read the address by Katharine Jefferts Schori here

Watch a brief video of the Convocation and read more here

Eight bishops agree to serve as 'episcopal visitors'
by Bob Williams

[Episcopal News Service, New Orleans] Eight bishops have accepted Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's invitation to serve as "episcopal visitors" to dioceses that have requested this provision.

At her request, the Presiding Bishop's canon, the Rev. Dr. Charles Robertson, advised Episcopal News Service of this measure the evening of September 19. The announcement preceded the opening plenary session of the House of Bishops' September 20-25 meeting in New Orleans. Robertson said Jefferts Schori expected to announce the names of the eight bishops during that session, which is devoted to the bishops' private conversation with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, and is closed to the public and media.

Jefferts Schori has conferred with Williams about the invitations, which she extended after a process of consultation with bishops in the Episcopal Church, Robertson said.

"All eight are true bridge-builders who empathize with the concerns and needs of dioceses that are struggling with the issues of the current time," Robertson said, adding that "while all are sympathetic to to these concerns, each is clear that the Presiding Bishop's ultimate goal is reconciliation."

The eight are active diocesan bishops Frank Brookhart of Montana, Dorsey Henderson of Upper South Carolina (based in Columbia, S.C.), John Howe of Central Florida (based in Orlando), Gary Lillibridge of West Texas (based in San Antonio), Michael Smith of North Dakota, James Stanton of Dallas, and Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island, together with retired Connecticut Bishop Clarence Coleridge.

Robertson said all have agreed to serve as official "episcopal visitors" (the lowercase adjective referring generally to bishops and their ministries rather than the church's denomination), or to provide "Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight" (DEPO), an option provided by the House of Bishops' March 2004 statement "Caring for All the Churches" and a concept affirmed by the General Convention in 2006.

Jefferts Schori's invitation to the eight bishops seeks to delegate the first of three primary canonical duties of the Presiding Bishop, that of visiting each of the Episcopal Church's 110 dioceses during each Presiding Bishop's nine-year term. The Presiding Bishop's other two principal canonical roles are to "take order" for ordaining and consecrating bishops, and to oversee certain disciplinary actions as needed.

The Presiding Bishop's invitation to the eight bishops "offers opportunities for dioceses to have an episcopal visitor other than herself," Robertson said.

"This gives dioceses the pastoral guidance and care they need while remaining faithful and loyal members of the Episcopal Church," he said. "It is also the Presiding Bishop's hope that at some point in the future she would be invited to visit these dioceses."

The action is "a significant effort at building a bridge while still honoring our uniquely American polity," Robertson said.

He added that Jefferts Schori is "comfortable letting the details be worked out by the bishops involved."

From among the Episcopal Church's 110 total dioceses, six stand by requests
initiated in 2006 for pastoral oversight other than that of the current Presiding Bishop. Those dioceses are Central Florida, Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, Quincy (based in Peoria, Illinois), Springfield (Illinois), and San Joaquin (based in Fresno, California). A similar request by the Diocese of Dallas was later modified.

In all of these dioceses there has been expressed opposition to the 2003 election and ordination as diocesan bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson, who is openly gay and lives in a long-standing committed relationship with his male partner.

In three of these dioceses -- Fort Worth, Quincy and San Joaquin -- the bishops have not ordained women despite the General Convention's 1976 authorization to do so.

-- Canon Robert Williams is director of Episcopal Life Media, the new communication group that includes the Episcopal News Service.

Updated: Interestingly, the Thursday night AP story quotes from the item below.

Not a lot to report from our friends who were in the room. At House of Bishops meetings, the bishops all sit at assigned tables with colleagues whom they have sat with at previous meetings. At tables this morning they were asked what were their greatest hopes and greatest fears for the meeting. Each table answered these questions and reported back to the meeting.

I am a little shaky on the time sequence here, but at some point during the course of the day, Archbishop Williams suggested that the Episcopal Church needed to exercise greater concern for its catholicity. Bishop Michael Curry at some later point replied that catholicity, by definition, cannot be built upon the exclusion of one class of people.

The archbishop made it clear that he believed the Episcopal Church had acted preemptively in consecrating Bishop Robinson.

In the afternoon Archbishop Williams asked the bishops how far they were willing to go to assure the rest of the Anglican Communion that the Church will refrain from a) consecrating another openly gay bishop and b) authorizing rites of blessing for same-sex unions. He also asked whether the bishops are willing to share episcopal responsibilities with other bishops when necessary.

The answer to those questions must ultimately be embodied in resolutions. For perusing other blogs, I sense that not much news was committed at the news conference.

From Episcopal Life Online news from the press conference.

For the true Episcopal news junkie, video on demand from the recently completed meeting of the House of Bishops. Watch the final news conference, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's message to the Church and the bishops' day of service.

Sometimes in trying to figure out what one thinks, one comes across someone who has already thought it.

Our nominations for the passages of The Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates of the Anglican Communion Report on The Episcopal Church House of Bishops of Meeting in New Orleans include:

On same-sex blessings
(page 6 of the pdf):

The Episcopal Church has acknowledged in the past, however, that “local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions”. In answer to the way in which this resolution was understood in the Windsor Report, it has been said that this statement was to be understood descriptively of a reality current in 2003 and not as permissive, and the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion prior to the 75th General Convention (2006) specifically denied that it was intended to authorise such rites.

It needs to be made clear however that we believe that the celebration of a public liturgy which includes a blessing on a same-sex union is not within the breadth of private pastoral response envisaged by the Primates in their Pastoral Letter of 2003, and that the undertaking made by the bishops in New Orleans is understood to mean that the use of any such rites or liturgies will not in future have the bishop’s authority “until a broader consensus emerges in the Communion, or until General Convention takes further action, a qualification which is in line with the limits that the Constitution of The Episcopal Church places upon the bishops.

On this basis, we understand the statement of the House of Bishops in New Orleans to have met the request of the Windsor Report in that the Bishops have declared “a moratorium on all such public Rites”19, and the request of the Primates at Dar es Salaam that the bishops should “make an unequivocal common covenant that the bishops will not authorise any Rite of Blessing for same-sex unions in their dioceses” since we have their pledge explicitly in those terms.

The interpretation of the phrase: "the use of any such rites or liturgies will not in future have the bishop’s authority" will be hotly disputed. Does that constitute a prohibition? Is it opaque on purpose? Note also the phrase "On this basis" at the beginning of the last paragraph in the quotation.

Conclusion to Part One
(page 9)

By their answers to these two questions, we believe that the Episcopal Church has clarified all outstanding questions relating to their response to the questions directed explicitly to them in the Windsor Report, and on which clarifications were sought by 30th September 2007, and given the necessary assurances sought of them.

Obviously the breakaway right and the Primates aligned with Akinola will dispute this. Will others join them?

Regarding incursions by Primates of other provinces
(Page 11--the second sentence):

At Dar es Salaam, the primates sought to address these matters by proposing that The Episcopal Church turn to a particular group of bishops living and ministering within its life, who had publicly declared that they accepted both the standard of teaching expressed in the 1998 Lambeth Resolution 1.10 and were unreservedly committed to the recommendations of the Windsor Report. In other words, the primates were indicating to those who felt alienated from the leadership of The Episcopal Church that there were identifiable bishops within The Episcopal Church able to meet the needs identified by the groups seeking alternative pastoral provision without the need for “foreign intervention”.

A pretty straightforward repudiation of the Peter Akinola/Henry Orombi/Benjamin Nzimbi/Emmanuel Kolini incursions that won't sit well on the separatist right.

Support for Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori's "episcopal visitors"
(Pages 11 and 12)

In her opening remarks to the House of Bishops, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori indicated to the assembled bishops that she had appointed eight Episcopal Visitors. ... We believe that these initiatives offer a viable basis on which to proceed. Bishop Jefferts Schori indicated that she deliberately left open and flexible the operation of the ministry of the Episcopal Visitors, believing that it was best for the visitor and the diocesan bishop concerned to work out an acceptable scheme. The Presiding Bishop laid down only two conditions: first, that such Episcopal visitors did not encourage dioceses or parishes to leave the Episcopal Church, and second, that the Episcopal Visitors would report occasionally to the Presiding Bishop. By leaving this ministry flexible for negotiation and development, we believe that the Presiding Bishop has opened a way forward. There is within this proposal the potential for the development of a scheme which, with good will on the part of all parties, could meet their needs.

Another blow to separatists.

Law suits
(page 12):

We are dismayed as a Joint Standing Committee by the continuing use of the law courts in this situation, and request that the Archbishop of Canterbury use his influence to persuade parties to discontinue actions in law on the basis set out in the primates’ Communiqué.

A plea unlikely to be heard by either side, except when there is a tactical advantage in appearing to be the more peaceable party.

The Pastoral Council Scheme from Dar es Salaam is dead, but the Panel of Reference may be resurrected.
(page 13):

We believe that the House of Bishops is correct in identifying that the co-operation and participation of the wider Communion, in a way which respects the integrity of the American Province, is an important element in addressing questions of pastoral oversight for those seeking alternative provision. We also believe that a body which could facilitate such consultation and partnership would meet the intent of the Pastoral Council envisaged by the Primates in their Communiqué. We encourage all the Instruments of Communion to participate in a discussion with the Presiding Bishop and the leadership of The Episcopal Church to discern a way in which to meet both the intentions behind the proposals in the Dar es Salaam Communiqué and this statement by the House of Bishops. The Archbishop of Canterbury may wish to revisit the work and mandate of “The Panel of Reference” and to explore whether this body, or a reconstituted version of it, may have a part to play in this respect.

It is difficult to believe that the Committee sees potential in the PofR, which is disliked and mistrusted by left and right. The acknowledgment that the Pastoral Council Scheme, foisted on the world by the Anglican Communion Institute violated the integrity of a member province of the Communion is most welcome, however.

The flashpoint among flashpoints as far as the separatists are concerned
Page 14

As a Joint Standing Committee, we do not see how certain primates can in good conscience call upon The Episcopal Church to meet the recommendations of the Windsor Report while they find reasons to exempt themselves from paying regard to them.

"In good conscience" is very, very strong language. And not to put too fine a point on it, on Page 15, the Committee quotes the previous Archbishop of Canterbury George's Carey who wrote that the bishops consecrated for the Anglican Mission in America during his tenure were no bishops of the Anglican Communion, and in the following paragraph adds:

The current instances of consecrations which have been taking place in African Provinces with respect to “missionary initiatives” in North America would seem to fall into the same category. We understand that, in addition to contravening the authorities quoted above, the consecrations took place either without consultation with or even against the counsel of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

That's enough for now. There is ample language in this document to trouble proponents of the full inclusion of all of the baptized in the sacramental life of the Church as well. More on that tomorrow.

Update: one member of the Joint Standing Committee who disagrees with this report has made his voice heard. Is it maybe just a little curious that Bishop Mouneer Anis could not get his comments to the writers of the Standing Committee report in time for inclusion, but was able to get them into the hands of the Times of London two hours after the report was published?

A truly delightful video interview with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on KOCO TV in Oklahoma: watch it here.

Per Episcopal Life Online, "four additional bishops have accepted Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's invitation to serve as "episcopal visitors" in dioceses requesting this provision." They are: Bishops Philip Duncan of Central Gulf Coast, Duncan Gray of Mississippi, Rayford High (suffragan) of Texas, and Rodney Michel (assisting) of Maryland. They join eight other bishops who accepted the role during the House of Bishops meeting.

The report is here.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is making public a letter of warning that is being sent to a bishop who is actively seeking to withdraw his diocese from the Episcopal Church, and has stated that letters to other bishops will follow.

According to Episcopal Life Online the Presiding Bishop released the following letter:

The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA

Dear Bob,

There have been numerous public references in recent weeks regarding resolutions to be introduced at your forthcoming diocesan convention. Those resolutions, if adopted, would amend several of your diocesan canons and begin the process of amending one or more provisions of your diocesan Constitution. I have reviewed a number of these proposed resolutions, and it is evident to me that they would violate the Constitutional requirement that the Diocese conform to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church. It is apparent from your pre-convention report that you endorse these proposed changes. I am also aware of other of your statements and actions in recent months that demonstrate an intention to lead your diocese into a position that would purportedly permit it to depart from The Episcopal Church. All these efforts, in my view, display a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between The Episcopal Church and its dioceses. Our Constitution explicitly provides that a diocese must accede to the Constitution and Canons of the Church.

I call upon you to recede from this direction and to lead your diocese on a new course that recognizes the interdependent and hierarchical relationship between the national Church and its dioceses and parishes. That relationship is at the heart of our mission, as expressed in our polity. Specifically, I sincerely hope that you will change your position and urge your diocese at its forthcoming convention not to adopt the resolutions that you have until now supported.

If your course does not change, I shall regrettably be compelled to see that appropriate canonical steps are promptly taken to consider whether you have abandoned the Communion of this Church -- by actions and substantive statements, however they may be phrased -- and whether you have committed canonical offences that warrant disciplinary action.

It grieves me that any bishop of this Church would seek to lead any of its members out of it. I would remind you of my open offer of an Episcopal Visitor if you wish to receive pastoral care from another bishop. I continue to pray for reconciliation of this situation, and I remain

Your servant in Christ,

Katharine Jefferts Schori

Read Jan Nunley's article for Episcopal Life here.

Comments from the blogosphere:

Father Jake is concerned with the slow process of working through the canons and asks how faithful Episcopalians can be supported in this time:

First the Title IV Review Committee will consider the matter. That could take a couple of months. The bishops would then have two months to recant. Then the entire House of Bishops would have to meet and vote. It looks like the faithful in San Joaquin will be in a kind of limbo for at least five to six months. That is not good. In a time of crisis like this, it is critical that the Church move swiftly to assure that her members receive the kind of pastoral care such a traumatic situation will demand.

Mark Harris at Preludium raises the issue of danger in the mean time of the continued CANA incursions and making of more bishops for the US.

Thinking Anglicans has comments at their site.

Fresh from her visit to the peace conference in Korea (coverage here), Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori visited Guam, which is estimated to have about 250 Episcopalians, according to the Pacific Daily News. Yesterday, she visited St. John's School and delivered a sermon to the more than 500 students there:

"The basic reason you and I have come to a place like this is to say, 'Thank you,'" she said. "Thank you for our blessings from God. Thank you for the abundance of life, ... for our family, friends and neighbors."

While children know the history of Thanksgiving as a civil holiday, the religious roots of its teachings run deep, she said. "Our faith is learning to say thank you in all times, places and circumstances," she said. During the sermon, St. John's students donated more than 100 items of canned goods to the Salvation Army to give away during its Thanksgiving feast today.

Before Jefferts Schori's sermon, Ben Helmer, archdeacon of the Episcopal Church in Micronesia, was giddy. He said he didn't think a presiding bishop had visited Guam since 1977.

"Most Episcopalians never get to meet the presiding bishop. It's really very exciting," he said. "There are a lot of people who never thought they'd meet anyone this important."

The article is here, and we'll follow up in this space when more information about the Guam visit becomes available.

In the meantime, the editors of the Lead would like to extend our thanks to you, our readers, and our hopes that you are enjoying a wonderful and safe holiday. We invite your prayers of thanksgiving.

For Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori running is a form of body prayer and a time of reflection according to an interview in this month's issue of Runner's World. From the interview:

Why did you start running?

I'd been a competitive swimmer, played water polo in college, and was active. In the fall of 1978 I met the man [Richard Schori] I eventually married and he was an avid runner, and he got me started. I started running probably in November of '78 and ran a marathon in February of '79 [in Seaside, Oregon, with a time of 3:54:55].

That must have been pretty tough.

It was an adventure.

How do you feel running helps with your work? Do you like to use the time to brainstorm or solve issues?

Absolutely. It's focusing for me. In my tradition we might talk about it as body prayer. It's a meditative experience at its best. It's a sort of emptying of the mind. That's probably why I prefer running in the wilds rather than in the middle of the city.

Now that you've been elected presiding bishop, do you think your weekly runs will become more necessary or more fulfilling?

Well, it's an essential part of my health. I don't function as well in any part of my life if I'm not exercising regularly, and running is probably the easiest and most enjoyable way I've found to do that.

Do you have a favorite Bible passage that inspires you to get out and run?

There's a wonderful passage in the Psalms that says, "Beautiful are the feet of one who brings good news."

Read the interview here.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has released her Christmas message calling us to "[find] Immanuel as immigrant, wanderer, child." Many make an extra effort to reach out to others in need at this time of year. The Presiding Bishop asks us to allow our seasonal "seeing" become a year 'round challenge.

The complete text in English and Spanish is here.

We never asked Episcopalians to take up our fight. Rather, it seems, their spiritual path has led them to believe that we aren’t any less deserving of ministry or recognition or even consecration simply because we happen to be unpopular sexual minorities. I wish that weren’t an extraordinary concept in 2007, but it is. And Bishop Jefferts Schori has hardly blinked in a year of denominational strife that has seen her character and her commitment to her religious office questioned, challenged, dismissed, and maligned.

Teresa Morrison writing in The Advocate praises the difficult path that the Episcopal Church has taken standing in solidarity with gays and lesbians.

Read it all here.

Fr. Jake comments here

Katie Sherrod comments here.

During Christmastide the Presiding Bishop made two appearances via podcast and radio. One with State of Belief on Air America is available now on podcast and the other is available on BBC Radio 4. [The PB's segment of the BBC program is available here.]

The State of Belief interview featured questions for the Presiding Bishop on the current state of the Episcopal Church, religious liberty, and the future.

Notes from the interview:

Why are we where we are?
The immediate background is the ordination of women and emphasis on ministry of all the baptized in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Looking at the history of the church - decisions about inclusion from Peter and Paul's debate about the Gentiles to today.
Another factor is the current polarization of society politically and reflected in the church impatience with diverse ideas plus external groups set to undermine and polarize in all mainline denominations.
The current division seems to be between those who believe their salvation is at stake if they don't separate and those who believe an inclusive body expresses the reign of God.

What about the Diocese of San Joaquin?
We are in a between time, limbo -- as soon as the status of the bishop is determined then the status of clergy can be determined.

Will we resolve our current divisions?
Not in our lifetime -- so we need to learn to live together.

Why keep going?
There is work to be done - plant churches, preach the gospel, help healing of world.

What would you tell people about The Episcopal Church?
It is multi-national, multi-cultural, values diversity and finds hope in diversity, believes in the Incarnation - which means life in this world is important - justice, peace, mission of solace, feeding, comfort, healing; offering a challenge to those who are more comfortable, there is work to be done.

Thinking Anglicans reports on the BBC interview here.

The BBC news reports that "The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katherine Jefferts Schori, told the BBC her church is paying the price for its honesty over sexuality."

Link to State of Belief interview here

The easiest way to download the interview with State of Belief is through the iTunes store online - free. Search "State of Belief".

Link to BBC Radio 4 interview here

Lisa Fox comments at her blog, "This is one of the very finest interviews I've heard or seen with our Presiding Bishop."

Update: The AP adds,

"Those services [blessing of same sex unions] are happening in various places, including in the Church of England, where my understanding is that there are far more of them happening than there are in the Episcopal Church," Jefferts Schori said.

A link to just the Presiding Bishop's BBC interview here. No waiting 45 minutes to her part.

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Fort Worth has determined that there were no wise women visiting the infant Jesus and has sent out this letter to the diocese: