Anybody ready for nine more years of Katharine Jefferts Schori?
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori has not ruled out seeking a second nine year term as Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the USA.
Her comments came amidst a wide ranging interview broadcast on 25 Feb 2014 with Kansas City National Public Radio affiliate station KCUR.
Asked about the sharp decline in membership since the 1960s, Bishop Jefferts Schori said the decline did not worry her. While there were fewer Episcopalians today, they were nonetheless better Episcopalians. The “membership levels of 50 years ago are not reflective of the faith” of the people in the pews she noted.
Part of the decline was due to the sociological changes in society as “our grandparents joined institutions at far higher rates” in the past then the same age cohorts did today.
“We are not comparing apples to apples” when “looking at 50 year old statistics” she said. Numbers alone were of less consequence than “an active involvement in a community of faith,” said Bishop Jefferts Schori.
Asked by her interviewer whether she was forbidden from seeking a second term, the presiding bishop stated the canons were silent on the number of terms permitted. Presiding Bishops had to retire at the General Convention closest to their 70th birthday due to the church’s mandatory retirement age of 72. All of her predecessors were barred from seeking a second term due to age rules, while she would not be.
I say go for it, especially after that “better Episcopalians” blast. Heck, make it a lifetime appointment. The Episcopal Organization will be on its deathbed long before she is and there have to be hundreds of parishes the Peeb hasn’t sued yet. So say it with me.
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori has not ruled out seeking a second nine year term as Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the USA.
Her comments came amidst a wide ranging interview broadcast on 25 Feb 2014 with Kansas City National Public Radio affiliate station KCUR.
Asked about the sharp decline in membership since the 1960s, Bishop Jefferts Schori said the decline did not worry her. While there were fewer Episcopalians today, they were nonetheless better Episcopalians. The “membership levels of 50 years ago are not reflective of the faith” of the people in the pews she noted.
Part of the decline was due to the sociological changes in society as “our grandparents joined institutions at far higher rates” in the past then the same age cohorts did today.
“We are not comparing apples to apples” when “looking at 50 year old statistics” she said. Numbers alone were of less consequence than “an active involvement in a community of faith,” said Bishop Jefferts Schori.
Asked by her interviewer whether she was forbidden from seeking a second term, the presiding bishop stated the canons were silent on the number of terms permitted. Presiding Bishops had to retire at the General Convention closest to their 70th birthday due to the church’s mandatory retirement age of 72. All of her predecessors were barred from seeking a second term due to age rules, while she would not be.
I say go for it, especially after that “better Episcopalians” blast. Heck, make it a lifetime appointment. The Episcopal Organization will be on its deathbed long before she is and there have to be hundreds of parishes the Peeb hasn’t sued yet. So say it with me.
