New Presiding Bishop

It isn't my day to blog either, but on a day when our Convention has chosen to elect a female Presiding Bishop, I want to contribute as well. The whole event is still filling a bit surreal for me, but as a young woman of the church, I am ecstatic over the events of the day. As many of you know, the ECW is celebrating simultaniously the 30 years of ministry of women in our church. When GC first consented to the ordination of women in the Episcopal Church, I was a mere 4 or 5 months old, and now at the age of 30 I was priviledged to see our church call a woman into the office of providing bishop, something I wondered if I would ever see in my lifetime...much like wondering if we will ever have a female President of the United States.

The thing that struck me in the aftermath of the news of Bishop Schori's nomination by the House of Bishops is that in the whole of the House of Deputies, only one Deputy spoke up against her election. I expected much more outcry to be honest. What I heard instead was a constant testament to her faithfulness, leadership, committment (and ability to speak Spanish)! She is a woman comitteed to our church, our church's priorities and our mission, both domestic and international.

I pray that as a church, we support her as our Presiding Bishop, lifting up to God the challenges that lay before her. I pray that we continue to acknowledge and lift up the ministry of women as fully capable and gifted members of the church. I don't think I've ever been prouder to be a member of the Episcopal Church, a community that looks at the gifts and talents of people, not the gender of our leaders.

I am so proud to be a member of a community that continues to lift up women, young and old!