Women's role in the Episcopal church
When Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori became the first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church last weekend, the Rev. Gayle Elizabeth Harris's applause was heartfelt and knowing. Four years ago, Harris became the suffragan, or assistant, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, succeeding the nation's first female Episcopal bishop, the Rev. Barbara C. Harris. Unrelated by blood, the two Harrises are bonded by their shared role as pioneers, taking a journey that hasn't always been easy. At Barbara Harris's 1989 installation, two men objected to a woman bishop in the Episcopal Church, which is the American branch of the worldwide Anglican communion of churches.
Gayle Harris talked about the elevation of Schori, who was an oceanographer before she entered the ministry, in a phone interview from the church's General Convention in Columbus, Ohio. Following are excerpts.
Q: How does the reaction to this woman's elevation compare to the reaction that you received in Massachusetts?
A: Can I add another piece to that? I was with Barbara Harris the day she was elected. When Barbara was elected, it was something new, a bold thing that God was doing. The difference here is, with Katharine's election, while she got a simple majority in the house of bishops, when the house of deputies, made up of clergy and laypeople, received the news, there was a huge shout of joy. She was confirmed by 93 out of, I believe, 105 dioceses.
In the worldwide church, we would see a stronger reaction, because a large part of our church in the Third World does not recognize women's ordination.
Q: Will this drive an unbridgeable wedge between those churches and the American church?
A: There is already some fracture because of women's ordination and [gay New Hampshire bishop] Gene Robinson's ordination. But the American church also is [linked] with the American culture and how we are seen overseas. This fracture is also a reaction to our foreign policies and how we, as a country, have not always been just in our dealings. Some of those perceptions are beyond what the church can answer.
[Schori's] background as a scientist has put her in places where men in her profession were completely against her presence. She tells the story of being on a large research ship where the captain did not want her on board. After seeing her skills, that bridge was overcome. We've seen that with women's ordination, we've seen that with race relations. People come with fear, but when they come face to face with a person, they can change. I have full confidence that Bishop Schori, who is a great listener as well as a person who reaches out, will secure respect among her peers around the church.
Q: Does female leadership substantively change the church, its priorities, or its mission?
A: Having women in leadership completes the ability of the whole of the church to respond to the whole of issues. Certainly, women have been socialized to care for the whole and for the other. I think that comes from the fact that we bear children, that we're the place of nurture for others.
But I would not want to see a world completely run by women. I think we need to be integrated into the gifts men may bring. Any situation where there's only one half of humanity speaking impoverishes our ability to provide a holistic look.
Q: The biggest issue on her plate is ordaining gay people. Can Bishop Schori, or anyone, reconcile the church's warring factions?
A: She will be able to broker relationships where people want to have reconciliation. Reconciliation can only happen when all sides are willing to work for it.
It's the ability to listen, and I think she does that well from her scientific background. She's able to analyze, as well as discover things. [But] the other person has to be willing to come to the table.
In the church, we have seen -- from its very beginning -- controversy, whether it should be Peter as the leader or James; whether circumcision was necessary in order to be a Christian; whether females or slaves could be fully members. In America, the issues of slavery, immigration have always brought questions about who can come to God's table.
I think she will try to make us first focus on what we do agree upon. What we have in common is the love of God and this mission to bring love and mercy, compassion, and justice, to the world.
Q: As you mentioned, Bishop Schori began her professional life as a scientist. Does that suggest that the future of religion and the church may not lie with lifelong clergy who attended only divinity school, but people whose experience of the world extends beyond church?
A: I think God calls us from a variety of places. Those who have had a career elsewhere bring their gifts. For so long that women could not be ordained, they were mothers, nurturing families. The first generation of women, because they could not be ordained, had already gone into other professions, as well. So it is a mixed bag.
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