Thoughts on a female bishop

I'm not an Episcopalian so it's a bit out of sorts for me to comment here but I feel I must.....

The Episcopal Church elected Katharine Jefferts Schori, 52 the world's first female presiding bishop. The 70-million-member Anglican Communion is now split with a mix of cheers and jeers. Her election presents problems on multiple levels.

First, you have a female in the role of bishop. Some would claim that this is not even biblical. There are many Anglican leaders who believe women should not even be priests. Those opposed to female clergy cite the unbroken tradition of male priesthood in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions, and in the Anglican Communion until about 30 years ago.

Second, she has already come out in support of homosexuality. She voted in the past in favor of same-sex unions and the consecration of homosexual bishops. Both acts have earned condemnation from 22 Anglican provinces.

This latest move only serves to weaken the Episcopal Church, which is facing a declining membership and is estranged from the rest of worldwide Anglicanism because of its election of the openly homosexual New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson in 2003.

It seems clear the deputies gathered in the Greater Columbus Convention Center voted to lead the Episcopal Church away from the Anglican Communion.

Schori defeated five men for the post, winning on the fifth ballot on votes cast by 188 Episcopal bishops. Out of those 188, 95 bishops (supposed men of God) voted Schori in as bishop. That was just enough votes for her to win.

This whole process started long ago. Schori was brought into the Episcopal Church when her parents abandoned the Roman Catholic tradition. In a sense she has grown up rejecting the traditional church and saw ecclesiastical authority as something to fight against. That authority includes the Bible.

Shori said in an interview, "One of the church's greatest challenges, in this and in every age, is re-contextualizing the gospel. There are signs of great hope in some places, but we as a church will have to be far more intentional, and far more willing to push our own comfort zones, if we are to be attractive to the unchurched. "

It is not clear what the reaction to the Schori election will be from Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, which teach that women cannot be ordained. Just the fact that her ordination as a bishop is not accepted by a large portion of the Communion introduces division.

The one thing we can be sure of is that God has his hand on all of this. This act may serve as a wake up call, and in the end, drive believers back to the true church . It may also allow those who choose to reject truth to "re-contextualize" the gospel and pretend they are Christians in the facade of the episcopal church.