(It looks like the Episcopal Church is continuing to sink deeper into the quicksand of apostasy with the election of their 1st woman Presiding Bishop who is Pro-Homosexual.)
1st Female Presiding Bishop Elected Favors Same-Sex Unions & Blessing Them
According to this article called Woman Is Named Episcopal Leader at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/us/19bishop.html?hp&ex=1150776000&en=d0f2922746e9a4e1&ei=5094&partner=homepage"Bishop Jefferts Schori (Bishop of Nevada) supported (homosexual) Bishop Robinson's election in 2003, and the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada permits the blessing of same-sex unions. Moreover, that Bishop Jefferts Schori is a woman could further strain relations with three dioceses in the United States and many Anglican provinces that refuse to ordain women as priests and bishops, critics of the vote said Sunday."The above article also states the following:"In October 2004, a committee appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, issued a report to head off a possible schism over the sexuality debate. That document, the Windsor Report, recommended that the Episcopal Church apologize for the consecration of Bishop Robinson, stop blessing same-sex couples and place a moratorium on the election of gay bishops. Bishop Jefferts Schori served on a commission that responded to the Windsor Report with recommendations that were less stringent."Another article called Episcopalians pick female chief at http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060619-014045-7938r.htm states "Bishop Schori has voted in the past in favor of same-sex unions and the consecration of homosexual bishops. Bishop Schori not only agreed to Bishop Robinson's election, but she also told reporters yesterday that she favors same-sex blessing ceremonies. Both acts have earned condemnation from 22 Anglican provinces. Bishop Schori will replace outgoing Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, who retires in November."Woman PB to lead Church...Liberals elated, Conservatives DeflatedThey elected the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of Nevada, on the fifth ballot in formal pageantry on Sunday at Trinity Church, Columbus amidst enormously tight security. She is the first ever woman to be elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, and her election comes at a time the ECUSA is trying to reconcile itself with the wider Anglican communion over its sexuality policies. The convention chose to elect not only a pro-gay presiding bishop but the communion's first female provincial leader.
This, when some provinces don't accept women's ordination, and only three provinces presently have them (U.S. Canada, New Zealand (retired)).
Her election was a stunning surprise. She was a dark horse candidate, a long shot from the beginning. How she got it with all the backroom politics is a story VOL managed to obtain, and it will be posted at the website as soon as it is cleared by my attorney.
AT A PRESS conference today we got a glimpse of Bishop Jefforts Schori. She is very, very smooth, a female version of Frank Griswold. She never gave concrete or direct answers to questions posed to her about ECUSA's preoccupation with sexuality and V. Gene Robinson's homosexuality. All she could say was that "issues of sexuality come in the hierarchy of needs." Really.
Questioned on orthodox reaction to her election, she uttered the all too familiar mantra of Frank Griswold: "God welcomes all...people who agree and disagree including a variety of theologies and variety of opinions...all are welcome at His table."
When asked by the Florida Times Union religion writer Jeff Brumley about how she would reach out to those orthodox who feel alienated, all she could come up with was that alienation is often a function of not knowing another human being. "My witness is about good relationships, and building relationships with people who disagree with me."
When questioned by British Anglican Mainstream writer canon Dr. Chris Sugden about fundamental issues of doctrine, she morphed the question, saying that the majority of the church is concerned with more fundamental issues like inadequate housing and unclean water in poor countries. Those are the places we need to start, she said. She spoke glowingly of her roots in the Roman Catholic Church, and said she was brought into the Episcopal Church by her parents when she was nine.
When Church of England newspaperman Andrew Carey asked her about whether she would support the moratoria against the future consecrations of gay bishops, she dodged the question by saying she supported the work of the special committee legislative committee.
And so it went. Jefforts Schori dodged and weaved her way through her first press conference like an old pro, with Soutane-dressed Frank Griswold sitting next to her grinning like a Cheshire cat.
FULL STORY atStunned Conservatives See Clear Message in New P.B.'s Election"He noted that days before Anglican primates gathered in October 2003 to address the tear in the Communion caused by last General Convention's pro-homosexual decisions, her diocese voted to allow her to approve "celebration" ceremonies for same-sex couples. He said that, among presiding bishop candidates, she is the only one whose diocese has officially approved such ceremonies, and the one most committed to TEC's "new theology."FULL STORY atPro-Gay Female Primate Loved by Left
By Hans Zeiger
COLUMBUS, OHIO (6/19/07)-In a move that will potentially destabilize the Episcopal Church beyond its already wounded condition, the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church elected the Rt. Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori the first woman Presiding Bishop of the 2.2 million member denomination.
Currently the Bishop of Nevada, Jefferts Schori was elected by a 95-bishop majority in Sunday's election. Radical Left-wing leaders in the Episcopal Church were elated by the news, likening it to the approval of women's ordination in 1976 and the consecration of homosexual Bishop V. Gene Robinson of the Diocese of New Hampshire three years ago.
"I hope you enjoy hearing the sound of another glass ceiling being shattered," John Vanderstar of the Diocese of Washington told the House of Deputies.
Jefferts-Schori's election is a victory for radical feminists in the Episcopal Church as well as the rapidly growing homosexual movement among Episcopalians.
Moments after Jefferts Schori's election was announced to the House of Deputies, Virtue Online spoke with the Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, the leading homosexual advocacy group in the Episcopal Church. "I'm thrilled," said Russell. "I can't think of a better Father's Day present to the Communion than a woman primate. And the fact that it happens on the thirtieth anniversary of the ordination of women is a sign that God's favor is with us."
Jefferts Schori is the first female primate of a province of the global Anglican Communion in that faith's 400 plus years.
However, Jefferts Schori's election will not seem like a "Father's Day Gift" to most provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In fact, the stability of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church as a member of the Anglican Communion is increasingly uncertain, particularly due to the Episcopal Church's insistence on support for homosexuality. Jefferts Schori's election will likely be another bad signal to other members of the Communion who do not recognize women as eligible successors to the New Testament Apostles.
Even more damaging, Jefferts Schori has been an extremely active supporter of the homosexual movement within the Episcopal Church.
Bishop Jefferts Schori voted in favor of Bishop Robinson's consecration, and she vocally supports same-sex unions.
Said the Rev. Russell of Integrity, "She's been a longtime supporter of Integrity Nevada, she participated in the Integrity Eucharist on Friday, and I look forward to working with her as we work toward full inclusion of all people in the body of Christ."
Indeed, Jefferts Schori attended a homosexual-themed Eucharist just two days prior to election as Presiding Bishop. The gay Eucharist was sponsored by Integrity and attended by well over 1,000 homosexual and pro-homosexual bishops, clergy, and laymen of the Episcopal Church.FULL STORY at