Special to the Diocese of Lexington

“Bishop Katherine” invested with ceremony and applause

By Kay Collier McLaughlin, November 6, 2006

 

            The National Cathedral gleamed tall and white against the deep blue of the autumn sky, and the red and gold of the changing leaves as the crowd swelled across the Close early on Saturday morning, November 4.  They came from all across the Church and the world to be a part of the historic investiture of Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori as the 26^th Presiding Bishop, Primate and Chief Pastor of the Episcopal Church – the first woman to hold the position. 

 

            From the ringing of the Cathedral Carillon to the soul-shaking crescendo of the great organ, from the high-energy jazz renditions of SOL to the fervor of the Gospel Choir of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia, the gathering congregation built in readiness for the festive processions which brought the several hundred official participants into the sanctuary.  In the sacred tradition of Native people across this land, Smudgers from the Diocese of Nevada and Utah provided a prayer of offering to promote healing and unity and prepare the congregation for worship.  With the throb of the drums and the fragrance of sweetgrass, sage and cedar still permeating the worship space, some 3,500 voices were lifted in the familiar words of “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!”

 

            The symbolic knock on the West doors echoed through the Cathedral like a living heartbeat. The Bishop of Washington and the Dean of Washington National Cathedral opened the doors to the eighth Presiding Bishop to be seated in this “house of prayer for all people.” The outgoing and incoming presidents of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Nevada, on behalf of the people of Nevada, introduced the 26^th Presiding Bishop:

 

            Dear friends in Christ, we bring before you the Right Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, who has served among us faithfully as our bishop, chief pastor and sister in Christ.  With gratitude for her ministry among us, we send her forth to serve as the Twenty-sixth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

 

            Dressed in vestments whose purple, blue, green, orange and yellow colors symbolized a new dawn, the 26^th Presiding Bishop was led to the great crossing, where she was presented the symbols of ministry by a female rabbi, an imam and an Anglican archbishop from South Africa: the Gospel Book, the symbol of the Good News of God in Christ and the ministry of proclamation; water, the symbol of Baptism and the ministry of evangelism; bread and wine, symbols of the Eucharistic life of the Church; oil, symbol of healing and reconciliation.  The 25^th Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, then presented the 26^th Presiding Bishop with the Primatial Staff, saying, “Katherine, receive this pastoral staff, symbol of your authority as Presiding Bishop, Primate and Chief Pastor of the Episcopal Church, and lead us as we walk in the way of Christ.  May Christ the good shepherd sustain you as you carry it in his name.”

 

            Applause and cheers greeted the new Chief Pastor in response to Bishop Griswold’s words of presentation:  “My brothers and sisters, greet your Twenty-sixth Presiding Bishop!”  It was the first of numerous spontaneous bursts of excitement, affirmation and joy which punctuated the weekend ceremonies of investiture and formal seating.  In her first sermons as presiding bishop, Bishop Katherine included those who are disenchanted with her election, and other issues in the church, stating, “If some in this church feel wounded by recent decisions, then our salvation, our health as a body, is at some hazard, and it becomes the duty of all of us to seek healing and wholeness.”  Saturday’s sermon clearly emphasized peace-making, within the church and the world, with an explication and repetition of the Hebrew word “shalom.”  Sunday’s All Saints Day message  took the dream of ‘shalom’ further, with an interpretation of a line from Wisdom that says “in the time of their visitation, they will shine forth and run like sparks through the stubble.”  With reference to the Oregonian practice of cleaning the fields after the harvest by setting the stubble afire, the Bishop asked the congregation “What do you think?  Can we make holy smoke?”  She called for a ministry which ‘cleans the fields of that which cannot survive in God’s dream of shalom” –to “burn away whatever limits that dream or cannot contribute to it, “ending with a call to the congregation:

 

Turn inward for a moment and greet the spirit planted within you.  When we come to the peace, turn to your neighbors and greet the saints, the fire-lighters in this field.  Welcome, saint!  Burn brightly and transform this world of god’s into a field for life, full measure, pressed down and overflowing, meant for all humanity and creation.  Burn!

 

The Right Rev. John Saxbee, Bishop of Lincoln was the official representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and read a greeting from Rowan Williams offering his “prayers and best wishes”, as she “takes on this responsibility in the most challenging of times.”  The Archbishop’s message concluded with “love and every blessing” to the new Primate, with whom he met privately at Lambeth Palace for an hour and a half last week. He has invited her to the next meeting of the Primates, to be held in Tanzania in February.

 

As the final verse of “Lord, you give the great commission” swelled on Saturday, so did the applause and cheers.  Jefferts Schori mounted the Baptismal platform, from which she

and assisting Bishops, including Bishop Stacy Sauls had sprinkled the assembly with baptismal waters.  Many from the standing-room-only congregation surrounded the platform for several hours, waiting their chance to greet the new Chief Pastor, and receive her blessing.  Bishop Katherine continued to smile and pose for photos—appearing as comfortable in her new role as she had appeared that morning in the lobby of the Omni Shoreham, stretching for her morning run as if it were an ordinary day.

 

On All Saints Sunday, Episcopal and other religious media returned to the balcony of the South transept which on Saturday had been shared with video crews and reporters from secular media across the world.  Saturday was history in the making; a public ceremony of unmistakable scope and power.  Sunday was a ‘family day’ – the Twenty Sixth Presiding Bishop seated in the carved Gothic stall of the chancel as the Cathedral choirs sang Rutter’s “The Lord Bless You and Keep You;” the introduction of her husband, Dick, daughter Kate and son-in-law.   At the announcement time, Dean Sam Lloyd said that it looked like the Bishop’s Chair was “just made for Bishop Katherine,” and the congregation roared its agreement, with prolonged applause and cheers. Bishop Katherine took off her mitre, and bowed in acknowledgement, which brought another wave of applause.

 

On the back cover of the service leaflets for the investiture and seating, these words were printed:

 

The bishop belongs to all.

Let no one be scandalized if I frequent

Those who are considered unworthy

Or sinful. Who is not a sinner?

Let no one be alarmed if I am seen

With compromised and dangerous people,

On the left or the right.

Let no one bind me to a group.

My door, my heart, must be open

To everyone, absolutely everyone.

 

            (The Most Rev. Helder Pessoa Camara

            Archbishop (retired) of

            The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife)