Episcopal News Service November 4, 2006
Amid prayer and 'shalom,' Katharine Jefferts Schori invested as Episcopal Church's 26th Presiding Bishop
'Welcome each other home,' new Primate says in homily
By Mary Frances Schjonberg
[ENS] The gates at the west doors of Washington National Cathedral opened shortly after 11 a.m. on November 4 and Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori stepped fully into her new ministry as the Episcopal Church's 26th Presiding Bishop, calling all members of the Church into deepened service and "shalom."
After Washington Bishop John Chane and Cathedral Dean Samuel Lloyd opened the cathedral's doors in response to Jefferts Schori's three knocks, Jill Beesley, outgoing president of the Diocese of Nevada's Standing Committee and her successor, the Rev. James Kelly, presented Jefferts Schori as their diocese's "bishop, chief pastor, and sister in Christ" and sent her forth to be the Presiding Bishop.
"Katharine, Bishop in the Church of God, we have looked forward to your coming with great joy. In the name of Christ, we greet you," replied 25th Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. . "I hope to serve among you in Christ's name and in the joy of the Spirit," she said.
Griswold and House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson reiterated the circumstances of Jefferts Schori's election on June 18 during the Church's 75th General Convention and Jefferts Schori committed herself "with God's help to be a faithful shepherd and pastor among you."
The approximately 3,200 people present promised to uphold her in her ministry, Chane welcomed her to the Cathedral, and Lloyd invited her to celebrate the day's Eucharist.
"My brothers and sisters, as we begin this new season of ministry, may our celebration recall us to the unity that is given in Baptism and nurtured by the Eucharist," she said. "May we rejoice in the many gifts enriching the life of our Church and be strengthened to proclaim the Good News of Christ in the world."
Full story and photographs:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_79235_ENG_HTM.htm
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