A thoroughly modern Bishop, Katherine Jefferts Schori, the new head of the US Episcopal Church, is yesterday interviewed by the Paper of Record, which publishes this photo of the Bishop looking like a female CEO but sporting a clerical collar. The interview content doesn’t help the lady much either. Here is a beaut: How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country?
About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentagewise[sic], but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children.
Episcopalians aren’t interested in replenishing their ranks by having children?
No. It’s probably the opposite. We encourage people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion.
I am clueless concerning what theological reasons Schori thinks Catholics have for “producing lots of children”. Is it because the Church forbids birth control and abortion? If that’s it, then having more children is just a consequence, not a theological reason for having them in the first place. I’m quite sure that Church teaching doesn’t forbid people from regulating their fertility, but is not indifferent to how it is done.
I’m puzzled as to what the Bishop might have meant, but then again I’m just another poorly educated knuckle-dragging Catholic. Schori doesn’t mention the fact that followers of Islam also have higher rates of fertility. Perhaps because such a remark could provoke some of them to violence? Catholics won't get violent over this, but we will dispense a well-deserved dose of ridicule.
The photo of the Bishop reminded me of Melville’s The Cassock (emphasis mine):
The mincer now stands before you invested in the full canonicals of his calling. Immemorial to all his order, this investiture alone will adequately protect him, while employed in the peculiar functions of his office.
That office consists in mincing the horse-pieces of blubber for the pots; an operation which is conducted at a curious wooden horse, planted endwise against the bulwarks, and with a capacious tub beneath it, into which the minced pieces drop, fast as the sheets from a rapt orator's desk. Arrayed in decent black; occupying a conspicuous pulpit; intent on bible leaves; what a candidate for an archbishoprick, what a lad for a Pope were this mincer!
And do take a minute to read Melville’s entire chapter to learn where the mincer’s ‘decent black’ cassock originates.
Finally, the Schori interview inspired pure genius on the part of one entrepreneur, who has outdone our troops by offering to the market a coffee mug with a response to Schori’s silly remarks. I am tempted to buy it (pun intended).
3 comments:
Do you really need the church to help you formulate an opinion on birth control? Wow.
Bishop Jefferts Schori’s interviews always feature softball (or even NERF-ball) questions. Here are some questions I would like to see a reporter ask her (I can dream can’t I...)
In your papers and press releases prior to your election as Presiding Bishop, you made a big point of “el buen Samaritano” and your deanship of the “Good Samaritan School of Theology.” Yet, you have admitted both of these were inflated terms. They have also disappeared from any post-election materials (such as the Episcopal page ‘Who is the Presiding Bishop?’). Why did you lie on your resume?
Why were you elected? On paper, even with your inflated claims, you were clearly the least qualified candidate. Were you elected solely because of your gender?
During your tenure as Bishop of Nevada, you used the Kairos Prison Ministry materials inappropriately. This organization considers the breaches significant enough that they are suing the Nevada Diocese for copyright violations. Would you care to comment?
The Kairos organization feels that their approach of gender-specific ministers for prison populations is both sound Biblically and practically? Would you care to comment.
What happened to “el buen Samaritano?”
Reporters seem to be very impressed by your experience as an oceanographer and as a pilot. Why are these relevant?
During you tenure as Bishop of Nevada, how much did the diocese grow? In that same period how much did the state of Nevada grow? Why do you think the Episcopal percentage is so much lower?
Jesus said, “No one comes to the father except through me.” What does that mean?
The Episcopal Church has been losing members for many years, why?
Do you really think, as you said in a New York Times Magazine interview, that the conservatives (such as Catholics) are “outbreeding” the Episcopalians?
Is it not possible that the liberal social gospel and ordination and promotion of gay ministers bears some responsibility for the membership loss?
In recent memory, two ministers confessed to breaking their wedding vows, one left his marriage and one did not. Why has one been made an Episcopal bishop and the other has resigned his position in disgrace. Compare and contrast - Vicki Gene Robinson’s marital breakup and Ted Haggard’s fall.
You state in the New York Times Magazine interview that we “are all hypocrites.” Isn’t the Christian belief that “we are all sinners?”
What is sin?
The Episcopal Church in America was at one time named the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States. With this Protestant background, how is “deeds-based evangelism” consistent with the Protestant principle of “faith alone?”
Why was one of your first acts as Presiding Bishop the formation of a committee to make sure property does not leave the TEC when parishioners leave the TEC?
Why does all material related to the issue of gay sexuality refuse to include references to Dr. Gagnon’s work. For example, the study guide prepared by the association of Episcopal Seminary Librarians has expressly excluded Gagnon’s work. This is so, even though Biblical scholars consider it a masterful treatment of the Biblical issues.
If the Millennium Development Goals are so important, why is the TEC allocating only seven-tenths of one percent of its budget to them?
If the MDGs are a sign of our deeds-based evangelism, how do you justify the buildings, salaries, and budget of the TEC bureaucracy?
Why have you singled out eight dioceses as “problem dioceses?” What exactly is the problem?
Has the Dennis Canon ever been tested and upheld in a court of law?
You and your supporters often criticize the African Bishops for turning a blind eye to polygamy. Where is the evidence of this?
You have an “honorary” doctorate from CDSP. The African Bishops, as a group, have a significant number of earned doctorates from major Western theological schools. Why should we listen to your theology rather than theirs?
Why is the Episcopal Church in Nigeria one of the fastest growing churches anywhere on earth?
Who is Jesus?
In what way is threatening churches consistent with deeds-based evangelism?
Two churches in Virginia have just proposed leaving the TEC. Their Average Sunday Attendance exceeds that of the entire Nevada Diocese. Shouldn’t their concerns be taken seriously?
In your New York Times interview, you discuss the relative childlessness of Episcopalians in terms of stewardship of the Earth’s resources. In light of this stewardship, what percentage of the TEC budget could be reduces if the offices at 815 were moved to say, Topeka or Omaha? In this day of instant communications and the Internet, surely a less expensive and wasteful location could be found for the headquarters of such an environmentally responsible church.
Why should I be Episcopalian rather than sleep in on Sunday morning?
I understand your mother became an Orthodox Christian in the 1970’s. What was that like?
You have criticised some for placing God in a “little box.” Jesus speaks of the “eye of the needle” and the “narrow way.” Compare and contrast your and Jesus’ viewpoints.
Why has the outreach to LGBT individuals been such a failure in terms of growing the Episcopal Church?
A significant portion of Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy) does not allow women to be priests. What is your response to this fact?
At your investiture, I noticed that none of the major celebrants nor you had any cross symbols on their vestments. Was this intentional?
What is the Resurrection?
Children are a gift not a burden. It's unfortunate that the good Bishop can't see that clearly. The main reason the Episcopal church is dying is because they have increasingly been embracing the morally relativist and secular culture. The Catholic church respects and honors life and by now it's gotten used to shots being taken at it from the liberal left. This is no different - she can't be taken seriously.
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