Katharine Jefferts Schori
Trinity Church, Williamsport, Diocese of Central Pennsylvania
We came over here Friday on the train from New York. We weren’t very far into New Jersey when the train stopped – and it wasn’t at a station. We sat on the tracks for 10 or 15 minutes, and the very solicitous conductor came around to tell us that there was a disabled train […]
Salvation's goal: returning all to right relationship
I always am delighted when people listen to what I say in a sermon or address. Sometimes I am surprised by what they hear.In my opening address at General Convention, I spoke about the “great Western heresy” of individualism (see the full text here). There have been varied reactions from people who weren’t there, who […]
Presiding Bishop's letter to the church on General Convention
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has issued a letter to the church about General Convention, which was held July 8-17 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. "Above all else, this Convention claimed God's mission as the heartbeat of The Episcopal Church," Jefferts Schori says. The full text of the Presiding Bishop's letter follows in […]
Final Sermon at General Convention: Living Ubuntu
We’ve heard lots of words these last 11 days. We’ve used those words to make policy, to claim our missionary heartbeat, to bind ourselves in solidarity with the least, the lost, and the left out. Some of us have even had to eat our words – unexpected things have happened, we’ve made mistakes, and we […]
Presiding Bishop preaches at eucharist, UTO ingathering
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori preached at the Sunday, July 12 Eucharist and Triennial Ingathering of the United Thank Offering, during the Episcopal Church's 76th General Convention in Anaheim, California. The full text of Jefferts Schori's sermon follows. People get ready for General Convention in different ways. I didn't notice any of the […]
Sermon for United Thank Offering, General Convention Ingathering
People get ready for General Convention in different ways. I didn’t notice any of the staff go on retreat, but two of them did drive a truck filled with electronics across the country two weeks ago. I think most of us – deputies, bishops, staff, volunteers, and our hosts here in LA – were scurrying […]
Presiding Bishop's Sermon at General Convention Opening Eucharist
Four and a half years ago, I had the great privilege to join in the consecration of a new bishop, one who told an amazing story about the journey that had brought us all to that place on a cold night in Seattle. At the end of the service, Victor Rivera, the retired bishop of […]
Opening Address at General Convention 2009
Bienvenido/as, bienvenue, welcome to deputies and bishops from 110 dioceses and 16 nations of The Episcopal Church. We’re not a national church; we’re a hexadecimal church. Greetings to all our visitors, interfaith, ecumenical, around the Anglican Communion. Thank you to the Diocese of Los Angeles for your gracious welcome and hospitality, and to the many volunteers who […]
Learn about Native American concerns
In several recent diocesan visits, I've had interactions with Native American members of this church or questions about ministry in Native communities. When I visited Minnesota in May, Bishop James Jelinek arranged for me to meet with the Department of Indian Work in Prairie Island. The Native community at Prairie Island operates a lucrative casino […]
Sermon at St. Ann's 150th Anniversary, Nashville, TN
I was struck by reading the words of Bishop Quintard here 135 years ago, challenging the people of this parish to think boldly and build bigger so they could serve a larger community. He urged them to be aggressive in “shaking off this fossilism.” What a wonderfully rich image! I don’t think he had doing […]