All Shall Be Well
By The Rev. John Ohmer

“After all is said and done, a lot more is said than done,” the old wag goes, but our election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as our next presiding bishop may have done more to affect the future of the Episcopal Church than any other action of the General Convention.

At the very least, the election kept us in the news as a relevant denomination. As one sociology professor has said, the Episcopal Church is “the California of Protestantism.” As we go, so goes the nation. We’re back in the headlines and back on CNN, more of a household name now than we were 10 days ago.

More importantly, in electing the Anglican Communion’s first female presiding bishop, we changed the face of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion forever. Those bishops – here and around the world – who object to women priests and/or women bishops must now move beyond arguing women’s ordination in principle to deciding whether or not they will recognize our primate. As it has been for a generation of women clergy, this is no longer an “issue” to be discussed. It’s personal.

The election also demonstrates an important point about the way Episcopalians interpret Scripture. Passages in Scripture, such as Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 14 that “women should remain silent in the churches, they are not allowed to speak” that were once (and in some quarters still are) taken seriously now make most of us cringe. Who knows where it will lead, but is the election of a woman as our primary spokesperson any clearer indication that, in light of our cultural context, it is perfectly acceptable to give some passages in Scripture more authority than others?

Having had the privilege of meeting and talking in-depth with Bishop Jefferts Schori prior to this General Convention, her election has left me more excited to be an Episcopalian today than I have ever been before. The reason is simple: She’s a mensch, the good old Yiddish concept for someone who has fortitude, firmness of purpose -- an upstanding person who takes responsibility for his or her actions. People will not agree with her on every issue – I don’t – but what a breath of fresh air her first press conference was: We got short, clear answers to difficult questions; she thinks clearly, prays fervently, and speaks concisely.

Our new presiding bishop-elect inherits a shrinking denomination at a difficult time.

But between her and the Holy Spirit, I can’t help but believe the words of another great woman, Dame Julian of Norwich: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”