Statement from the Right Reverend Thomas C. Ely, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont on the election of the Right Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori as the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church

The Right Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, was elected the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, June 18, 2006 on the fifth ballot cast by the House of Bishops. Her election was confirmed by the House of Deputies, as is required by church canons.

Bishop Jefferts Schori is a very gifted person and a respected colleague in the House of Bishops. We are in the same “class” of Bishops, having been elected to our respective dioceses in the year 2000. Thus we have shared much in terms of our formation and participation in the House of Bishops. I have worked most closely with her as a member of the House of Bishops Planning Committee and in the College for Bishops Peer Coaching Program.

I am very pleased about her election and look forward to working closely with her during her term as Presiding Bishop. She has indicated a strong desire to work collaboratively with her colleagues in the House of Bishops and with the elected leadership of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. I believe she will bring her passion for supporting and empowering the ministry of all God’s people to her ministry as Presiding Bishop, as well as her deep commitment to justice issues and global mission. Her strong support of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals as a leading priority for our church will help lead all of us forward in mission.

Her election is of particular significance coming as it does amidst our celebration of the 30th anniversary of the ordination of women in the Episcopal Church. As the fifth ballot was cast, I was mindful that we were very close to electing Bishop Jefferts Schori to this significant leadership post in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. In that moment I rejoiced that I was literally surrounded by other pioneer women bishops. Seated just in from of me was the Right Reverend Barbara Harris, the first woman elected as a Bishop in the Episcopal Church. In the same pew with me was the Right Reverend Mary Adelia McLeod, the first woman elected as a Diocesan Bishop in the Episcopal Church, and my immediate predecessor in the Diocese of Vermont. Also seated in the pew in front of me was the Right Reverend Carol Gallagher, the first Native American woman elected Bishop in the Episcopal Church. And sitting next to me was the Right Reverend Chilton Knudsen, Bishop of Maine and the current President of the Province of New England. The powerful witness of these pioneer women in leadership in the Episcopal Church fills my heart with joy, gladness and gratitude.

It is my hope that our church will rally around her as our Chief Pastor and work together for healing in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. I believe she has the gifts and the desire to help us do that.

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