Deeds-Based Evangelism is Focus for Presiding Bishop
11/16/2006

With initiatives to help organize a new convocation of Anglican provinces in the Americas and more closely monitor property issues within domestic dioceses, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori delegated authority confidently during meetings in Chicago Nov. 12-17 with Executive Council and a number of other organizations that carry out the work of General Convention when it is not in session.

During her opening address to Executive Council, and later during a Nov. 14 homily at the nearby headquarters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Bishop Jefferts Schori raised the subject of term limits for bishops and spoke of her vision to make The Episcopal Church more conscious of “deed-based evangelism” opportunities such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Admitting that the concept of term limits for bishops might be a sticking point for many Episcopalians, Bishop Jefferts Schori said one of the challenges during the negotiations over Called to Common Mission with the ELCA had to do with a different understanding of the sacramental nature of the episcopacy. ELCA bishops are elected for a specific term.

“There would have to be a broad theological discussion and more broadly a sacramental one before The Episcopal Church considers a change like that,” she told The Living Church. the rest