Episcopal leader stresses core mission

October 31, 2010
By Jay Tokasz
NEWS STAFF REPORTER

The Episcopal Church’s presiding bishop said Saturday in Buffalo that she believes divisiveness over issues of sexuality and Biblical interpretation has subsided in recent years, and the church is continuing its historical tradition of being at the forefront of the cause for social justice.

Members of the Episcopal Church may not agree with each other on issues such as whether gay people should be ordained as bishops, but those issues “aren’t essential enough to their life of faith” to separate Episcopalians from the church, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said in an interview with The News.

Jefferts Schori, elected in 2006 as chief pastor of 2.4 million Episcopalians in 16 countries and 110 dioceses, including the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, made her first visit to the area Friday and Saturday to participate in the diocese’s 173rd annual convention. the rest

But Jefferts Schori insisted the Episcopal Church isn’t about numbers but about being a prophetic voice.