Episcopal presiding bishop visiting Cape

Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, will be in Cape Girardeau on Sunday morning at Christ Episcopal Church.

Jefferts Schori is in St. Louis for the state's Diocesan Convention, and Cape Girardeau was selected as the location for her to lead a Sunday service while in the state.

The Rev. Robert Towner of Christ Episcopal Church said the Rev. George Wayne Smith, the bishop of Missouri, selected the Cape Girardeau church as a way for the presiding bishop to see a congregation outside the metro St. Louis area.

"He also wanted her to see what a very active church was like out here, a small church but with a big mission. So I take it as a great compliment," Towner said.

Jefferts Schori said part of her responsibility as presiding bishop is to visit various church gatherings, be it a convention, when a new bishop is installed, or in other official capacities.

Churches outside major cities are often used for her visits, particularly those with thriving immigrant congregations or those doing something unusual.

Christ Episcopal Church reaches out to the community through its food and nutrition programs. The church has a food pantry and hosts a free community meal every month.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, previously bishop of Nevada, is the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. (Robert Williams ~ Submitted photo)

Towner said the church plans to hold a regional conference in March that will encourage other churches to offer community meals and gardens.

"This is our big dream and hope for next year. We're laying the groundwork now," he said. "There's more and more malnourished people. They may weigh twice what they need to weigh, but they're malnourished. They're not getting good food."

The church, which has a membership of about 150, also has an addiction recovery outreach and a neighborhood children's club. Over the course of a month, Towner said, about 400 individuals participate in activities at the church.

"Our mission is bigger than our membership by far," Towner said.

The path to presiding bishop for Jefferts Schori is what many might consider unconventional. Before earning a graduate degree from Church Divinity School of the Pacific and being ordained in the ministry, Jefferts Schori built a career as an oceanographer. She earned an undergraduate degree in biology from Stanford University and a master's and a doctorate in oceanography from Oregon State University.

When it become apparent that her time as an oceanographer would be spent more and more on writing grant proposals, Jefferts Schori began to think about a suggestion from three people in her congregation to enter the ministry. Over the course of five years, she concluded the idea was a good one, and today she is happy with the decision.

"It's a very fruitful and I think gratifying ministry in which to be called. I'm enjoying what I'm doing," Jefferts Schori said.

Elected presiding bishop in June 2006, Jefferts Schori is the first woman to hold the position in the worldwide Anglican Communion. She said that by and large she's been welcomed by her peers.

"I think it's been fairly easy in the Episcopal Church, and it's been challenging for some of my brethren primates across the Anglican Communion, particularly in provinces of the Anglican Communion where women aren't ordained," she said. "But face to face, those friends recognize the image of God in each other, and we get past that discomfort."

Christ Episcopal Church will hold one service at 10:15 a.m. Sunday. Jefferts Schori will lead the service and preach. Following the service, she, along with her husband and Bishop Smith, will stay for hospitality and fellowship with the congregation.

For more information, contact Christ Episcopal Church at 335-2997.

lpresson@semissourian.com

388-3649

Pertinent address:

101 N. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, MO