Divisive or Prophetic?
I am not an Episcopalian/Anglican. My denomination has been ordaining women since 1974. (I graduated from Seminary with her.) Like me, my wife is an ordained clergy. I have no issues at all with ordination of women. It seems to me like an idea that expresses the changing nature of the church as we deepen our awareness of what God calls us to do. To say that by our definitions, women cannot receive the call of God into ordained service is to say we have an unshakeable and unchangeable pipeline to God. Thank God that didn't hang together when we thought we had that with slavery!

So every time an issue of women in ministry comes up, I am surprised. Especially when it comes from the old mainline denominations. The Episcopalians in their convention have elected their first woman Presiding Bishop. Praise God! And congratulations to Katharine Jefferts Schori on her election and the General Convention for its openness to the will of God.

[We Moravians have elected women bishops, but our bishops are not administrators, they are pastors to pastors. We have yet to elect a woman as President of our Provincial Elders' Conference.]

Then I hear that this election is potentially divisive and is linked to the great homosexuality debate that continues to rage in so many quarters. I don't want - and will not at this point - get into THAT debate. This one is much clearer to me. By linking the two issues it only proves that issues of sexuality are more important than the calling of God to individuals.

Gender difference is not an example of sinful nature like some continue to say homosexuality is. Gender difference IS the will of God. It occurred BEFORE the Fall not after. It was good! NO, as it says in Genesis after humans were created- it was VERY good.

Gender difference is not a "chosen lifestyle" like some continue to say homosexuality is. It is an example of the richness of God's creation.

And in those two examples are perhaps the underlying fears of those who are seeing the election of a woman bishop as "divisive". Just like they warned when women were ordained, this is a slippery slope. God forbid that this should lead to worse things like ordaining homosexuals. They see the need to STOP IT right now! They see a need to separate from such sinful, un-biblical behavior- even though they are more likely in the Episcopal/Anglican communion to cite the unbroken tradition of the Roman and Orthodox churches to ordain only men.

In the end it appears that it may be more important to keep connection with a tradition than it is to hear the call of God today. It may be wrapped in other words and other thoughts, but at the base of it all it is not about God's will- it is about our human, shortsighted will. And that may be more a part of our human shortcomings than anything.