Bishop Katharine with us in Charlottesville

We had an incredible day yesterday with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori here in Charlottesville. First, she met with our University of Virginia Canterbury students for about a half-hour. Next she spoke in the Dome Room of the Rotunda to a packed room. Professor Margaret Mohrmann interviewed her, with questions coming from the audience on index cards.

Bishop Katharine gave us a sweeping view of The Episcopal Church as being truly a multi-national, multi-cultural church in 19 countries. She took difficult questions about the conflict in the Anglican Communion. Among the insights she offered is that one of the difficulties in dealing with the Church of England is that it tends to work out the theology before acting; the American church tends to work out the theology as it goes along.

Later in the evening, Bishop Katharine shared a mac-and-cheese dinner with about 40 teens from various youth groups. She shared with them some of her life journey leading her to become a scientists, priest and then a bishop.

Tonight we are planning a centennial banquet at Alumni Hall. But it is snowing. Stay tuned to this space for further developments of what we might do tonight. We do expect the snow to be cleared in time for our regular worship services Sunday morning at 8am and 10am, and she will be our preacher and celebrant.