VOA标准英语2010-First Woman to Head Episcopal Church Blen

Katharine Jefferts Schori leads a church with over two million members in 16 countries

Adam Philips | New York 26 April 2010

At the Bolling Air Force Base chapel¹, Katharine Jefferts Schori blesses a young airman before he leaves for a tour in the Middle East.

It's been a busy year for Bishop² Katharine Jefferts Schori.

The presiding bishop and primate³ of the Episcopal Church, Jefferts Schori is the first woman ever elected chief pastor⁴ of that denomination⁵, which has over two million members in 16 countries. 

In the past two weeks alone, she has travelled to the Midwest to visit a diocese, attended a conference on science and religion, adjudicated concerns at a meeting of bishops⁶, and penned what is sure to be a closely-watched sermon dealing⁷ with the U.N. Millennium⁸ Development Goals to eliminate global poverty.

Jefferts Schori and her Episcopal Church delegation⁹ to the Holy Land visit the Evangelical Home and School in Ramallah.

"I think it was [German theologian] Karl Rahner who said, 'Preachers are supposed stand in the pulpit with a bible in one hand, and a newspaper in the other,'" says Jefferts Schori. "There has to be some connection between those ancient stories and the struggles or joys in a particular community today."

Taking a stand

Jefferts-Schori often takes liberal stands that are at odds¹⁰ with traditionalists within the Episcopal Church.

For example, many conservatives say that openly gay men have no place in the clergy¹¹. Jefferts Schori says biblical condemnations of homosexuality stem from an ancient cultural context that is no longer binding¹² in our time. In fact, as a child, what she saw as the church's anti-intellectualism caused her to leave it for a time.

Jefferts Schori (left) and Church of Sweden Archbishop Anders Wejryd (right)

"The faith I received as a child was fairly mechanistic, fairly literal. That 'salvation¹³ means this' and 'Jesus did that' and so 'just believe it.' And that began to be unsatisfactory, inadequate," she says. "I needed a deeper sense of what it means to be in relationship with God." 

Faith and nature

Jefferts Schori found solace¹⁴ in nature near her childhood homes in the Pacific Northwest and later on the East Coast. She studied biology in college and received a doctorate¹⁵ in oceanography with a specialty¹⁶ in octopuses¹⁷ and squids. Jefferts Schori says her love of nature ultimately brought her back to God, whom she feels created the world's endlessly varied¹⁸ and interconnected wonders. 

"The enlightenment view is that human beings are autonomous¹⁹ and separate. Science, in the recent past, has taught us a great deal about how interconnected we are. It's totally false to think we are distinguishable utterly²⁰ from other parts of creation. And that's both a religious and a scientific viewpoint."

The Most Rev²¹. Katharine Jefferts Schori, previously²² bishop of Nevada, is the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

For Jefferts Schori, that sense of relatedness with others, including non-human "others," leads naturally to a theology of compassion²³ and activism. She is most concerned for the voiceless, the powerless, those, who in her words, exist "on the margins²⁴." 

Combining religion and activism

"I read the gospels to say that Jesus is most passionate²⁵ about those that are excluded." Jefferts Schori believes refugees, the radically²⁶ poor, people of color and women fit that label. "Our attention needs to be focused more intensely on those who don't have access to the abundance of life. There is a sense that we meet the image of God in every human being. And if we assume that these people aren't really deserving to be 'within the circle,' we've missed something important about the divine."

Jefferts Schori saw hints of the divine during her five and a half years working with the dying as a hospice chaplain. She recalls a patient with a brain tumor²⁷ who could speak only in metaphors²⁸. Others thought he was crazy, but Jefferts Schori engaged him in that mode and gained from the experience.

"A sense that listening more deeply recognized the communication that was going on but if you took it at the superficial level you were going to miss everything."

Unlikely journey

Jefferts Schori says her life's journey has often meant saying yes to what seemed ridiculous or impossible. Ordained²⁹ to the priesthood in 1994 at the age of 40, she was shocked six years later, when a fellow priest said he wanted to nominate her for bishop. 

"I just laughed. I said, 'That's totally absurd! I'm a woman. I'm too young. I haven't been head of a big congregation.' And over the next several weeks I was terrified when I thought seriously about it, but I came to realize I was a part of that process even though it made no sense at all.

Jefferts Schori was consecrated³⁰ bishop of Nevada in 2001. When she was elected presiding bishop and primate of the entire Episcopal Church only six years later, she accepted the challenge of shepherding a denomination rife³¹ with controversy³².

As a mother, she compares her pastoral duties with a parent's task of giving guidance while allowing children to make their own choices.

"In the church, it's about providing the boundaries and encouraging creativity within those boundaries. It's about seeking abundance for the other and giving thanks for what is."
 

1 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

2 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

3 primate   

n.灵长类（目）动物，首席主教；adj.首要的

参考例句：

• 14 percent of primate species are highly endangered.14%的灵长类物种处于高度濒危状态。
• The woolly spider monkey is the largest primate in the Americas.绒毛蛛猴是美洲最大的灵长类动物。

4 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

5 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

6 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

9 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

11 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

12 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

13 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

14 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

15 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

16 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

17 octopuses   

章鱼( octopus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snails and octopuses are molluscs. 蜗牛和章鱼是软体动物。
• Limpets, snails and octopuses are mollusks. 帽贝、蜗牛和章鱼都是软体动物。

18 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

19 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

20 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

21 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

22 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

23 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

24 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

25 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

26 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

27 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

28 metaphors   

隐喻( metaphor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I can only represent it to you by metaphors. 我只能用隐喻来向你描述它。
• Thus, She's an angel and He's a lion in battle are metaphors. 因此她是天使，他是雄狮都是比喻说法。

29 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

30 consecrated   

adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献

参考例句：

• The church was consecrated in 1853. 这座教堂于1853年祝圣。
• They consecrated a temple to their god. 他们把庙奉献给神。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

32 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。