First Woman Episcopal Presiding Bishop to Lecture at Westminster

The first woman in the history of the United States Episcopal Church to become Presiding Bishop, Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schori, will deliver the second annual C.S. Lewis Legacy Lecture at Westminster College on Thursday, February 27.

Her 11 a.m. lecture on the topic of science and religion will be held in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury on the Westminster campus.

During the afternoon, she will preach the homily and preside at the Eucharist in the Church at a 2 p.m. service that will be open to the public (seating available on a first-come, first-served basis).

“We are quite honored that the Presiding Bishop accepted our invitation to lecture,” says Westminster Professor Cliff Cain, who is the Harrod-C.S. Lewis Professor of Religious Studies Chair at the College.  “Her divinity degree combined with her bachelor’s degree in biology and two graduate degrees in oceanography make her uniquely qualified to offer remarks on this subject.”

Bishop Jefferts-Schori was an oceanographer before becoming ordained in 1994 and remains an active, instrument-rated pilot.  Before her election as Bishop, she was a priest, university lecturer and hospice chaplain in Oregon.

The Harrod-C.S. Lewis Professorship of Religious Studies and Legacy Lecture was endowed in the fall of 2012 by James W. “Jim” Harrod, Westminster Class of 1957, and his wife Sharon from Horseshoe Bay, TX,

The Presiding Bishop is the Chief Ecumenical Officer of the Church and the pastor and primate of this national church with over 4.6 million members in America alone.  The Presiding Bishop is charged with responsibility for leadership in initiating, developing, and articulating policy and strategy, overseeing the administration of the national church staff, and speaking for the church on issues of concern and interest.