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TechnoratiWhile schism and sex in the church may be difficult for the media to pass up or for the public to look past, Jefferts Schori said it is only a "rare few who are consumed by conflict" and those conflicts do not tend to last for they are "not life-giving."
Meanwhile, the reality for most Episcopalians, she said, is weekly worship, prayers and serving the community and the world through various works.
"Help us tell the stories of transformation, of moving toward that hopeful future for which the world hungers," Jefferts Schori urged as she invited the press to pursue the other side of critique – encouragement and hope.
The Episcopal bishop was at the National Press Club to speak on "Religion in the Public Square" – a timely address as the country is about to undergo a presidential transition. And as many across the globe are hoping for a different future, Jefferts Schori suggested that religion has a major role to play in that capacity.
"The proper role for religious diagnosis, challenge, and encouragement has something essential to do with offering a larger view of reality, with challenging a politics of the individual to consider and care for the needs and rights of other individuals and groups, or, in other words, understanding the well-being of the whole as having some higher call on public consideration than a narrowly individual concern," she said. "We’re talking about a public policy that pays attention to the well-being of the whole community."
According to Jefferts Schori, the religious role in public life also includes challenging the status quo, advocating for the marginalized and the voiceless, and reminding people of their interconnections with those in other parts of the world and with the earth.
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