New Episcopal bishop named

Stacy J. Willis

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2000 | 10:22 a.m.

She's an oceanographer, an airplane pilot, and now -- the bishop-elect of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada.

The Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, 46, was elected to lead the diocese at the church's state convention last weekend at Harrah's in Reno.

Jefferts Schori, an assistant rector of Good Samaritan church in Corvallis, Ore., was among seven candidates nominated to replace Bishop Stewart Zabriskie. Zabriskie, who was elected in 1986, died of heart failure in September 1999.

After she is consecrated on Feb. 24 in Las Vegas, Jefferts Schori, will become the ninth female Episcopalian bishop in the United States.

"When I was growing up, the closest that little girls could come to the altar was singing in the choir," Jefferts Schori said in a telephone interview from Corvallis. "And singing was not my great gift."

Jefferts Schori received her doctorate in oceanography from Oregon State University in 1983 and specialized in the study of squid and octopuses. She also became a licensed pilot, and she worked for the National Marine Fisheries in Seattle before starting seminary in 1991.

"I'm fascinated by life in all of its forms," she said.

She will oversee the 35 churches and about 6,000 members of the Episcopal Church in Nevada. Among her biggest goals, she said, is to further unite the diocese's northern and southern churches.

"There is clearly work to be done in terms of uniting the diocese. It is somewhat divided in terms of north and south, and in terms of different personalities, but I'm very optimistic," she said. She has not decided whether she will live in Reno or Las Vegas.

Georgia Dudding, chairwoman of the bishop nominating committee, said the election of the bishop has reinvigorated the diocese.

"We've been without a bishop for year," Dudding said. "We've been grieving for a year. Now there is a lot of excitement for putting some fun back into the church."

In the absence of a bishop, the president of the diocese's Standing Committee, Ginny Hastings of Las Vegas, has been at the helm of the statewide religious organization.

"It is exciting to see a new beginning coming," Hastings said. Hastings will serve two more years as president of the Standing Committee after Jefferts Schori is consecrated.