Michael Curry has been elected the next Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church

Served twelve years as a priest in Baltimore. Can't complain about that! Greatest city in the world as far as I'm concerned.

A quick search online reveals he's written a couple books, most notably this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Christi.../ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

(Link is to the Kindle edition, but if you want it as traditional book, it's available on Amazon that way as well)

Eleventh Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina.

First African-American to head a southern diocese in the Episcopal Church.

First African American Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Chairperson of Episcopal Relief and Development.

What do we know about him theologically? Anglo-Catholic? Evangelical?

How about churchmanship? High? Low?

Is he progressive or conservative on the theological spectrum? He would have been in the House of Bishops in 2003. Did he vote in favor of consecrating Bishop Robinson? Where does he stand on hot button issues in the Church? Did he perform any same sex marriages or blessings in North Carolina or allow them in his diocese? I'm guessing people on all ends of these discussions would be interested in learning more about where he stands.

Oh, also, has anyone here read either of his books?

If so, what did you think of them?

Anything in there that you think would be revealing of the direction he hopes to steer the church in during his tenure as Presiding Bishop?

I pray for a Church passionately committed to making disciples who follow in the way of Jesus of Nazareth in the Episcopal tradition and who in so doing participate in the realization of the dream of God for this world. A church like that will really be a house of prayer for all people. The face of a church like that will reflect the faces of all the peoples of our lands in all our wondrous God-given variety. A church like that will be truly catholic. A church like that will bear witness by its very life to the unconquerable love of God we know in Jesus. That church will proclaim the word of God with power, evangelize as much by listening as by sharing, embody hospitality with authenticity, serve, witness and prophesy deliverance in our local and global societ” Nazareth and make a transformative difference in this world. That’s the church I pray for.

+Michael

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Source: http://www.episcopalcafe.com/the-rt...new-presiding-bishop-of-the-episcopal-church/

I want to respond more to this later, but right now I am SOOOO excited! Congratulations to +Curry!

Subscribing...

Fish and Bread said:

What do we know about him theologically?

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It depends on how you define theology. If supporting SSM and SSB makes one a progressive, then he certainly seems progressive. If you leave that issue to the side, then he seems to be much more traditional than his predecessor. For example, he seems unapologetic about the physical resurrection of Christ. He also is unafraid to invoke the name Jesus. At this early point, I would guess that he is socially progressive, committed to social justice, and mostly theologically traditional. Of course, all of this is just my best guess based on what little I've found about him.

Anglo-Catholic? Evangelical?

How about churchmanship? High? Low?

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Anglican Ink (a conservative website) called him Evangelical. However, when pressed if he was a liberal/conservative or evangelical/anglo-catholic, he dodged the question and said he was a Jesus follower. It certainly makes sense not to get yourself boxed into any particular camp this early. That said, he told Anglican Ink that he wants a church that is "catholic in doctrine" and catholic "in representing the faces of all people." Make of that what you will.

Is he progressive or conservative on the theological spectrum? He would have been in the House of Bishops in 2003. Did he vote in favor of consecrating Bishop Robinson? Where does he stand on hot button issues in the Church? Did he perform any same sex marriages or blessings in North Carolina or allow them in his diocese? I'm guessing people on all ends of these discussions would be interested in learning more about where he stands.

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Again, it depends on how you define the theological spectrum. He certainly has voted in-line with TEC's social progressivism. That said, he is certainly no Spong follower. He did vote in favor of Bishop Robinson. He authorized SSB in North Carolina before it was official. You can find more about that here:

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/?/sf/page/31899

^With what I've seen, that sounds fair. He seems very much to be someone committed to following Jesus & evangelizing others. As noted, he seems to be mostly traditional in beliefs & also progressive in the sense of his support for SSM, of wanting to the church to represent all of God's children, etc.

Honestly, I'm excited to see him take the reigns!

Listen to him here. I shed a few tears.

Not a dig at poster Sean611, but I absolutely detest Anglican Ink, which has a habitual tendency to stretch truths and outright lie, and I know this for a fact, having attended all the synods in SC since +Lawrence's schism either as an alternate or merely as a simple participant for the workshops, worship, and to meet other people in the diocese, and its reporting of those conventions has much to be desired.

So please, all readers: take Anglican Ink with a very large salt lick.

PaladinValer said:

Not a dig at poster Sean611, but I absolutely detest Anglican Ink, which has a habitual tendency to stretch truths and outright lie, and I know this for a fact, having attended all the synods in SC since +Lawrence's schism either as an alternate or merely as a simple participant for the workshops, worship, and to meet other people in the diocese, and its reporting of those conventions has much to be desired.

So please, all readers: take Anglican Ink with a very large salt lick.

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I agree and Virtue online (and even Stand Firm) is also not always the best place for news. Both sites have their bias and the way they want stories reported. That said, the same can be said for almost every Anglican news site out there. It is always good to check sources and take anything you read about Anglicans with a grain of salt, especially these days. In this case, I do believe that Anglican Ink calling him "Evangelical" is editorializing, but I do believe that they reported Bishop Curry's responses honestly and did very little editorializing in this case.

graceandpeace said:

Listen to him here. I shed a few tears.

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I shed tears also.

This should be a sticky, so that we can post anytime we discuss the Eucharist.

See this for an interview a couple of hours after he was elected.

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/...ew-with-presiding-bishop-elect-michael-curry/

After so many years of suffering through the malaise and divisiveness the former presiding bishop brought to the Episcopal Church, this is great news. The Episcopal Church needs much more unity and passion if it is going to survive.

FireDragon76 said:

After so many years of suffering through the malaise and divisiveness the former presiding bishop brought to the Episcopal Church, this is great news. The Episcopal Church needs much more unity and passion if it is going to survive.

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Amen. I hope and pray that he will be much better than the last Presiding Bishop who created more division in the Church. I hope he will be able to put Christ back as the center of the Church.

Bishop Curry is fantastic! I was privileged to hear his "Crazy Christians" sermon three years ago, and his sermon at the final Eucharist this year was just as good! He also spoke at the "March for common ground against gun violence" in SLC, and it was interesting to hear his fellow Episcopal Bishops on the stage saying "amen, brother!" as he spoke. He was elected by the bishops on the first ballot (a first) by a landslide and confirmed by the HOD by eight hundred and something to about twelve. I think Bishop KJS had some great qualities to get through the past nine years and now he will use his considerable gifts to lead the church into the future.

I would say he is evangelical,his major message is almost always"Go!" From the great commission.

higgs2 said:

I would say he is evangelical,his major message is almost always"Go!" From the great commission.

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He seems to be an evangelical with a strong respect for the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

mark46 said:

He seems to be an evangelical with a strong respect for the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

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Does he have a strong respect for Biblical standards of sexuality?

CelticRebel said:

Does he have a strong respect for Biblical standards of sexuality?

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I posted the links in another thread, but he voted for SSB and to change the marriage canon. I don't know how he voted on Prayer Book revision, but he did vote to study the issue of baptism (which failed). As far as sexuality goes, he is certainly in the progressive camp. As far as other social issues and social justice, he is firmly in the secular progressive camp (example-he is big on gun control and progressive economic justice). That being said, he has been described as someone who tolerant of those in his diocese that disagree. Thus, during his time as bishop of North Carolina, he didn't seem keen on going on witch hunts after traditionalist priests and parishes. I think the big question is, where does he stand on the lawsuits and will his tolerance extend into his role as PB?

As far as the differences between him and Schori, he seems to be unafraid to say Christ physically rose and seems to be unapologetic about other miracles and about Jesus himself. It is certainly refreshing compared to his predecessor, but he seems a lot like his predecessor in regards to sexuality and secular political issues. That being the case, it all goes back to how he will act as PB and the book is still out.

I think it was posted on another thread, but did anyone listen to his sermon at the GC? It was really good!

As I said before, I'm excited to see him to start serving as PB.