Abstract
Katherine Jefferts-Schori,
Gathering at God's Table: The Five Marks of Mission in the Feast of Faith
, SPCK: London, 2012; 224 pp.: 9780281069460, £12.99 (pbk)
This book was being reviewed just as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church caused a storm in the town of Steenrijk. Curaçao, Venezuela. Critics were appalled by her exegesis of Acts 16.16–34, where she criticized Paul for not recognizing the diversity embodied in the slave girl's spirit of divination. The blogosphere on the right erupted: she was denounced as a heretic and as a revisionist liberal.
For those willing to take a second look at the Presiding Bishop, this is the perfect book to read. It is an impressive book: Katherine Jefferts Schori has written a compelling and attractive book on mission. It consists of forty-five brief chapters (the genesis of many is the sermon), which are organized around the famous ‘Five Marks of Mission’.
Jefferts Schori is a substantial theologian. Her interest in science bubbles through repeatedly (in her description, e.g., of the nature and significance of salt); her love and faithful exposition of Scripture are apparent (it is difficult to fault her there); her allusions to King Arthur, her knowledge of the history of the canon, and her appreciation of networking and Facebook reveal a depth and breadth of thought which are impressive. She is also very practical – each chapter, under the heading ‘Making your Mark’, finishes with questions to ponder. She offers plenty to take away.
Her introduction sets out the parameters of the book. Jefferts Schori loves the fact that the ‘Five Marks of Mission’, which emerged over twenty-five years from the Anglican Communion are so broad. She wants to challenge the tribes which set mission against social justice; and instead, she wants the intrinsic link between the two to be recognized. However, there is a line here which firmly places the Presiding Bishop on the liberal wing of Anglicanism. She worries about conversation of ‘pagans and infidels’ because it doesn't recognize these people as ‘subjects in and with whom God might already be at work’ (p. xviii). Even the first mark ‘To proclaim the good news of the kingdom’, which alludes to ‘right relationship with God’ (p. xvi), focuses on social transformation. Her chapter on ‘seeing the face of Jesus’ (p. 12) is all about seeing the face of Jesus in the farm works of North Carolina. In the end, although she does have a sense of a ‘relationship with God made possible through Jesus’ (p. xvi) as a part of her picture of mission, it is secondary to ushering in the reign of God through a Church working with the excluded and marginalized.
This is a very enjoyable book: it is well worth reading. For those wanting to transcend the media image of the Presiding Bishop, this is the perfect place to start.