In the Episcopal Church, ordained women are welcome and celebrated, the most symbolic evidence being the elected presence of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. As a member of the Episcopal Young Adult Delegation (EYAD) to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, I had the privilege of being part of a meeting with the Presiding Bishop on the concerns and questions of young adults in our communities.

The delegates sat around a conference table and plunged ahead with questions. We had spent several days learning about the oppression of women's rights and exclusion from leadership in an international context--and here we were, sitting with the head of our church--a woman! The Presiding Bishop was gracious and attentive, engaging and personable. I felt proud and grateful to belong to a church that ordained and elected a woman to the highest position of leadership.

We brought concerns about women in leadership within the Episcopal Church to the table. Lauren Wainwright, a youth pastor from Alabama, asked Bishop Katharine, "What kind of barriers have you faced as a woman in the church?"

Bishop Katharine answered with a reference to her past, "Actually, I faced far more discrimination as a scientist. I needed to do my research on naval ships, and the naval captains would not let a woman on board."

We nodded in wonder. So, the church was not a difficult place for women to be in leadership--or was it?

A closer look at Bishop Katharine's response reveals that she experienced discrimination in two of the fields most closed off to women other than religion: science and military. One would be hard pressed to find a harder industry to be a woman in so the comparison leaves a lot to the imagination. Women, surely, continue to face discrimination in the Episcopal Church as do other underrepresented groups.

After our meeting with Bishop Katharine, we ran into Charles "Chuck" Robertson, Canon to the Presiding Bishop. He ushered us back into the conference room for an impromptu chat, and we had an opportunity to ask a question that had formed from our previous meeting: how do you navigate discrimination or other barriers to respond to your calling?

Chuck confirmed my growing sense that political savvy is essential to succeeding as a leader with this encouragement: Be innocent as doves and as shrewd as serpents (Matthew 10:16). He added, "Be honest, but be wise." In other words, different people have different agendas and in following God, one needs to be aware of situational dynamics.

As an idealist, the emergence of the political as a reality is an unwelcome guest. Who wants to deal with politics when you're trying to focus on spirituality? Alas, politics is a real part of any institution, and for young adults interested in a role in the Church, it seems that being exposed to the politics of church office and leadership is a necessary part of becoming "shrewd." The trick in all of that, I suppose, is preserving our innocence.

Hanna Soyoung Kang-Brown, Diocese of Los Angeles

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