Sorry I couldn't resist. The Anglicans met and they have decided that Episcopal churches in the US are *doing too much* by blessing same-sex civil unions and consecrating gay bishops.
In a statement issued in the final hour of the tense meeting, the Anglican Communion gave the U.S. church until Sept. 30 to comply. Otherwise, the leaders said, its relations with other Anglicans will remain "damaged at best."The Episcopalian General Convention, the church's governing body, responded yesterday by calling on U.S. church leaders to "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration" of candidates for bishop "whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church."
Because being gay and the church never go hand in hand. But it is just better to keep it closeted so, well you know. . .
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I imagine Desmond Tutu will have a few words to say about that.
Because we wouldn't want the church to preach tolerance or anything...
Seriously, church doctrines are constantly changing and I suspect that in the future this will be a non-issue. Interestingly enough, I recently had a conversation with a transgendered co-worker who is also an ordained minister. At a recent gender identity conference she spoke on reconciling being transgendered and homosexual lifestyles with Christianity. Amazingly enough, it's not mutually exclusive.
This makes me very sad -- I'm particularly disappointed at the archbishops who refused to take communium with Bishop Jefferts Schori. That's tantamount to questioning her faith -- which the Bible tells us no human person is in a place to do. The tradition of the Episcopal church is the "middle way" -- our tradition is to avoid extremes, the idea being that where two sides strongly disagree, the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. For all their talk about "tradition," the conservatives conveniently seem to have forgotten this one.
Of course, sadly, the liberals are not guilt-free in this conflict, either. A lot of liberal dioceses have been interfering with the workings of individual parishes for purely political reasons. Both sides here are causing a schism that can only end in pain and suffering. How sadly ironic that this recent proclamation -- one which seems to me something of a prideful assertion of power and control -- comes right before the beginning of Lent, a period of reflection and humility before God. I hope the next six weeks give way to some serious soul-searching for those who believe there's no room in the Episcopal church for our gay brothers and sisters.
I joined the Episcopal Church for about 18 months right after Gene Robinson was consecrated. When it became clear that my own parish was swinging to the right, and that the Bishop of Mississippi wanted to be thought of as one of the right-wing bishops, I left.
I was delighted when Schori was selected as presiding bishop because I understood how significant it was to have a woman in that role, but depressed by the other events of GC2006 that Schori supported.
I would have probably returned to the Episcopal Church if they had selected Gene Robinson as presiding bishop, cheerfully flipped the bird at the idiots at Lambeth, and in the unlikely event that they were actually booted from the Anglican Communion, gone on their merry way. That's Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The Episcopal Church, right now, is behaving more like Pilate washing his hands.
I hope church leaders find the courage to respond to the Anglican Communion's demands in a way that does not betray lesbian and gay priests and communicants, but I fear that the almighty pledge will supersede the church's commitment to inclusion. I hope I'm wrong. I guess we'll see.
Cheers,
TH
Stuff like this makes me glad that I'm a pantheist: no churches, no pastors, no one to tell me what is or isn't moral. All moral knowledge must come from within.
Stuff like this makes me glad that I'm a pantheist: no churches, no pastors, no one to tell me what is or isn't moral. All moral knowledge must come from within.
Bearcat, just to nitpick -- because I'm feeling nitpicky today :)
Most of us who are thoughtful church-goers don't believe that the church/pastor "tells" us what is moral. For most of us, our sense of morality comes from our conscience and our experiences, which we believe to be a sort of individual divine inspiration, or something along those lines. We then join churches to associate with like-minded believers and, hopefully, accomplish some good in this world. I don't attend church because I want it to tell me what's right and wrong; I attend church because I want to be part of an organization that I believe does good, and which gives me a chance for fellowship with others who share my faith. Fortunately for me, living in Los Angeles has given me the ability to find a parish in which I'm comfortable and happy. TH, I hope someday you can find a place like that in Mississippi!
Law Fairy:
Of course, I understand that most church-goers follow their conscience. I was talking about the source of morality. If you ask most monotheist people I know why harming another person, or any of the other "sins" are wrong, the ultimate answer is that God says so. To a pantheist, it's a silly question. When you harm another being, you are harming everything, including yourself. I'm afraid I wrote that when I wasn't terribly lucid.