5/24/2004 12:24:47 PM
COLONIALISM Air Martha's Vineyard America has figured out why nobody in the United States is listening. The Guam GOP:
Papantonio and others attributed the company's troubles thus far to mismanagement by [former CEO Evan] Cohen, a former Republican political operative in Guam.
But don't worry. Air Marin County America knows what will bring in the rubes bigots Klansmen Nazis listeners by the tens of millions. Preaching to the choir:
The network has also made efforts to get Democratic party presidential nominee John Kerry to spend more of its campaign money on ads aired on Air America.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 0 comments
5/23/2004 3:18:55 PM
SINGIN' THE BLUES It's official. Should the Chicago Cubs ever actually win another World Series(they have won titles before; the problem is that their last one was during the Theodore Roosevelt administration), the standard for long-term sports incompetence switches here to St. Louis. The St. Louis Blues have been in the National Hockey League since 1967. The Blues have never won a Stanley Cup and in 1970, the last year they made a Cup final, I had not yet started high school.
Other 1967 expansion teams that the Blues used to beat regularly, like the Los Angeles Kings and the Pittsburgh Penguins, either have Cup final appearances or wins since 1970. And of the teams that entered the NHL after 1970, eleven, by my count, have either appeared in a final or won the Stanley Cup. Including these guys who got started in 1992, TWENTY-TWO YEARS after my team last had a title shot. Summers are not the only depressing things about this area.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 11 comments
5/22/2004 11:34:47 PM
SHEEP IN WOLF'S CLOTHING Such is the current state of affairs in the modern Episcopal Church that even when someone does the right thing, I instantly suspect their motives. A while back, William Swing, the Bishop of California, revoked the right of retired bishop Otis Charles to serve as assisting bishop in the Diocese of California because of Charles' very public "marriage" to another man.
Oasis and other gay Episcopal advocates wrote Swing a letter(found at the link above) complaining about the Charles firing and asking Swing for an explanation. Swing's reply(which follows the Oasis letter) begins thus:
In order for there to be a marriage of a bishop, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church alone has the authority to determine if bishops of the same sex can be married. When the headline of the San Francisco Chronicle states, “78 year old cleric marries same-sex partner,” I either have to embrace that as a fact on the ground or distance myself and the Diocese of California from the assertion. Mayor Newsom took a preemptive strike approach to licensing civil marriage. Were I to embrace the assertion of Bishop Charles’ marriage, I would be doing the same thing in ecclesiastical terms. I would be saying that the final arbiter of the Constitution and Canons and General Convention is Otis Charles.
On the face of it, this is an excellent and praiseworthy answer. The Episcopal left cannot rightly expect the conservatives to be bound by the canons if the left refuses to. The left cannot hide behind the canons one minute and ignore them for the sake of "justice" the next. While I don't theologically agree with Swing about much of anything, I must grant him an admirable consistency that far too many Anglicans don't even try to manifest.
But after further review, Swing's assertion leads to an logical absurdity. "The General Convention of the Episcopal Church alone has the authority to determine if bishops of the same sex can be married?" So any gay person can be married in an Episcopal church as long as he or she has not taken Episcopal orders? This is rather like the legendary judge Roy Bean once finding an Irishman innocent of killing a Chinese man on the grounds that there was no law against killing Chinese people in Texas.
So runs my cynical reaction. But as I think about it a bit more, it's entirely possible that even a good Episcopal liberal like Swing might(and I strongly emphasize "might") be having trepidations about all that has happened since last August. The Swinger may just believe that things are moving much too fast and that the Diocese of California, liberal though it may be, is still a part of the Anglican world:
This matter has many ramifications, but the essential one for me has to do with the episcopacy. Our Church puts great weight on the episcopacy. People who are gay or lesbian are ordained to the diaconate or priesthood regularly, and the Episcopal Church hardly notices. But when Gene Robinson is consecrated as Bishop of New Hampshire, the foundations of the Anglican Communion shake. When a bishop takes a bold step, it needs to be well thought out, authentic, and the author needs to be aware of the consequences. As long as Otis Charles is an assisting bishop of the Diocese of California, any bold thing he does, I do. He represents me and represents all of the people of the Diocese of California. If this 78-year-old cleric marries, it appears that I have authorized the marriage of a bishop outside the authority of the Episcopal Church. Then I position this Diocese and myself to be in the path of all the turmoil that follows and myself to be rightfully disciplined by the Church. I can’t have it both ways. Either I embrace his “marriage” or distance myself from it. I marvel that you claim that there is “nothing unusual” about Bishop Charles being married. Surely you realize that the Episcopal Church has not authorized same-sex marriages of bishops or priests or deacons or laity.
Up to now, I think it has been important not to have a Diocesan policy. The Diocese of New Westminster (Vancouver) carefully adopted a policy a few years ago, and all hell broke loose. A great deal of the energy and resources of that diocese have since been used up in dealing with the aftermath of having an official policy. Also the former Bishop of Kansas adopted an official policy for the diocese and quickly retired. That diocese is still digging itself out from that action.
Now you think that someone from the home office may have given the Swinger a call. But read a bit further and you discover that Swing may have been looking for a reason to break off Charles, who seems to be getting Matthew Fox's newsletter. Any port in a storm, as they say:
Two responses. One has to do with accumulated frustration. When I discovered that he is an advocate for taking enthogens such as Ecstasy and for taking hallucinogenic mushrooms to have a closer experience of God and for encouraging Christians to do the same, I was deeply disappointed. I wrote an anti-drug statement to the Diocese to distance myself from his position.
Swing's apparently not making this up. One of Kendall Harmon's visitors remarks:
Not that it probably makes much difference to many of you, but there are quite a few of us liberals and GLBT’s in California who are relieved that +Swing finally did something about Otis Charles, who has been steadily spinning out of control for far too long. The Oasis is not representitive of the feeling here, not by a long shot.
And Otis is a bit of a publicity hound:
Second, when I was asked, I told Donald Schell that Otis could have a celebration of his relationship with Felipe with two conditions. By no means was it going to be called a “marriage,” and Otis was supposed to stay away from the press. I didn’t want him to use this moment to send conflicting messages and/or to create a celebrity status for himself. I just wanted him to gather with his friends and loved ones for a blessing and celebration. When I picked up the newspaper and read about his “marriage” and his comments to the press, I felt deeply betrayed. Also it made me feel that I had betrayed the people of the Diocese of California by authorizing Otis Charles.
What's going on in the Episcopal Diocese of California? Is Otis Charles yet another Episcopal goofball? Is William Swing playing politics, has he been leaned on or does he have genuine qualms about all this? I have no idea. None whatsoever.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 9 comments
5/22/2004 2:10:39 AM
FAIRLY EARLY ON The Episcopal Church's problems are not new. I ran across this fascinating analysis in W. J. Cash's The Mind of the South(1941) in which Cash explains why Southerners never took to Anglicanism to any great degree:
But not to the sanctuary of Anglicanism, surely. An exotic in America which established itself only under royal patronage, it was not simple and vivid enough. Its God "without body, parts, or passions" is an abstraction for intellectuals. It is priestly. It politely ignores hell and talks mellifluously of a God of Love. Its methods, begotten in the relaxing atmosphere of England and refined through centuries, are the methods of understatement. It regards emotion as a kind of moral smallpox.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 11 comments
5/21/2004 10:56:17 PM
WE'RE ON THE TELLY!! Charles Austin, one of the most formidable of the independent punditry, informs me that The Learning Channel program While You Were Out is rehabbing a building in his hometown of Kirkwood, Missouri. He told me that because Kirkwood is the rather fierce high school rival of my hometown of Webster Groves.
This is a great honor for Kirkwood; to my knowledge, Webster hasn't been on national television since 1966 or 1967 when it was the subject of an hour-long CBS documentary. For those not familiar with this area, the major difference between Webster Groves and Kirkwood, two very old and picturesque railroad towns, is the fact that Webster lacks Kirkwood's pervasive feeling of hopelessness and despair.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 6 comments
5/20/2004 7:03:07 PM
FRANKIE GOES TO SLEEP In one respect, this Episcopal Life column is one of the most interesting things Frank Griswold has ever written. He makes exactly one point, he makes that one point over and over and he's said everything here many times before. But I cannot recall any "Christian" church ever having been led by someone this far from anything resembling Christianity.
On May 30 we mark the end of the Great 50 Days of Easter with the Feast of Pentecost, which celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the infant church. The ending takes us back to the beginning, as one of the gospel readings for the day relates the risen Christ’s encounter on the first Easter Day with his apostles in the upper room. We are told in John 20 that, having come among them, the risen Christ greets them with the word “Peace,” and then proceeds to breathe the Holy Spirit upon them. The Gospel of John situates the giving of the gift of the Spirit in the midst of the mystery of the resurrection. It is through the Spirit that the resurrection takes hold upon us and draws us into an ever-unfolding, ever-enlarging process of growth and discovery.
If Frank's point in that paragraph escaped you, don't worry. You'll encounter it several more times. Frank's an ordained Episcopal minister, ya know.
Earlier in John’s Gospel, Jesus says to his disciples that he has many more things to tell them but they cannot bear them now. He then goes on to say that when the Spirit of truth comes the Spirit will enlarge their understanding of truth
Told you.
by drawing from what is of Christ and making it known to them. The depth of Christ’s consciousness, along with its expansiveness and capacity to draw all things to itself in an enduring and deathless bond of love, is more than we can possibly understand or weave into our own limited consciousness.
You might think you understand the Bible when you read it but you don't. Trust us. Don't try this at home. Only properly-ordained Episcopal ministers understand what Scripture really means.
And this can present a problem for us: because Christ’s truth is limitless it can be extremely threatening. Limits and boundaries make us feel secure and give us our “place” in the world. Much of our sense of who we are is derived from our being able to distinguish ourselves from others.
Golly. Wonder what the Presiding Bishop is driving at?
And yet, it is precisely at the limits and boundaries that the Spirit is most often to be found, tugging and pulling us beyond our securities and our limited notions of truth.
On the microscopic chance you haven't picked it up yet, Frank means here that you should stop believing that the Bible(your security) means what it says and you should most definitely stop calling homosexual activity sinful(your limited notion of truth).
Yielding ourselves to the Spirit involves risk because we cannot be sure in advance of where we will ultimately be led. And yet, as we go forward we discover that we have been given a confidence and courage which comes not from us but is the consequence of the Spirit of Christ working in us.
Frank's right there. I don't know where the Spirit will lead me to as He leads me away from the ECUSA as fast as I can run.
The peace the risen Christ bestows upon his closeted
Subtle, Frank.
and fear-filled disciples is not “the peace of world” but peace of an entirely different order. The peace of Christ is an energy driven by love that reorders all things according to God’s desire, not our own.
As you may recall, Frank enjoys employing an occasional Star Trekish image in his writing now and then, as demonstrated by this golden oldie:
I find it illuminating to think of these webs of relationship which constitute our lives as being forcefields of energy in which our various perspectives and ways of embodying the gospel constantly interact – challenging and enlarging one another and thereby more fully revealing God’s truth. Difference, and the capacity to welcome otherness, are essential to the vitality of these various forcefields. And the energy which gives them life is love.
Coming soon: the tachyon emissions of God's grace. The laity as the warp drive of the church.
The peace of Christ can be experienced not as peace but as a sword – piercing and sundering our tidy structures of righteousness and truth
Okay, Frank, we get it. We should stop thinking that the Bible means what it says, start thinking that there's nothing sinful about homosexual activity and triple our pledges.
which protect us from the authentic and demanding motions of the Spirit.
"Our tidy structures of righteousness and truth...protect us from the authentic and demanding motions of the Spirit?" Like, say, this tidy structure of righteousness? Or this one? Or the one described here? Careful, Frank. Looks from here as though you're straying awfully close to a place you really don't want to go.
Peace at its deepest and truest is not a human construction.
Agreed
It is what God has already accomplished in Christ who, as Paul tells us, is our peace. Our work then consists of removing the obstacles obscuring the peace that already exists rather than creating something new.
Translation: our work then consists of rewriting the Word of God to give ourselves this kind of peace.
It is the fact that Christ is our peace that gives us confidence and the ability to endure in the face of situations in which peace is palpably missing.
Even in situations where we were singlehandedly responsible for the absence of that peace.
We often think of peace as the absence or containment of conflict, and yet it is often through conflict that the peace which is of God emerges.
Agreed again. Looks like it's true what they say about broken clocks.
It is instructive to remember that the inclusion of gentiles in the early church was not achieved without difficulty,
I wondered when Frank would get to that dead horse.
and it was only because the Holy Spirit descended upon those who were considered alien to God’s law that the church was forced to reinterpret its scriptures
No it didn't, you egregrious fraud. The church did not reinterpret its scriptures; it was never a sin just to be a Gentile. Thanks to the leadership of Paul, the early church merely rediscovered in the Scriptures what had always been in the mind of God.
and alter its understanding of God’s ways.
I don't care what the Bible says. That silly old book is meaningless since the Spirit is altering my understanding of God's ways. So there!
Thus it has always been: the peace which is of Christ can unsettle and challenge our notions of God and how God should or ought to act in our world.
Doesn't mean we can make it up as we go along, Frank. The "peace which is of Christ" cannot edit the Creator of the universe and Author of the Bible just to make a certain favored group feel better about itself.
Nothing is off limits to the Spirit
Except sin.
because ultimately everything and everyone is caught up in the Peace of Christ.
Quit sucking up to the Uni-Uni's, Frank. It's embarrassing when you grovel like that.
And, therefore, the Spirit’s ceaseless activity is to break down and overrule every structure and every attitude that sets us one against another, or allows us to discount as alien to God’s love those who differ markedly from us.
Someone else had a slightly different take on the Spirit's activity:
But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged(John 16:5-11).
Whoops. There's another one of those "tidy structures of righteousness and truth" again. There may be a spirit moving in the ECUSA these days but there's nothing remotely holy about that spirit.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 29 comments
5/20/2004 12:32:31 PM
LA, LA, LA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!! How does this:
Despite the controversy raging in parts of the Anglican Communion, no Anglican province or diocese has yet to ask the Episcopal Church's Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society to recall missionaries or stop sending new ones, Butterfield said. More than 90 missionaries currently serve in 29 countries throughout the world.
Unaffected by theological broadsides being hurled across oceans after last summer's General Convention, the important work of missionaries in strengthening relations and supporting local mission initiatives of their host churches continues day to day throughout the world, Butterfield said. "Disagreements over sexuality take a back seat to the more pressing realities of civil war, poverty, malaria and HIV/AIDS, and the need to develop educational and economic structures to sustain and deepen rapid church growth in all of the provinces where our mission companions work," she said.
Compare with this?
The actions of the ECUSA General Convention to consecrate a non-celibate candidate in a same-sex relationship continues to create shockwaves around the world. Last month the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa released a statement saying that CAPA Provinces were no longer willing to receive funds from 815 or revisionist dioceses. They made this decision lest they be accused of supporting the same-sex agenda of ECUSA by accepting funds.
Canon Bill Atwood, who networks with missionaries and bishops in the Global South, tells CaNNet: "I received word today that there are a number of missionaries appointed by the Episcopal Church that have been informed that they must sever their relationship with ECUSA and find orthodox sources of funds in order to stay in Africa."
This flies in the face of recent claims from the Episcopal Church that overseas mission-work was largely unaffected by the election and consecration of openly homosexual Gene Robinson as the Bishop of New Hampshire.
"The challenge is significant. There is an immediate emergency need to raise money. While it will take some time to learn the full extent of the need, we are aware of an immediate need for almost $60,000 for missionary support to replace rejected funds. The total need will likely exceed ,000,000 per year," says Atwood.
"It is reprehensible that the liberal leaders have made light of the commitment of the Global South to upholding Christian morality. The decisions of the General Convention have devastated the communion. Now, faithful missionaries are facing the consequences."
Jan? Time for your spin class.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 13 comments
5/19/2004 10:44:24 PM
MILLSTONES I fervently pray that this is the result of a horrible misunderstanding or some kind of an accident. Because there is a special torment in hell reserved for anyone who would intentionally do something this vile:
Authorities appealed to the public to identify an abandoned 3-year-old girl who says her name is Courtney, she's from Brooklyn and she wants her mommy.
The little girl was found May 5 when the father dropped her off with a stranger at an unknown location in Baltimore, Sue Fitzsimmons, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Social Services, said Monday. He said he was leaving to cash a money order, but he never returned and the stranger called police.
At Monday's news conference, Courtney played with toys and posed for pictures wearing a black-and-white summer outfit, her hair in neat cornrows.
When a reporter asked her a question, she wept and said: "I want my mommy."
With that, Fitzsimmons picked her up, and the news conference ended.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 6 comments
5/19/2004 8:11:09 PM
BOMBING I'm not that conversant in British so this may be an attempt at humor. But at a British online publication called MegaStar(seems to be mildly leftist; they refer to the Telegraph as the Torygraph), someone named Steve Sealink comments on the current Anglican situation:
"Primates raise stakes in gay bishop row."
So there you have it. A wholly unexpected turn of events in the ongoing debate about homosexual priests.
In a nutshell: chimpanzees, gorillas, a smattering of macaques and various other jungle hairies have been lifting wooden poles in the air during an argument over a vicar's preference for his own sex.
The paper curiously reports a wholly different story about "a group of archbishops who represent 55 million Anglicans", who "are demanding the expulsion of the US Episcopal Church from the Anglican Communion if it refuses to revoke the appointment of an openly gay bishop last summer".
Ooh, get them.
We're with the monkeys on this one.
Were someone to write a story about the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, Integrity or Claiming the Blessing, work in as many synonyms of "pedophile" as he possibly could and illustrate the whole thing with a picture of some trench-coated fellow skulking around, that article would be denounced as a slander and its author would be declared a bigot and banished from civilized society even if he said he was only joking. Sure is a good thing that orthodox Christians are still around or liberals would have no one left to make fun of and demean.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 6 comments
5/19/2004 6:33:46 PM
WHAT WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES It is extremely difficult to conceive of a more breathtaking example of liberal Anglican arrogance than this one reported in the Ottawa Citizen. Seems that the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa can't decide whether or not to enforce its own decrees:
The bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa is considering whether to enforce a 10-year-old ban prohibiting a convicted pedophile from playing the organ and conducting an adult choir at a downtown church.
Bishop Peter Coffin said he is pondering what to do with John Gallienne, a sexual predator and former choirmaster barred by senior Anglican officials in 1994 from holding a leadership position in the church, but who is now an organist at Elgin Street's St. John the Evangelist.
Coffin's in no rush to come to a decision:
"I just might mull it over for a while. There's no doubt the press wants to force my hand, but I'm not prepared to have the press do that," said Bishop Coffin.
This Gallienne was a first-rate child molester:
In 1990, it was revealed that Mr. Gallienne sexually abused young boys by exploiting his position of trust and authority as a choirmaster and organist at an Anglican church in Kingston. That year, he pled guilty to 20 sex crimes against 13 young boys.
And, as a result, was barred from leadership positions in two dioceses:
At the time, the Kingston Anglican diocese barred Mr. Gallienne from playing a "church organ, piano" and leading "a choir or singing group for worship or concert entertainment." The Ottawa diocese also adopted the ban, but a story that appeared in the Kingston Whig-Standard on Saturday revealed that Mr. Gallienne is violating the rules.
A violation of his diocese's policy that Coffin has known about for four years:
Bishop Coffin said he has known about Mr. Gallienne's position at the church since 2000. St. John's never sought the bishop's permission to break the ban, but convinced the bishop that Mr. Gallienne wasn't a threat behind the organ, he said.
"If I was remiss, I was remiss," he said. "I was fairly new at the job ... and I was never comfortable with the way he ended up doing that at St. John's.
"I was uneasy, but I've never been uneasy about St. John's concern for the safety of the people that go there."
As has SJTE's Garth Bulmer:
In an interview with the Citizen, St. John's Rev. Canon Garth Bulmer defended his decision to allow Mr. Gallienne to conduct and play the organ.
But Bulmer isn't going to enforce the ban:
Rev. Bulmer said he considers the ban to be a guideline, and as long as Mr. Gallienne isn't in contact with children, he is willing to ignore it.
Because...well...he doesn't want to:
"It was an official document in that it came from an official, but I questioned the morality of it," he said.
After all, we're in the redemption business around here:
On Sunday, one day after the Whig-Standard's story appeared, a young man who met Mr. Gallienne as an 18-year-old and fellow choir member attended church for the first time in a while to support the offender, Rev. Bulmer said.
"This news is not shocking to anyone in the congregation," he said.
"We're a church. We're in the business of helping people. If we're not going to help rebuild lives, we might as well shut our doors."
Quite so. We have, all of us, sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We have not all committed sins as vile as those of Mr. Gallienne but before we direct our outrage north, we should examine the thoughts that sometimes enter our own heads. And one of the things our Lord taught us to pray to God for is protection from Satan. Our adversary, after all, is still hunting us.
But Bulmer's insouciant invocation of all this begs the question. Gallienne's redeemability is not an issue; he can enter and worship at any Anglican church he chooses. But according to two dioceses, he is not entitled to a position of leadership. Can Anglican Church of Canada clergymen safely ignore church rules they don't happen to agree with? And do Canadian bishops only enforce church decrees when someone is watching? One would imagine, in the run-up to the ACC's General Synod at which it will possibly join the ECUSA in apostasy, that orthodox Canadian Anglicans might be eager to learn the answers to these two questions.
Thanks to Colin Pye.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 9 comments
5/18/2004 8:38:27 PM
HITTIN' THE TRAIL How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?
Understanding the 'unchurched' and cultivating the ability to communicate in broad contexts are essential for the Episcopal Church to achieve its objectives to take seriously Jesus' command to "build my church" and to "spread the Gospel."
That was the message that 170 participants took home from the first annual Plant My Church conference, held in Lansdowne, Virginia, May 13-15.
Twenty-one. One to take the light bulb out of the socket, ten to serve on a Lighting Alternatives Committee...
The three-day training event, which focused on new church development, included special learning opportunities for bishops and diocesan staff members, 'launch team' members, new and experienced church planters, and those less experienced or exploring a call to church planting.
And ten to serve on a committee to persuade the Episcopal Book and Resource Center to publish books with printing that glows in the dark for people whose "contexts" don't include electricity.
Hosted by the Episcopal Church's Office of Congregational Development under the leadership of the Rev. Charles N. Fulton and in partnership with the diocese of Virginia, more than 30 presenters held workshops designed to help participants gain expertise in church growth in various contexts and a chance to "capitalize on the experience of others' successes and failures."
Fulton expressed his encouragement at the comprehensiveness of the event, which not only focused on suburban contexts but also urban and rural environments. "It was certainly broad in scope, with particular focus on generational and racial issues," he said. "I was particularly inspired by the energy and connecting that shaped the conference."
The PrezBish was there and got a "reconciliation" or two in:
In his address to the conference, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold spoke about the importance of removing obstacles to reconciliation for church planting to be successful. "Church planting is about establishing communities of reconciliation so that love can flow forth into the world," he said, expressing his gratitude for the people who are working in this field.
Me, I thought church planting was about establishing communities to worship God and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the world. Shows what happens when I don't keep up with my Episcopal Life reading.
Griswold also identified the significance of the language that is used, pointing out that there are many different vocabularies centered on evangelization and mission within the church. "Some use a vocabulary of 'justice', others use a vocabulary of 'holiness,'" he said. "It is important that we make the effort to broaden our vocabularies so we can more effectively reach out to people."
Just as long as we steer clear of Frank's vocabulary of Gnosticism and Star Trek episodes.
Speaking about the "diverse center," which Griswold has previously described as "a many-membered body being shaped and formed by Christ,"
Although Christ may be doing something else to it at the moment.
he said that one of the glories of Anglicanism is its ability to make room for difference.
As is now well known, "to make room for difference" means letting Nazi racist Klansman homophobe conservative money help subsidize our apostasy.
He added, "This group is very important in working for the 'mission energies' named by the 20/20 movement and in how they are being realized in the life of the church." The 20/20 movement--centered on doubling average Sunday attendance by the year 2020--is a goal that General Convention adopted in July 2000 to contribute to the growth and vitality of the church and its congregations.
Frank's real proud of the ECUSA's "Bodies in the Pews" program. A guy named George Hunter thought sucking up to the culture will get the pledge checks people in:
Guest speaker George Hunter, an author and leading authority on communicating the Gospel to secular people, identified the necessity for church planters to "begin with where people are, rather than where we would like them to be."
Hunter, who as a young seminary student spent eight weeks sharing his faith with "Muscle Beach" surfers, beatniks, and body builders, explained how culturally conventional people do not like traditional churches and urged the importance of understanding this when starting a "seeker church."
AKA, a church that doesn't bum people out by talking about sin and about how certain things are wrong.
"Our churches are now placed in secular mission fields," he said. "For a long time the church had the luxury of Christendom. With the events of secularization the church was moved from the center of a culture's life to the periphery."
Actually, dude, the church moved itself. Because you don't have to confront anybody on the periphery. People can't get mad at you if they can't see you.
Seeker churches are meant for contemporary worship, he added, and they are good at giving options to congregations that are indigenous to the culture of the present day. "Culture is the silent language," he said. "[If we] adapt to people's aesthetics, we are able to communicate meaning."
Guitar and jazz masses out the wazoo. Liturgical dance. Sheryl Crow lyrics quoted in sermons. Glow sticks instead of palms on Palm Sunday. Father Chuck's kid's Gothic metal band Hitler's Legion playing the anthems and recessionals during "Youth Sunday." Yeah, that'll pack 'em in.
The Rev. Ben Helmer, the Episcopal Church’s missioner for congregational development with expertise in rural and small communities, explained some of the strategies of the 20/20 initiative in responding to the needs of small congregations.
"We decided to develop a strategic assessment as a way to work with congregations that are small," he said. The result is a four-part plan entitled Expanding Mission and Vitality in Small Congregations, which divides into subcategories: self-assessment; discernment; local ownership; and congregational development
"Okay, listen up, everybody. I think we've got this figured out. John, James and I will head up self-assessment. Andrew, Thomas and Matthew will be discernment. I think Bartholomew, Simon and Phillip can head up local ownership As for congregational development...hmmm...who've we got left? Jude, the other James and Matthias. Guess that one's yours. And Mary? No, Magdalene. Would you mind doing the newsletter? Let's get started on the Great Commission then. Meet with your committees first thing next week."
Tennessee's Bishop Bert Herlong spoke about targeting the "unchurched" and lapsed members of other churches, adding that "in this consumer culture you don't tell people what it is they can do for you, you ask them what it is you can do for them."
I'll throw in with the ECUSA as long as you don't expect me ever to show up or send you any money at all. You down with that?
During a workshop addressing rural and small 'new starts,' the Rev. Frank Logue, rector of King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland, Georgia, explained that church planting in smaller contexts requires an entirely different approach from that used in more urban and suburban environments. "[You have to understand] the context and incarnate the gospel in that context," he said. "Learning about the place and setting things to that context is very important."
Logue's target number for a church opening was 40 members. He said he had to begin in such a way that would inspire people to return. Dealing with such a small number, he couldn't afford for half of the congregation to decide, after the first service, that they weren't coming back. "Learning the context here really helped," he said, "as I understood what it would take in my community to be regarded as successful."
Want to make people think you're an Episcopalian? Just use the words "reconciliation" and "context" as often as you possibly can. In fact, say nothing but "reconciliation" and "context" and you'll quickly develop a reputation as an incredibly deep Episcopal thinker. "So Chris, what did you think of my sermon?"
"Reconciliation."
"Really? But it wasn't about reconciliation. In fact, half the congregation got up and walked out. A couple of them flipped me off."
"Context."
"I think I understand now. I was inadvertently demonstrating the need for reconciliation in our current context. Wow. Thanks very much for your input, Chris. You've given me a lot to think about. I'm preaching next week too. I'd love your input."
"Context."
"I see. That's how it is sometimes. Thanks again, really."
The Episcopal Church is renowned for doing well in affluent suburbs, but that is not the case in rural contexts, Campbell explained. "That challenges us to find different ways," he said. "In rural Arkansas, you are not going to repeat what has happened in urban centers."
See?
A well-known preacher, teacher, author, and consultant throughout the Episcopal Church, the Rev. Kevin Martin is also founder and executive director of Vital Church Ministries, an outreach ministry of Christ Church in Plano, Texas. Martin drew attention to the practical questions that need to be asked when engaged in church planting and congregational development. "Once you have a clear assessment of the size, number of people, ethnic identity, multicultural identity, for example, it's easier to gauge what you're really trying to do," he said. "There are not a hundred new ways to start a church, no matter how creative we are. There are 5 or 6 proven methods so you can sit down and work out the integral steps depending on which church you are trying to build."
Make that thirty-one Episcopalians needed to change a light bulb. The additional ten will serve on the Lighting Needs Assessment Committee.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 26 comments
5/18/2004 6:25:43 PM
DEPO FIELD TEST If you're interested in how delegated episcopal pastoral oversight works in practice, David Virtue has a report from the Diocese of Western New York. St. Bartholomew's of Tonawanda got the ball rolling with a DEPO request to Bishop J. Michael Garrison:
In an exchange of letters between Fr. Arthur W. Ward Jr., the rector, wardens and vestry of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, Tonawanda and the Buffalo-based bishop, Fr. Ward wrote Garrison on April 6 requesting DEPO – a course of action approved recently by ECUSA’s House of Bishops.
St. Bartholomew’s has the largest parish income in the diocese with a budget of $470,000 and an anticipated parish income of $520,000 in 2004. It is also the numerically largest parish in the diocese with more than 1,100 attending members.
The church was nice about it
In his brief one-page letter Ward wrote, “As you are aware, we are gravely concerned about the direction of this diocese and The Episcopal Church in general. However, we also recognize that we are called by our Lord to work towards reconciliation. We are most willing to meet with you toward that purpose.”
Fr. Ward then wrote that adult candidates and youth confirmands for Holy Confirmation had asked for another bishop to administer Holy Confirmation. “As a result, there will be no candidates available for confirmation during your scheduled May 30th visit to St. Bartholomew’s. The priest said he had scheduled only one service for that day.
Ward concluded his letter saying that he was ready to meet “so that we can work towards achieving some sort of agreement that will satisfy both sides.”
But St. Bartholomew's attempt to follow the ECUSA's rules availed them nothing. Father Ward got this appalling response from Garrison:
On April 23rd, Bishop Garrison wrote a blistering two-page detailed letter with the following demands.
He began with a slap and put down of Fr. Ward saying, “Happily I am not planning to be with you on Sunday morning, May 30, as I have another invitation. Since I made a visitation to St. Bartholomew’s in 2003 for Confirmation, I shall not return for visitation until 2006.”
Then the bishop listed a set of six demands on Fr. Ward, concluding by telling him that he was reassigning his deacon, and that when another priest who served with him, Fr. Clark Hubbard Jr. had found another parish that he would never license another priest to serve with him. Garrison said that an ordinand who was preparing for the ministry would also be removed from his parish.
Garrison seemed to go out of his way to humiliate Ward:
Garrison then demanded that Fr. Ward meet with him and insisted that he bring along the Parish Register and Service Book; financial statements from the first quarter of the year, including a list of beneficiaries of your “alternative” to the Fair Share. “Fair Share” is a voluntary pledge made by the bishop to all parishes. The bishop also demanded the minutes of the vestry meetings for the same period of time.
Even going so far as to assign him homework:
The bishop then demanded that Ward “deliver to my office a copy of three teachings that you will prepare and deliver to the people of St. Bartholomew’s on the Heresy of Donatism and its application in the current crises with reference to Article XXVI of the Articles of Religion.”
It is evident that Garrison considers a DEPO request to be a declaration of independence as well as a personal attack:
The bishop then asked Fr. Ward how he could personally remain connected and in communion with himself during this time of estrangement—including his personal reflection on what it means to be loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church has received them – “a question required of you at your ordinations to both the deaconate and priesthood.”
“Thirdly, how do you intend to live out the joint pastoral responsibility you share with me through accepting a “Letter of Institution” from me at your installation as rector of St. Bartholomew’s?”
Garrison told Ward he would reassign his Deacon Ed Kusmierczyk. “I no longer have confidence that you can provide him sufficient guidance in making Christ and his redemptive love known.”
Frank? If you haven't got anything important coming up soon and since you're the chief pastor of the ECUSA, Western New York is in serious need of some of that "reconciliation" of yours:
The bishop then said that an ordinand who is a candidate for the Diaconate, one John Reese, (Reitz, the bishop misspelled his name) would be also transferred to another parish.
Garrison then twisted the knife further issuing a Pastoral Direction to Ward forbidding him to present confirmands from his parish to any other bishop of this Church. “You are forbidden to invite another bishop to preach, teach, or preside at the Sacraments, except as specifically authorized by me.”
Because J. Michael Garrison is a hysterical tyrant:
On April 29, Bishop Garrison wrote another letter, this time to all his diocesan clergy saying that he was forbidding two other orthodox rectors in his diocese because the warden of St. Stephen’s, Niagara Falls told him he would not allow his grandson to be confirmed by him.
Garrison responded by recalling the actions of the five retired bishops acting in the Diocese of Ohio saying that what they did was an “indecent violation of Church order” and then issued the following pastoral directive to Fr. Roger Grist of St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church in Buffalo and to Fr. Richard Molison of St. Stephen’s in Niagara Falls, saying “you are forbidden to present confirmands to any other bishop of this church…you are forbidden to invite another bishop to preach, teach, or preside at the Sacraments, except as specifically authorized by me.”
And orthodox Episcopal clergy in Western New York know that DEPO is a bad joke:
Reached at his parish the Rev. Dr. Grist told Virtuosity, “I am surprised, the bishop seems to be trying to keep us from having a bishop who would be in line with the faith once delivered. Furthermore what he is really saying is that he would only allow a bishop of his choice.”
“He is not trying to bring about reconciliation, and he accuses us of causing division.
He won’t cut us any slack, nor does he seem to be interested in the recent DEPO resolution passed by the House of Bishops. He is determined to have it all his way.”
The Rev. Dr. Grist said that DEPO means nothing to him. “He has also reinterpreted the diocesan canons related to the Fair Share (pledge system). He made it mandatory (it was voluntary) at a March meeting of the Diocesan Council but it has never been brought to a Diocesan Convention. Any parish that does not pay its fair share, he makes into a dependent parish. The bishop can then act unilaterally, and that is what he has done to Fr. Ward.”
Fr. Richard Molison, St. Stephen’s told Virtuosity, “I don’t sense any ministry of reconciliation with my chief shepherd. This is the second of two letters he has written to me both of which have not been very pastoral. Our concern, those of us who are orthodox in this diocese, is to have this tested before Holy Scripture not the canons. I find this difficult to accept.”
Granted, not every Episcopal diocese in this country is run by a megalomaniacal fraud like Garrison. But this report cuts just about all the ground out from under Frank Griswold's feet. If the PrezBish is serious about providing alternate oversight to dissident parishes and if he wants ECUSA's plan to have any credibility at all, let him start proving it by intervening in Western New York.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 20 comments
5/18/2004 12:12:32 PM
THE $64,000 QUESTION Drexel Gomez, the Anglican Primate of the West Indies and member of the Lambeth Commission, makes an extremely important observation to Commission chairman Robin Eames. You have, says Gomez, appealed to Anglicans to show restraint and let the Commission finish its work. But so far, conservative Anglicans are the only ones doing any restraining:
There is no small feeling amongst conservative members of the Communion that they are being asked to show restraint whilst the liberal agenda moves ahead, with bishops in ECUSA taking action against conservative parishes; the Church of Canada proceeding to debate the blessing of same sex unions; dioceses in the Episcopal Church actually going forward with the authorisation of such rites, and the appointment of known advocates of same sex unions to senior office in the Church of England. This is only likely to create a situation where the playing field is perceived as skewed - conservative reaction is held back, whilst liberal viewpoints are allowed to claim too much territory.
Why, then, should Anglican conservatives continue to hold back?
It creates the question in many minds, "Why should we wait, if others are not showing the same restraint?" I should be grateful therefore if some way could be found of addressing this question, and pointing out to our Communion that in the period of preparation of the work of the Lambeth Commission, restraint needs to be shown on all sides, and provocation to "precipitate action" avoided.
Eames concedes the point:
Thank you very much for your reply to my letter to the Primates. Of course, you are quite right: in asking for the Communion to hold back from precipitate action, the Primates were asking for space for the Commission's work by all sides to this debate. I take very seriously indeed the points you make, and consideration will have to be given to events across the Communion which seem to take further controversial positions on the issue of ministry by and to homosexual persons.
And also wonders why conservatives should continue to restrain themselves:
It makes it more difficult for conservatives on this issue to hold back from strong reaction if they are faced with what can be seen as continuing provocation. I am sure that the Commission, as far as their loyalties to their own provincial processes will allow, would join me in asking all sides to refrain from action which prejudices the status quo as it was in October 2003, and that means being prepared to hold back from advancing controversial causes until, as a Communion, we have begun to discern publicly the way in which to handle the issues which divide us, in a way which strengthens and does not damage our discipleship and witness.
In a nutshell, this exchange demonstrates why the Lambeth Commission is a waste of time. American and Canadian liberals have repeatedly demonstrated over the years that their Anglicanism is strictly ceremonial, a tool to give them international influence that they would otherwise never have.
The western liberals do not care and have never cared what the rest of the Anglican world thinks or says or does about anything. If the liberals will not listen to the Lambeth Commission now, they will certainly not listen if they are required to take back Gene Robinson's pointy hat and ban homosexual marriage. The Global South primates understand this fact. And they also know what the Commission must propose:
The Commission should include in its Report a specific call to ECUSA to repent; revoking and rescinding their decision and action regarding the election and consecration of Gene Robinson as a Bishop in the Church of God.
Should ECUSA fail to comply within three months, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates should then take appropriate disciplinary action, which should include the suspension and ultimate expulsion of ECUSA from fellowship and membership of the Anglican Communion.
Recognition and full Episcopal and pastoral oversight should be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates to those dioceses, parishes and laity within ECUSA who continue to uphold the historic faith and order of the Anglican Communion.
Similar measures should be applied to the Bishop and Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster, Canada for their unilateral approval and implementation of rites for the blessing of same sex union.
We also request the Commission to give urgent consideration to the renewal of mutual accountability and the harmonization of constitutions and canons of the various Provinces in the Communion.
Bottom line: the Anglican Communion can remain a prominent international Christian voice only if it is willing to throw its western liberals to the sharks. If it is not so willing, it will cease to exist. And no one who takes Christianity seriously will mourn its passing.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 16 comments
5/17/2004 8:04:16 PM
LEMMINGS The new Nashville Rhythm of the American Basketball Association have just selected a head coach:
Ashley McElhiney was introduced as the new coach of the expansion Nashville Rhythm of the American Basketball Association on Monday, becoming the first female head coach of a professional men's basketball team.
"This is an incredible opportunity for me on so many levels,'' the 22-year-old McElhiney said. "I'm thrilled to be a part of building this team from the ground up.''
"I've said from Day One that my goal was not only to put a competitive team on the floor, but to give qualified females opportunities they are not normally afforded,'' Rhythm owner Sally Anthony said. "Ultimately, I think the Nashville Rhythm, and the ABA as a whole, can be a stepping stone for a qualified woman to coach in the NBA.''
Interesting. A 22-year-old woman barely out of college and without any coaching experience on any level has just been selected to be the head coach of a team of male professional players, most of whom would like to move up to the NBA. Twenty-freaking-two. Maybe it's my Midwestern cynicism kicking in but I don't see this turning out very well.
On multiple levels. You're a Nashville resident, you're a basketball fan, you're kind of excited about the Rhythm and you're thinking of sinking some of your hard-earned money into season tickets. Then you discover that not only has the Rhythm named a 22-year-old woman with no coaching experience whatsoever as their head coach but the team's owner declares that she wants to use the team you'll pay to see as a personal sociological playtoy. So you decide that while you like basketball, perhaps Predator hockey tickets are the way to go.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 11 comments
5/17/2004 7:29:09 PM
IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES As might be expected in a church that is coming apart, the word "reconciliation" is the favorite new Episcopal Church mantra these days. The over/under on the word in this story of an upcoming Episcopal conference was through the roof:
Next month the cathedral will put its new goals to the test as it will seek to be a safe place for persons who hold opposing views on human sexuality, yet who want to work toward reconciliation around the issue. On June 18 and 19, St. Mark's will host a national conference, sponsored by the Community of the Cross of Nails-USA, entitled "Reconciliation and Sexuality: Youth, Families and Children."
The Community of the Cross of Nails-USA is part of an global network of reconciliation ministries and centers that have grown out of the internationally-renowned reconciliation ministry of Coventry Cathedral in England. There are over 240 Cross of Nails centers around the world.
"This groundbreaking conference offers tools for people who want to be reconcilers concerning the issue of sexual orientation," said the Rev. Canon Scott E. Erickson, professor and chaplain at St. Paul's Episcopal School, Concord, New Hampshire. Erickson is a member of the board of directors of the Community of the Cross of Nails USA and the conference coordinator.
"There is something badly broken when inflammatory language defines much of what we hear," said Erickson. "As Christians, Jesus calls us to the incredibly difficult task of reconciliation. This conference will provide a process for healing and a safe place to grapple with how we enter into reconciling our differences about sexual orientation among youth, within families, and in all institutions."
Two Episcopal bishops will headline the conference program. The Rt. Rev. Don Johnson, Bishop of West Tennessee, did not vote to approve the election of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire at last summer's General Convention in Minneapolis. Yet, on Friday evening, June 19, Johnson will literally sit at the table with Robinson as the two bishops, with opposing viewpoints on human sexuality, will discuss how a worshiping community can continue to live together in light of the dilemma that the actions of General Convention has created in the Episcopal Church. The discussion will be moderated by the Very Rev. Martha J. Horne, president and dean of Virginia Theological Seminary.
How can a "worshipping community...continue to live together in light of the dilemma that the actions of General Convention has created in the Episcopal Church?" Rev. Steven Charleston, President and Dean of the Episcopal No Divinity Whatsoever School, thinks it can't. In as hysterical an oration as any Episcopalian has ever delivered, Charleston had this to say about those who oppose homosexual marriage:
We celebrate a new unity – not just between couples – but between whole communities who have joined together to proclaim that we choose love, not hate; freedom, not fear; respect, not bigotry. Tonight is not just a celebration for gay, Lesbian, bi, or transgendered people, but for all people
This is a night for people all around the sleeping world to wake up to proclaim that who we love should not divide us, especially in an age when we need all the love we have to overcome the growing repression that is the real terror of our time.
In all of these ways we rejoice: for justice, for marriage, for community. But even in doing so, we know that there will be others who will not rejoice with us. Even if we celebrate: freedom from oppression, love over fear, dignity over prejudice, others will stand back because they have been told that we are a threat to their way of life. They will remain silent and their silence will smother the hope of millions. They will do so because they have been taught to be silent. Their politicians and religious leaders have told them to fear love because they believe this love will steal something precious from them. In fact, they have been told that marriage between two persons of the same gender will destroy civilization as we have known it.
We can choose to allow the erosion of the sanctity of marriage and the family by the gross manipulation of these values by both repressive political and religious forces, or we can choose to strengthen marriage and family by extending them to loving men and women who have cherished them for generations even when they were persecuted for doing so.
We can choose to remain silent when the vilest forms of fear, abuse, and bigotry eat away at the heart of our society, or we can choose to live together in a free society that respects the God-given dignity of every human being.
So I am a "bigot" for believing that homosexual activity is a sin. I am an agent of "abuse" and "oppression" because I believe that the Bible means what it says. I "hate" because I think that the Christian church should not automatically approve of whatever people feel like doing just because they attach the label "love" to it. But I am not irredeemable because I didn't come to those conclusions on my own; my repressive "religious leaders" manipulated me into adopting them.
There is so much evil in Charleston's screed that it is difficult to know where to start. But the idea of worshipping my God in the same church with a man who would bear false witness against his neighbors with such reckless abandon is inconceivable. Get this through your heads right now. Apart from a direct intervention by God Himself, reconciliation in the Episcopal Church is not possible:
Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD(Isaiah 52:11).
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness(2 Corinthians 6:14)?
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin(1 John 1:5-7).
I do not yet know where I will regularly worship God in the future. When you're in the wilderness without a map, it is often difficult to find your way forward. You sit for a long time trying to decide which way to go, you reach dead ends and have to turn back or you spend a lot of your time walking in circles. But I'm not completely without information as I wander around out there. I know one place to strenuously avoid.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 24 comments
5/17/2004 12:47:01 PM
LAODICEANS It saves a lot of time when the headline of a story tells you everything you need to know. As soon as I saw that the headline of this report on the recent Episcopal convention in West Virginia read, "Episcopalians reach resolution," I knew exactly what the story contained. There was the now-familiar Tepid Episcopal Compromise:
Hundreds of Episcopalians from throughout West Virginia gathered for the 127th Annual Convention this weekend at Marshall University. It culminated Sunday with give-and-take from more conservative and more liberal representatives of the church for a compromised diocesan resolution.
The resolution says churches can redirect a portion of their giving from the budget of the national church to a ministry of the national church.
"It allows people in some congregations to feel that they have an act of protest against the action of the church last summer," said the Rev. Donald Vinson, rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Huntington. But it also caters to those who want the church to stay together, regardless of last year’s controversy, he said.
That wasn't really:
The compromised resolution expires in two years, at which time the issue will either be revisited or stipulations will just revert back to the way they were, Vinson said.
There were the Angry Conservatives:
The compromise came after conservative groups proposed a resolution to withhold a portion of the contributions to the national church. They also proposed to disassociate the diocese with the actions of last year’s national convention and the church’s "confirming the election as bishop of a noncelibate homosexual man and in its permitting same-sex blessings." This proposal resolved that those actions and the consecration of V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire were contrary to Holy Scripture.
The Concerned Liberals who wanted to stall until the Angry Conservatives stopped being angry:
Other groups proposed that the church stay unified in prayer and actively seek the counsel of the Holy Spirit as the diocese awaits the unfolding of God’s will in the matter. Another proposal resolved that the church accept gracefully that sacramental ministries of clergy are gifts from God, rather than gifts from the clergy themselves, so a clergyman’s behaviors do not prevent his ability to perform God’s ministries.
And the "as long as we worship together, who cares what we believe, gosh darn it?" Spineless Clergymen:
The resulted compromise was something that no one was thrilled with, but everyone could live with, said Kevin Kelly, pastor at Trinity Episcopal Church in Huntington.
"It acknowledges the disagreement but affirms our unity as the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, which was my greatest hope for the convention," he said.
"In many ways, it was the Episcopal Church at its best. We came to a decision that everyone could live with, and when it was done, we went across the street and worshiped together. … We might not always agree on matters of doctrine, but we agree on our prayers and in our worship. That’s what unifies."
"It may look like we compromised on important principles one way or another, but it is an important principle of ours to try to hold together and try to have a middle ground," [Rev. Donald]Vinson said. "Whatever happens down the road, I feel good that we tried very hard to reconcile to one another."
Revelation 3:14-18. You know the drill.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 6 comments
5/16/2004 4:13:56 PM
OR NOT I have always been under the impression that I began to be taken by my mother to Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Webster Groves, Missouri in 1956, the year my family moved from Billings, Montana to the St. Louis area, and that I later began walking into the place on my own and continued doing so until August of last year. But as it turns out, I might be completely wrong about all of that.
I'm just guessing here but it looks like they're allowing Episcopal seminarians to read Aristotle unattended these days because there seems to a zeal among liberal Episcopalians to separate the concepts of "fact" and "reality." You'll recall that in a review of The Passion of the Christ, one Dan Handschy, rector of the Church of the Advent in Crestwood, Missouri, a few miles west of here, had this to say:
The film treated the suffering of the Christ, and suffering in general, in a reductionist manner. We live in an age that has confused truth with factuality. What is factual is true; what is true must first be factual. Gibson wants us to think that he presents to us The Passion of the Christ as brutal fact devoid of interpretation: this is what happened.
Now I learn that Emmanuel's rector, the Rev. Dr. Jacob Owensby, had this to say during his Easter morning sermon:
Just last Sunday, and throughout Holy Week, we reflected on the suffering of Jesus Christ. We heard him drew his last breath and watched Joseph of Arimathea laid him in the tomb. We are ready to hear that life has trumped death. And Luke delivers. From the very beginning of his Gospel Luke tells his readers that historical reality is his driving interest. And his powerful story-telling gifts anchor the resurrection in human history.
Luke is keen enough to realize that he conveys a historical reality to us. Not a historical fact. A fact could be recorded by a video camera or documented in a bureaucrat’s logs. A fact is observable by all. But not all realities are facts. My maternal grandmother loved me more than life itself. Fatherhood has taught me more about God’s grace than 10,000 sunrises. Warren Crews is the nicest man on the face of the earth. These realities have profoundly affected my life. But they are not and never will be facts. The resurrection is a mysterious reality.
The resurrection is not a "historical fact" but a "mysterious reality." Despite the fact that the resurrected Jesus was seen by over 500 people. Despite the fact that the 11 ate and drank and conversed with the risen Lord and watched Him ascend into heaven. Despite the fact that they based their preaching and their ministries on that fact and that many of them were martyred because they fearlessly proclaimed it.
A bit further in his discourse, Jake had this to say:
St. John reports that Jesus said, I am the resurrection. The resurrection is not an event. It is a person. Resurrection enters into us when we let that person into our hearts and minds and souls (Jn. 11). Baptism is the sacramental starting point of the transformation of our mortal existence into eternal life. But it is only the starting point. God allows us to decide how far into our lives he may go
The resurrection is not an event. Jesus didn't die on the cross for my sins; He died so that I might have the opportunity to let Him into my heart and mind and soul. I may decide how far into my life the Creator of the entire universe may go. This sort of "theology" is the reason why I can never go back to Emmanuel.
If I have, in fact, actually left it
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 15 comments
5/15/2004 10:58:00 PM
AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO! - If you happen to be a Michigan Episcopalian, Greg Griffith just ran across a real good reason for you to find another denomination. Fast.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 18 comments
5/14/2004 10:45:06 PM
POINTLESS MAN SIGNS USELESS LETTER Frank Griswold recently joined a number of other pseudo Christian leaders in signing a National Council of Churches Nobody Goes To Anymore complete waste of time ecumenical pastoral letter on Iraq. Seems these folks are, mirabile dictu, Gravely Concerned:
Two central claims of the Christian faith are crucial in our thinking: that every person, as a child of God, is of infinite worth; and that all persons, as participants in God's one creation, are related in their humanity and vulnerability. This is why the World Council of Churches has asserted that "war is contrary to the will of God" - because it destroys that which God has made sacred.
These "central claims of the Christian faith" are news to me. If "every person, as a child of God, is of infinite worth" and is someone that God has made "sacred," it follows that "every person" is going to end up in heaven and the signatories of this letter have just gone Universalist. And we are not all "related" by mere "humanity and vulnerability." We are, as Scripture tells us, "one in Christ Jesus(Galatians 3:28)," and in Christ Jesus alone.
In a sinful world, some of us may hold that there may be times when war is a necessary evil. But Christians should never identify violence against others with the will of God and should always work to prevent and end it.
Germany? We're really sorry about that little dustup in the 40's.
We believe, with these things in mind, that the guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy must be to build up the whole, interdependent human family and to promote reconciliation whenever possible. Yes, this means standing firmly against all acts of terror, but it also means envisioning a world in which war is truly a last resort.
Actually, "the guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy" and domestic policy, for that matter, ought to be Romans 13:1-4:
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
This does seem to describe "standing firmly against acts of terror" although I don't know where "promoting reconciliation" fits in there. And I don't much care. It is the responsibility of the United States government to "build up" the United States and the United States alone. "The whole interdependent human family" needs to take care of itself.
Current U.S. foreign policy, however, is not aligned with this principle. Many people see our policy as one based on protection of our country's economic interests narrowly defined, rather than on principles of human rights and justice that would serve our nation's interests in deep and tangible ways. We are convinced that current policy is dangerous for America and the world and will only lead to further violence.
"Many people see our policy as one based on protection of our country's economic interests narrowly defined," do they? How do you define "many people?" Everyone in your leftist churches? Apparently, since what this letter recommends is so mind-numbingly stupid:
We, therefore, call for a change of course in Iraq, and we encourage you to do the same. Specifically, we are calling upon our country to turn over the transition of authority and post-war reconstruction to the United Nations - and to recognize U.S. responsibility to contribute to this effort generously through security, economic, and humanitarian support - not only to bring international legitimacy to the effort, but also to foster any chance for lasting peace.
And we're done. The United States should turn Iraq over to the same organization that spent almost ten years robbing the Iraqi people blind. Let the UN steal a few more billions in exchange for "international legitimacy" and a "chance for lasting peace." That should solve everything. Look how well Kosovo has turned out since the UN's been in charge.
Morons.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 14 comments
5/14/2004 10:04:09 AM
BIG HEADS - I probably shouldn't laugh at this sort of thing, what with my own dome being so big that minor league hockey teams have inquired about playing in it, but I thought this Ted Kennedy interview was one of the funniest things I've read in a very long time.
Posted by Christopher S. Johnson - 10 comments