[gcruse]

"I would wish it were as simple as saying 'My congregation is open to anybody who wants to come,’"

Actually, that's about as simple as you can say it, without specifying how and with whom.

[dk/coro]

I am ashamed to say at one juncture in my life -- many years ago -- I was a card-carrying member of the Church of England -- Little Black Book of Common Prayer and all.

Well, funny thing happened on the way to Viet Nam ! This time for my first tour...this one in-country.

Archbishop Pike was in his heyday on the Left Coast -- circa 1966 -- and I was essentially persona-non-grata in the little Parish Church at Inverness, in Marin County, where I had settled the family, near my wife's folks.

Needless to say, I tossed the Book of Common Prayer in the trash -- and have never set foot in an Episcopalian Church since. The Church has politicized (and discreditited) itself completely out of relevancy within the community of Christianity, IMO.