Church loses 'Episcopal' from its signs

The Tennessean ^ | BRIAN LEWIS

[AnAmericanMother]

"One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses,
With every grace endued."

The substitute rector at my parents' church bore the brunt because the rector was on vacation (we were too - that's why we were at my parents' church in the conservative Diocese of Georgia, rather than home in the outrageously liberal Diocese of Atlanta.) He had "Onward Christian Soldiers" as the recessional, and other likely "unity" hymns scattered throughout.

"We are not divided,
All one body we . . . "

. . . I told him after the service I HOPED he was right. By the look in my eye he knew I thought he was whistling past the graveyard. But the Bishop of the diocese, Louttit, is conservative and voted "No." He is holding two meetings for communicants to state their opinions. I don't know whether he's going to Plano in October or not.

Our diocese is a blinkin' lost cause, I could just scream. Maybe the Diocese of Georgia will start a couple of mission churches?????

[johnb838]

Well, the Rector gave his sermon. It was long, he passed along a lot of information, and managed to dance around taking a stand on the issue. We had a sort of "town meeting" during the Sunday School hour... the fellowship hall was packed. I thought the consensus seemed to be that we all sympathize with the plight that gays face in society but that the national church and the Diocese of New Hampshire have lost their freaking minds. The Rector pointed out that we've already been in "impaired communion" since we started ordaining women. This is just more fuel on the fire. I truly hope we are excommunicated by the AC. That will make it more possible for the conservative dioceses to break off and keep our "stuff".

[AnAmericanMother]

Yeah, I've been fulminating on another thread about our new rector and his gang of idiots. Yesterday he held a "forum" between the services which was mostly him pushing his line that this is perfectly O.K. and that St. Paul didn't mean what he said. He's a screaming liberal which fits right in with this diocese (the new bishop, Alexander, voted yes and is a screaming liberal too.) The rector made fun of the conservative bishops and anybody who was so "neanderthal" as to take the view that St. Paul meant what he said.

I'm done with this parish. I'm taking my husband's advice though and waiting to see what Canterbury and the conservative bishops do.