Posted on 05/09/2005 6:27:29 AM PDT by newheart
I am turning a cornerfull and total appreciation of being an Episcopalian. I have said numerous times, and I believe it to the core of my being, that all congregations need to have a ministry which clearly defines them and helps them stand out in a crowd. So it is for dioceses and denominations.
Perhaps New Hampshires election of one of our nominees for Bishop in Rochester has given us a gift, one that we cannot and will not forsake. That gift is the reminder that we have put our practice where our mouths are. We are living the words, ALL ARE WELCOME.
Perhaps we werent sure that we meant it, but now we are learning that there is a cost to these words which adorn our The Episcopal Church Welcomes You signs. The cost is stress, misunderstanding, fragmentation and threats of schism. I hope that does not come to fruition. I also hope that we continue to make room for those who continue to struggle with this aspect of our Episcopal Church. Thats okay. We are big enough and broad enough to hold all within our tent.
At the same time, however, I can no longer apologize for who we are, nor can I remain silent when discussions are being held. I have spoken with too many people who have told me what an oasis in the barren desert our church is. I have seen the tears in the eyes of people coming to be confirmed or received for whom this move is a return home. I have seen the smiles on faces when one is received into our communion of faith.
During Lent, I spent time thinking about the Samaritan woman at the well and her encounter with Jesus. She represents for me a person imprisoned by her culture, her gender, her history and her negative self-worth. I realized anew that Jesus gives a special attentiveness to those who are imprisoned. Why shouldnt we?
I am proud to be an Episcopalian. My prayer is that more and more of us will be able to share our joy in being part of a liberation community.
He's also, apparently, blind. The church is bleeding parishoners left and right, solely because a bunch of self-righteous, do-gooder liberals decided that they knew better than the word of God.
Not to mention sin..but why quibble over a minor point as that? It's so retrograde...intolerant.
OK. So, what about the "now go and sin no more" part?
That's QueerSpeech. Living things don't have gender.
Another ECUSABishop Bishpoop who is proud to say that Jesus died for nothing.
What a wonderful life when no one has to be penitent for anything. Unless, of course, you live by the word of God, then you are to be banned, defrocked, shunned, called evil for not tearing the offensive pages from your Bible that confront sinners.
But, just when I'm feeling charitable, I notice on the inside of the red doors,a huge 3'x5' poster, taped to the door..( shades of Martin Luther, anyone?) WE ARE A PROGRESSIVE CHURCH...THE CENTER FOR PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY..this is a really scary tendency....and shows you where much of ECUSA is heading today...
I used to just politely ignore these things, but now I think I would enjoy making a scene.
Not that I would have a chance. Unless I am absolutely sure a parish is orthodox, I never darken an ECUSA parish's doors. I don't want to be near when the fire and brimstone rains down.
I was going to make a mildly sarcastic comment..but when I saw the poster, I realised there is no hope. I just smiled, shook his hand, and left..
So "all are welcome" means that sin is not sin and we should not "go and sin no more," as Jesus told the adulterous woman to do? One hears this type of simplistic and dishonest rhetoric -- the need to be inclusive and welcoming is promoted, and it is implicit that this requires the negation of all moral teaching of Christianity. It is hogwash. Charity sometimes means telling people to avoid sinful behavior as it is for their own spiritual good. Do we tell murderers and thiefs that they are welcome and can keep going on committing sinful behavior?
RIGHT! That scripture is much more about our theosis/divinization (initmate unity with the Triune God) than bureaucratic "ecumenical" arrangements, especially "liberal" ones that compromise basic Christian doctrines. Ask any Orthodox priest. Moreover, even my ELCA pastor, who is "liberal" about many things (including the misbegotten "full communion" between the ELCA and both the revisionist Reformed churches and the ECUSA), agreed with that in his sermon yesterday!!!!
That scripture is of course not about accepting the "gay" agenda at all!!!! Doing so hinders our unity with other Christians, and our divinization!!!!
This Easter season, revisionist priests/pastors in the ECUSA and the ELCA have had to deal in the Gospel lessons with what for them are "hard sayings"--the scripture above and "no one comes to the Father but by me". For the Rest of Us, these are not "hard sayings" at all, but meditaitons on God's radical love for all humanity in the crucified and risen Son or God.
Full text is available at www.nationalcathedral.org
Interpreting Christ in a Pluralistic World
The Rev. Dr. George F. Regas
Rector Emeritus, All Saints Church, Pasadena, CA, guest preacher
In todays Gospel, John puts words on Jesus lips that have led Christians through the centuries to claim an exclusive way to salvation. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. . . . The first thing I want you to explore with me is this: I simply refuse to hold the doctrine that there is no access to God except through Jesus.
I personally reject the claim that Christianity has the truth and all other religions are in error. Unfortunately, this is the position of the new Pope, Benedict XVI, who says salvation is only possible through Jesus Christ.
The Religious Right has drowned out everyone else with their absolutist claims. . . . Now faith in Jesus has come to be known as pro-rich, pro-war, and pro-American.
And yet in the name of this loving Christ, some of the most vicious acts of exclusion are perpetrated. . .
. . . [exclusivity] is the source of the most deadly conflicts over the centuries down to this present hour. . . We have mounted deadly crusades against Muslims, and Christians have killed other Christians in the brutal wars of religionall in the name of bringing others to the correct understanding of how God is uniquely known in Jesus Christ.
All if you want to see what they are really all about, and up to..check out the Center for Progressive Christianity
Thanks right back. I looked up Rigas and his ilk upon my return from DC -- and sent lots of pertinent info to selected members of our choir. We were visiting the Cathedral where we had been invited to sing before the main 11:00 service. Apart from the music (self-congratulatory wink!) and the majesty of the setting, I could have done without the trip.
Finally! A fellow traveler! Gender is a characteristic we attribute to objects. We who speak English don't "gender" as many things as do others, such as the French and Spanish. "Sex" is what distinguishes us into men and women. I feel so much better now! No longer am I a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Bless you, Romulus!
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