To the Traditional Anglican Ping List (and FRiends)

self | 2/20/2007 | sionnsar

[sionnsar]

Folks, I am passing on the baton of the Traditional Anglican Ping List. It's not been an easy decision, but it's necessary. Still, I feel like I owe you an explanation though it's a bit long and involves the journey of how I came to become the list's pinger.

A quarter-century ago, a cradle Episcopalian not long out of college and recently married, I was active in my Episcopal church as Lay Reader, Chalice Bearer, Verger, Vestryman and finally… Delegate to Convention! I remember heading off to my first diocesan convention happy, excited and honored to be representing my parish.

I was completely unprepared for the ugly reality I encountered there. I was shocked at the blatant attempts to use the church to advance various liberal secular issues such as unilateral disarmament – and some of it by people I'd known for years! During one of the many nasty yelling matches, I suddenly had an image of Satan standing in that hall, laughing. My wife says that when I arrived home, shattered, she knew it was only a matter of time until we left ECUSA.

That time came a couple of years later when we moved to an area where the Episcopal churches were all weird, wrong or stone cold dead. By accident we visited a Continuing Anglican church – but we stayed, and joined. It wasn't easy, and not least was the knowledge that we'd left ECUSA and the Anglican Communion, but we were in a solid, welcoming church. Rediscovering the 1928 liturgy was an extra bonus.

After while we quit looking back to ECUSA, we said nothing more about her, we paid no more attention to her. We did hear things from time to time, such as the election of a woman to bishop, apparently only qualified by her race and gender, but these things didn't affect us so we ignored or soon forgot them.

That's pretty much how things remained until sometime in 2002 or 2003 I wandered into the Religion Forum and learned that ahadams2 (Arlin Adams) was running an Anglican ping list. I signed up – and in horror I began to learn what had been transpiring since we left in 1983.

Because I knew HTML, Arlin was soon asking me to touch up postings with difficult formatting. Soon after that he suggested a web page listing Anglican FReepers' churches; that grew into The Traditional Anglican Directory and Resource Page. All this was part of his mission, he said: to show departing Episcopalians where the exits were, and I was happy to help.

Then on September 3rd, 2004, Arlin passed away.

And the news stopped.

Later, Arlin's wife Sharon sent me a copy of his Anglican ping list, I began to identify Anglican news and blog sites, and soon the Traditional Anglican Ping List was up again. This quickly became a lot of work as I was making the rounds of 30 to 50 sites daily (my complete list is now well upwards of 100). Then the postings were cut back to 9 per day so listmembers wouldn't be swamped.

About that time I also realized that retaining a history of postings could be of interest in the future, if only to me, and so the postings archive was born.

Longterm listmembers will remember how matters were declining across the Anglican Communion during this time. Now in matters Anglican one expects things to move glacially slow, which they did. But the constancy of this slow decline began to worry me.

Recently my wife commented on the effects of all this deep immersion in negativity. Over the past weekend it became clearly apparent to me that I do indeed need to "put down the browser and back away." And so I shall.

My decision was affirmed yesterday by the Primates' Communiqué. Although it appears that neither side is happy, TEC and other offenders will not only not be disciplined, they remain in full status in the Anglican Communion. What is worse, I see this document installing control without rectifying the current situation; there is in it no refining of the Communion as it exists -- it seems they are forging a tool that will cause the Communion great harm when the wrong hands gain control of this One Ring binding the Communion. It is still in the realm of possibility for the orthodox to win this war, and it is most assuredly a war, but any victory has been forestalled by many years, possibly decades. For my part, I do not anticipate ever being able to rejoin the Anglican Communion.

I believe Arlin's original mission is probably nearly complete if not already accomplished. If nothing else, I doubt there are any Episcopalians left unaware of the issues in their church, and of the options before them. This helped in my decision.

Nevertheless, Huber did volunteer to take on the list (after I wheedled and cajoled and browbeat and threatened him into it -- and there is little truth in this), so that listmembers can remain informed. I put way too much time and effort into this list and trust he will manage his time better than I, with fewer postings -- and I expect the postings archive (which I think nobody but I ever used) will come to an end.

When I took on the list I had a steep learning curve. I had only a cradle layman's understanding of Anglicanism, and very little knowledge at all of the Anglican polity. My searches for material to post taught me a lot, though it is an erratic knowledge full of gaps. I know Huber is feeling the same trepidation I did when I started (though he is better educated), and I have offered my support.

It's been an interesting time, particularly when I think on the postings that I just can never forget, from the pain in “Episcopal Church, I Weep for Thee” to the lightheartedness of Chant Psalms While You Work!, the simple awfulness of The Winner of the Nasty Chasuble Contest!, the determination of Little Stone Bridges & Why We Fight for Them, the horror of "It Was Horrible, Horrible!" (First-hand account of an abortion clinic -- very graphic!), and the warning in Fly, you fools! [flee ECUSA!] by the Rev. Al Kimel, who soon took his own advice and left. Huber will have an equally interesting time, I hope.

For my part, I will spend my Lent off the ping list, away from the Religion forum, eyes averted and out of earshot of the ongoing War for the Worldwide Anglican Communion. As a FRiend here noted I have my peaceful little "garden church" in which to spend my Lent: to rest, repent, recuperate and recharge, and to look forward to celebrating Easter, here in my quiet little corner of Continuing Anglicanism.

You're welcome to stop by anytime, in person or online:
  http://st-bartholomews.org
  http://anglicanparishpriest.blogspot.com
  http://continuinghome.blogspot.com

sionnsar

[kaehurowing]

Thank you for everything you have done.

[hellinahandcart]

Thanks for all your work; it has been a huge comfort to me.

God bless you and the Mrs.

[hellinahandcart]

"put down the browser and back away."

Boy, can I relate. I had to take a large time-out after the election, and still feel a strong urge to chuck it all every time I see another Rudy Is Our Only Hope thread.

Go to your "happy place" for a while.

My "happy place" was a local ceramics studio. Nobody talks politics there. I've thrown hundreds of pots since November. :D

[AZhardliner]

Thanks for what you did and for keeping the concerned brethren in other communions informed.
Grace and Peace,
TT

[Gman]

Thank you, God bless you.

[secret garden]

Thank you. Your time and efforts are greatly appreciated.

[impatient]

sionnsar,

I'm sorry to hear you're retiring from this singular calling. You have performed an invaluable service to everyone on this list and I've often wondered if you knew how informative your threads were. On occasion, I may spend hours surfing a link you posted, then return to the thread to see no replies thanking you for the post, then I close my browser and am likewise negligent.

So, once and for all: thank you, never lose heart, and may the Lord bless you and keep you.

[q_an_a]

Thank you for your good work and that you found someone to take your place. I am grateful for people such as yourself. Remember even as you consider the negative aspects that happened in your work that - Volunteers are the Heros of our time.