Posted on 08/02/2009 5:13:37 PM PDT by Zakeet
Episcopal Church leaders in Los Angeles today nominated an openly gay priest and an openly lesbian priest as bishops, becoming one of the first dioceses in the national church to test a controversial new policy that lifted a de facto ban on gays and lesbians in the ordained hierarchy.
The nominations of the Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco and the Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool of a Baltimore-based diocese are likely to further inflame theological conservatives in the U.S. church and their global partners in the Anglican Communion, who have repeatedly warned about the repercussions of such action.
The two are among six nominees who will face election for two assistant bishop posts at the diocese's annual December convention in Riverside.
The Diocese of Los Angeles, which represents 70,000 Episcopalians in six counties, is widely regarded as one of the most liberal in the U.S. church of 2.1 million members. Its bishop, the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, is an outspoken advocate of gays rights in the church.
[Snip]
U.S. church leaders had promised to exercise restraint before consecrating additional gay bishops in the aftermath of that contentious move. But they reversed course at their convention in Anaheim last month, voting overwhelmingly to open "any ordained ministry" to gays and lesbians. They also agreed to consider rites of blessing for same-sex couples.
[Snip]
The action in Los Angeles followed a similar decision Saturday by leaders in the Diocese of Minnesota, who nominated a partnered lesbian as bishop. The Rev. Bonnie Perry is rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Chicago and an adjunct professor at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill. Her longtime partner is a priest in the church.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
It looks like they’ve decided to turn their church over to the gay mafia.
Strange, I missed the new Revelation, where God said he wanted to change the Bible.
It’s the Very Gay Church of America..don’t cha know...
Putting aside the theological problem of having open and unrepentant sinners in charge, it seems like a pretty short sighted decision on the part of the Episcopalians.
I just can’t see the homosexuals providing the financial support that is needed to support all of the churches and other institutions of the denomination.
likely to further inflame theological conservatives.”
No, just the Christians.
“I just cant see the homosexuals providing the financial support that is needed to support all of the churches and other institutions of the denomination.”
In American church history, any number of denominations have split along liberal/conservative lines. The liberal faction usually dies out long before the initial schismatics are dead, and comes crawling back to the much stronger conservative faction.
I’m living thru the current Presbyterian (PC-USA) slow-motion schism over the same issue. Those who propose gay ordination (every year, even when they’ve never won a vote nation-wide) say that, “The PC-USA is declining, and we can’t afford to lose any members.” Fair enough, but I don’t see the Presbyterians losing members to the Episcopalians, or the UCC, etc. I definitely don’t see the Metropolitan Church growing. In other words, one more time when I end up using facts to debate liberals, and as Ann Coulter points out, it doesn’t seem to work with them.
They have free will. It will not be until judgment day that they will see the errors of their ways. Will I pray for them? Yes, I will.
Episcopal Church leaders in Los Angeles today nominated a kleptomaniac and a serial rapist as bishops, becoming one of the first dioceses in the national church to test a controversial new policy that lifted a de facto ban on the unrepentant in the ordained hierarchy.
“Strange, I missed the new Revelation, where God said he wanted to change the Bible.”
Don’t worry, the lefties have that covered too...(UCC in this case)with their “God is still speaking” initiative :
“According to the Ohio-based www.gaypeopleschronicle.com,[3] Ron Buford and the Stillspeaking Initiative “puts the UCC at the forefront of liberal theology, and the denomination itself, fighting for LGBT equality from pulpits across the nation.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_is_still_speaking
“...God is still speaking initiative...”
Well, there a are a few times in the Bible where God has second thoughts... the “No more floods” passage in Genesis, or the entire debate over whether children’s teeth are set on edge from grapes that their parents ate (for instance).
However, usually, it’s pretty safe to side with 4,000 years of traditional understanding of morality when a new idea on morality is presented against it.
I am guessing there are relatively few of those.
“I am guessing there are relatively few of those.”
No, there are many, especially if you believe that each person is supposed to be doing theological reflection.
What is lacking are theological conservatives in teaching and administrative positions within the denominations’ headquarters.
Church of the Holy Homo
So its the Episcopal church not the Anglican church going off the rails completely ? Or is there overlap ?
He also believes the Great Commission is null and void:
The Bishop of Los Angeles has issued an apology to Hindus for Christian attempts to convert them, and authorized a joint Hindu-Anglican service at St Johns Cathedral in Los Angelespermitting Hindu devotees to receive the consecrated elements. The Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno apologized for past incidents of Christian discrimination against Hindus and vowed not to proselytize non-Christians . . . continued hereChristianity is a big tent. Christians may hold many different theological and political positions. But at the center of the faith, there is, among other things, Matthew 28:16-20. Give that up, as leftists always preach Christians should, and the faith goes the way of the Shakers. Which is, I believe, exactly what Rev. Bruno wants. Even if one is charitable and assumes Bruno doesn't know where he is headed, it doesn't change the result. Christianity will never go away but its influence will be greatly diminished by what Bruno and others accept.
Yes, this move seems queer.
1. God, Who is Eternal Truth, will never contradict Himself.
2. God is still calling sinners to repentance.
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