My daughter asked me to post the following, both in response to some of the criticisms that have been levelled against me on the internet and to the criticisms that have been more recently advanced against me in my parish. As I love my daughter dearly, who am I to deny her request.
My father is not an easy man. He’s not easy to live with, and he’s not easy to deal with. He’s not an extrovert. He’s not wonderfully charismatic. He can’t make you like him within five minutes.
I’m a huge musical fan, and I equate my father with the representation of John Adams in the musical 1776. I hope that this representation is at least somewhat true to Adams’ real character. In the musical, John Adams is known to be “obnoxious and disliked.” Why? Because he commits and he demands the commitment of those around him. Because he refuses to let people compromise on what he knows to be right. There is no compromise on independence. He is horribly difficult. But he is also good.
What my father is, is a good man. He is the single most intelligent person I know, and, considering the company he keeps, that’s quite a statement. He has never wanted anything more than to spread the word of God to those around him. But I’ll tell you a secret: my father doesn’t know how smart he is. He doesn’t fully realize the lives he has touched and changed. He doesn’t realize the friends he has.
This is because of many reasons, but one of the main ones is the depression he has been suffering from for most of his life. It is a chronic condition, but I can tell you that it is the most visible, and so I must conclude the most difficult, when he is troubled by his work. This is probably not obvious to many people, especially outside our family; only a lifetime of seeing it has made me keenly aware of it. I hate seeing it, but I hate it even more when I see it and know that someone has caused it.
Let me say something to anyone who dares to question my father’s motives and actions in his departure from the Episcopal Church: this has been killing him. He has been fighting this fight for twenty-five years of preaching, and he has reached his limit. He is fifty-three years old. His last child is starting college. He is tired. He has given the fight all that he has to give, and no one can ask any more of him.
I know many have asked why my father waited this long. I know others have called him a coward for doing so. I’ll tell you why he did this: because he loves his daughter. Because he had already moved me twice in my lifetime. So when the discussion of leaving first came up, he said, “I promise I won’t leave until you graduate high school.” My father does not have the luxury to only think about religion. Nor does he have the luxury of a period of unemployment; priests are not well-paid. He has sacrificed his ideals and his happiness to keep me happy. If anyone has the audacity to criticize him for being a good father, you don’t deserve to speak to him.
This entire ordeal has been a battle my father can’t seem to win. Many people feel betrayed at his leaving. I can only ask why someone would want a priest who can no longer believe in the church he is serving. I wouldn’t.
My father is not in the habit of answering petty criticisms, but I’m still young and stupid enough to. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for my father to shrug off criticisms. I am not in a regular habit of reading my father’s blog; I am not as religious as others in my family and am probably the least well-read in matters of theology. I tend to read posts that he notes as having caused a stir. This, of course, is pretty stupid, because that only succeeds in making me horribly angry at some of the things people say. I don’t have a particularly short temper, but it has been snapped many times in reading the comments on my father’s blog. My father has enough poison from his parish.
So I ask you, most politely, to hold your tongues if you want to criticize things that, quite honestly, most of you know very little about. The last time I checked, Christianity was about loving your neighbor. I am grateful for the overwhelming support so many of you have offered my father in this time of his greatest need. This has been very difficult for him. For those of you who have chosen this time to spit on someone when they need your Christian support, shame on you. I cannot even describe how angry that makes me. And trust me, I am more than a match for any hateful comments you can address towards my father.
I have been blessed with the greatest father God could give me. His only crime in this has been loving his daughter and taking care of his family.
Well, I meant to go to bed about forty-five minutes ago, but I couldn’t rest without doing this. God bless.
Pontificator’s Greatest Progeny
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Hmm..I think my daughter feels the same way about me, in many regards, negative and positive. For myself, I'm sorry that Fr. Kimel had to go to the Orthodox when there's a very orthodox Anglican communion already here. Oh, well, God speed, Fr. Al and family. It would have been most pleasant to have been in communion with you. Perhaps someday...
In Christ,
Deacon Paul+
APCK
That this Priest is a member of the diocese of Pittsbugh is troubling, because it is the home of Bishop Duncan. I fear that he will sellout the orthodox anglican who loves the liturgy and dislikes the jargon of new age leaders. Bishop Duncan is not a conservative, in my opinion, because he names women to the priesthood every year. Deacon yes, but priest no.
We are nearing the time of odd choices. The Catholic church could gain millions of members, if Pope Benedict was to make a firm statement and a series of actions ending the rule of the Gay Seminary and priests in America.