Posted on 06/23/2005 7:09:02 PM PDT by sionnsar
As I begin to trade the role of a parish priest for the role of a professor the little moments of parish life seem very precious to me. This week after one of the services I had a long talk with a long time parishioner whose wife recently died and with another long time member who was going in to have a heart valve replacement. Now these are very conventional and pious people and would oppose the same sex revolution and the revisionist theology if they were asked. They do complain to me quietly when no one is looking. These are the sort of back pew folk that are routinely ignored in our church and their problem is that they are too busy living life and saying their prayers to take up any church controversy. They simply haven’t the spare emotional energy. They need all the energy they have to say their prayers, get to the service and get through another week of walking on water.
I have this ongoing argument with my wife. I say “but the lay people voted for it.” She says “No they didn’t. The church rats voted for it. Lay people have children and jobs and sick family and big worries. Real lay people come to church to say their prayers and seek the face of God. They don’t have time to go to conventions and mind other people’s business. Government by church rats, that what you have in the Episcopal Church.” I have come to think she is at least 50% right. The point being that a motivated minority can always steal the show from a distracted majority.
There are a lot of divides in every parish. One divide in the church today is the divide between those who are fluent in the managerial culture and those who are not. In every parish there are the well educated and articulate, who kow how to set an agenda, how to use newsprint and how to run a meeting. Those of us who have this kind of fluency whether we think of ourselves as liberal or conservative can take over and take away the church from those who have learned from hard experience to keep their head down and their mouth shut especially if they need all their energy just to cling to God and get through another week. There is a hue and cry just now that “all voices be heard.” Indeed in the Christian community we should practice mutual submission and really hear all the voices and not routinely steam roll the “silenced majority.”
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Well then, it's high time the people spoke up!
"Church rats."
DemocRats.
Same rats.
The wife seems to have the bulk of the brains in that family.
Seems to me there is only One Voice that needs to be heard.
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