Bound by Common Prayer
Episcopalians Shaken by Division in Church - New York Times
Before I lived out west where the Episcopal Church doesn't have much of a presence in the remote areas, I attended an inner-city cathedral church with many different parishoners. And by different I mean gay. Gay people. Many were my friends, and even though I have not been home to Kansas City regularly, they are still my friends.
Now this. I am saddened. I know my home church will still welcome its gay members--even at the risk of being cut away from the Church of England, which means so much to so many who worship there. I must confess I am perplexed by this entire issue.
But what really rattled the pews was the "theological reflection" issued in London on Tuesday by the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury. He has written of his liberal views on homosexuality, but as primate of the Church of England, the "mother church" of the Anglican Communion, his primary task is finding a theologically justifiable route out of a seemingly irreconcilable conflict.
I have found a "theologically justifiable route" for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Didn't Jesus give only two commandments? I think he made it pretty clear: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus didn't say "love your neighbor, unless he/she is...(fill in the blank)." Anything else, or practice of anything less, is a sin. This is the hardest commandment to keep. I have legitimate reasons to hate all kinds of people, individuals and groups alike. But Jesus also said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." There you have it. Why the Archbishop can't see this, I'll never know; it's called the New Testament...look into it.
It seemed to me when I attended my church that everyone's manners were very good, and nobody was concerned with what our more flamboyant parishoners did in their spare time. It was an unspoken respect for each other's personal journey with the Lord. How I wish the church could go back to those days. Now it seems that the only thing holding the Episcopal Church together is the Book of Common Prayer, which may end soon if the Anglicans cut us off. I'm happy to know that I am not alone in my need for a quiet conclusion to this debate:
"What's really going on in the pews of Episcopal churches is they don't necessarily want to align with either side," Father Sachs said. "They want to get on with life. They want this thing resolved."
Amen to that.
Before I lived out west where the Episcopal Church doesn't have much of a presence in the remote areas, I attended an inner-city cathedral church with many different parishoners. And by different I mean gay. Gay people. Many were my friends, and even though I have not been home to Kansas City regularly, they are still my friends.
Now this. I am saddened. I know my home church will still welcome its gay members--even at the risk of being cut away from the Church of England, which means so much to so many who worship there. I must confess I am perplexed by this entire issue.
But what really rattled the pews was the "theological reflection" issued in London on Tuesday by the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury. He has written of his liberal views on homosexuality, but as primate of the Church of England, the "mother church" of the Anglican Communion, his primary task is finding a theologically justifiable route out of a seemingly irreconcilable conflict.
I have found a "theologically justifiable route" for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Didn't Jesus give only two commandments? I think he made it pretty clear: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus didn't say "love your neighbor, unless he/she is...(fill in the blank)." Anything else, or practice of anything less, is a sin. This is the hardest commandment to keep. I have legitimate reasons to hate all kinds of people, individuals and groups alike. But Jesus also said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." There you have it. Why the Archbishop can't see this, I'll never know; it's called the New Testament...look into it.
It seemed to me when I attended my church that everyone's manners were very good, and nobody was concerned with what our more flamboyant parishoners did in their spare time. It was an unspoken respect for each other's personal journey with the Lord. How I wish the church could go back to those days. Now it seems that the only thing holding the Episcopal Church together is the Book of Common Prayer, which may end soon if the Anglicans cut us off. I'm happy to know that I am not alone in my need for a quiet conclusion to this debate:
"What's really going on in the pews of Episcopal churches is they don't necessarily want to align with either side," Father Sachs said. "They want to get on with life. They want this thing resolved."
Amen to that.
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