Okay, folks...time for some perspective

Amongst all the goings on this the current General Convention, which has become nothing more than a bunch of West Coast theological liberals patting the backs of other East Coast theological liberals, I give you something to think about. It is just after 9AM central time, and I have already had four pastoral conversations by e-mail or phone by 4 different people I know around the country concerning the fact that they are officially leaving the Episcopal Church because of the passing of resolutions involving the blessing of same sex unions and opening the priesthood to transsexuals.
UPDATE: During the very process of writing this blog entry, I was interrupted by a phone call from a fifth person. After a conversation, I think I talked this person out of leaving, at least for now.

Thank you, General Convention, for just making my life as a priest so much more difficult.

Comments

Undergroundpewster said…
I imagine those conversations are different depending on whether or not there are children. Mine are grown, but if I were starting all over again, I probably would look elsewhere for their sakes.
7/11/2012 9:25 AM
Tregonsee said…
I would think you should be asking yourself why there is any reason to stay.
7/11/2012 10:55 AM
The Archer of the Forest said…
That is certainly a concern I am hearing, particularly if children are involved. The buzz I am hearing from General Convention is that all this is to attract young people and so the Episcopal church can be the "church of the 21st century." Every single person I have talked to is under 40. In fact, I am now up to 8 people who have called or e-mailed me to vent about their concerns.

Pastoral sensitivity is the other concern. One of the people I talked to since I wrote this post called me in tears. They had even went to their own priest first to have a pastoral conversation and direction and apparently the priest said, "If you don't like it, the big red doors also lead out..."

That story really made me angry. In fact, I was so angry, I went out and push mowed the entire parish lawn. That kind of snotty "I know so much more theology and stuff than you" attitude is the other reason people are leaving, particularly when people with said convictions can't make a good theological argument based on Scripture to save their lives.

I don't know what kind of red Koolaid they are passing out in Indy, but it must be some good stuff if people are coming home and thinking that pastoral responses like that are manifesting Christ's love.
7/11/2012 11:57 AM
Anonymous said…
That story is snotty and awful.

But since yesterday, I've had two friends (and their partners) consider coming back to the Epsicopal Church, who have left because we had made it clear their families were not welcome. There are real faces and people living with pain no matter what we do.
7/11/2012 1:13 PM
The Archer of the Forest said…
Well, we've been promised for almost 10 years now that these changes are going to open the flood gates of membership to the Episcopal church and our membership and average Sunday attendance has lost almost 25% during that time.

I know literally over 65 people who have left the Episcopal church since the whole Gene Robinson debacle. Those are just the people I know personally. This may be seen as a good thing in liberal areas like New England and California, but from those of us from places like the South and the Midwest/Upper Plains, these moves have been a complete disaster. The Episcopal Church's own internal numbers tell the story, but no one is listening.

Not to be crass, but I really feel like there is wisdom in the old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."
7/11/2012 1:32 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on the 'Connecticut 6'

For some weeks, I have had several friends (mostly non-Episcopalians surprisingly) wanting me to voice an opinion on this Connecticut 6 (sounds like a fleabag motel) business. If you are unfamiliar with this fiasco, for lack of a better term, let me describe it as best as I understand it. There is so much spin going on (from both sides I might add) that I have been having trouble discerning fact from fiction. As I understand the situation, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Smith is the Bishop of Connecticut. Well, at least he has a pointy hat, I do not think he is particularly acting like one. Likewise, as I understand, there are Six rectors of churches (at least they have collars, but likewise are not acting like it) that have applied for DEPO oversight (i.e. another Bishop to oversee them.) The best way I know how to describe the hoohah is as follows: The Feloniously Rev. Smith is trying to defrock the Superciliously Reverend Rectors. Darth Smith claims they have abandoned communion and has shadil...
Read more

My board gaming journey, pt. I

Image
     Something a bit different today than my normal reflections. I thought I would delve a little bit more into a topic that is not necessarily theological in nature. I am a real person, and not some ethereal doctor in an ivory tower who gets to smoke a pipe and contemplate the infinite mysteries all day. So, today, I thought I would delve into one of my personal hobbies: board gaming.      Now, do not tune me out because you hear "board gaming" and immediately default in your brain to your brother overturning a table with Monopoly money flying everywhere because the game has gone on for hours and overturning the table was the only option left other than murder. Most people, including myself at one time, thought of board games as those boring or frustrating games that seem stuck in 1952. You know the usual suspects: Clue!, Monopoly, Scrabble, Chess, maybe even more saccharine games like Life or Candy Land, i.e. those games that everyone owned at some p...
Read more

The History of the Football helmet

Image
NCAA.com put out an interesting editorial about the evolution of the football helmet that can be found here . This is in part due in my estimation to the current buzz (one might go so far as to describe it as hysteria) about concussions in contact sports, particularly football. I have always found this an interesting evolution. Long gone are the days of strapping on your leather helmet: In the 50's and 60's, the helmet evolved into, basically becoming a metal then hard plastic version of the leather helmet with the addition of a rudimentary face mask (which was really just a bar at first): Gradually, the helmet's face mask itself began to evolve: Combines with new space age style lightweight plastics and foams, the helmet mask ultimately became a type of full, goalie style face mask (This little number costs just under $1000 to purchase new): Ironically, being a military history major, the football helmet evolution followed the pattern of design that helmets worn...
Read more