Eclectic Amateur

One of the more pernicious effects of the election and consecration of V. Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire (and of the sexual morality “debate” in ECUSA and the Anglican Communion) is the way that any serious discussion of the moral and theological disaster overtaking ECUSA can be dismissed as “homophobia”.

Especially if it gets to the level of “what should we then do?” and of taking action. No, “listening” and “dialogue” (as those words are currently used) are not actions, but ways of avoiding taking action. More precisely, they are ways of having “conservatives” avoid taking action while “liberals” merrily continue doing more and more of what they wish.

From Jacksonville, Florida:

Episcopalian sects seek new bishop

Convinced their salvation is at stake, six of the most conservative Episcopal congregations in North Florida, plus one that is being formed, have asked Bishop John Howard to help find another bishop to lead them.

The move is meant as a way for the congregations to further distance themselves from their denomination. They believe the Episcopal Church USA is increasingly moving toward approving same-sex unions and ordaining active homosexuals.

In other news, it is reported that some conservatives believe that objects dropped from tall buildings start increasingly moving toward the ground.

Is there anybody out there, on any side of the current “dialogue,” who doesn’t believe that ECUSA has already moved and is running full speed toward approving same-sex unions? And ordination of active homosexuals is old news.

The Florida group is part of a growing number of churches and individuals across the nation seeking to use the new protocol set forth in the Windsor Report and by the primates, said the Rev. Bill Swatos, an Episcopal priest in Illinois and executive officer for the Association for the Sociology of Religion and the Religious Research Association.

A group of six congregations in Connecticut made a similar request of their bishop last spring, Swatos said.

“And I know of other situations where individual clergy and congregations … have asked for alternative oversight,” Swatos said. “In some cases they have received it, in others they have not.”

According to Lebhar and McCaslin, Howard has several options. He can grant the request, simply ignore it or even take punitive measures against the congregations involved.

I’ve yet to be clear on how taking punitive measures against such clergy and parishes counts as “tolerance,” “celebrating our differences,” or “remaining in dialogue,” but I guess I just don’t have enough theological education to be that “nuanced.”

Whatever happens, for these parishes and others nationwide the theological situation is getting worse, not better, making the need for them to leave ever more important.

Conservatives were appalled recently when the Episcopal Church issued a report suggesting Robinson’s election reveals that same-sex unions are a manifestation of God’s love.

“Might Christ the Lord, unfolding the mystery of his redeeming work, be opening our eyes to behold a dimension of his work that we had not understood?” the report said.

The document proves the denomination is moving further away from its biblical and Anglican roots, said the Rev. Sam Pascoe of Grace Church in Orange Park.

“They not only think they didn’t make a mistake, they feel like what they did was prophetic,” Pascoe said.

Even so, Lebhar said seeking alternative oversight gives the congregations little joy and was a tough decision to make.

“The major emotion is sadness that we have to even consider such a process as this,” Lebhar said.

Amen.

My source for this story points out that Grace Church, Orange Park is historically the 3rd-largest giving parish in this diocese, which means that whatever happens, espect the Diocese of North Florida to show up on ECUSA Dollars sometime soon.

Bear with me, readers (both of you!), this is going to be a work in progress …

“Why I can’t be Episcopalian” — posted by Fr. Al Kimel as written by an anonymous Episcopalian. An excellent summary of what (a) many of us thought the ECUSA was, and (b) what it appears to in fact be today.

More later, hopefully, as I organize…

In the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, the Gospel reading for the Daily Office, Year One, Proper 3 on Friday is listed as Luke 16:10-17(18). So, Luke 16:18 is not part of the actual reading but a “suggested lengthening.”

In the Sunday lectionary, Luke 16 is split in Year C between Proper 20 (Luke 16:1-13) and Proper 21 (Luke 16:19-31), which entirely omits Luke 16:18 from ever being read on the Sunday public readings.

So, what saying of our Lord do Episcopalians never speak aloud in our common worship, and is relegated to optional obscurity for those few who read the Daily Office?

Only this:

“Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”

— Luke 16:18, RSV(CE)

Now, why would we omit that teaching?

In comparision, the 1928 BCP does have the reading (Friday of the 15th week after Trinity Sunday) as Luke 16:1-18. So, it was a deliberate decision by the editors of the 1979 BCP to relegate this teaching of the Lord to the dustbin.

God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
God have mercy.

The Daily Office Lectionary covers almost all of the Bible in a two-year reading cycle. The instructions do say that “Any Reading may be lengthened, at discretion. Suggested lengthenings are shown in parentheses.”

The following does not even rate a “suggested” (which is often read as “to-be-dropped-like-a-hot-potato”):

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; also that women should adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparal, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire but by good deeds, as befits women who profess religion. Let a woman learn in silence with all sumissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived, and became a transgressor. Yet woman will be saved through bearing children, if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

1 Timothy 2:9-15 (RSV, CE)

The Sunday Lectionary makes the same shortening of the reading when 1 Timothy is read in Year C.

I wonder why?

SAM alerted me to Ithillien, which is chock-full of good stuff.

And shockingly close to home. I am also an Episcopalian, a convert from “holiness” Wesleyanism, and teetering on that same edge of “Rome or no?” that he describes.

(Ah, but was Edwin also a Mennonite prior to being a holiness Wesleyan? Then I would have to be truly frightened at the synchronicity.)

From “A Safe Church?” by the Pontificator:

We Episcopalians find ourselves in the midst of a theological and ecclesiological crisis. This crisis rightly forces us–or at least should rightly force us–to ask the question of Newman: What is the Church? Are we in the Church? Where is the true Church of Jesus Christ to be found? This is not a matter of idle curiosity. If the Church Fathers are correct, it is a matter of our eternal salvation. We have a solemn duty before God to seek the truth of his Church. We should not bank on our invincible ignorance before the Divine Judge.

Dale Price finds a passage from de Lubac which wonderfully explains a great modern paradox:

If heretics no longer horrify us today, as they once did our forefathers, is it certain that it is because there is more charity in our hearts? Or would it not too often be, perhaps, without our daring to say so, because of the bone of contention, that is to say, the very substance of our faith, no longer interests us?

Men of too familiar and too passive a faith, perhaps for us dogmas are no longer the Mystery on which we live, the Mystery which is to be accomplished in us. Consequently, then, heresy no longer shockjavascript:void(0)
Save as Drafts us; at least, it no longer convulses us like something trying to tear the soul of our souls away from us….And that is why we have no trouble in being kind to heretics, and no repugnance in rubbing shoulders with them.

In reality, bias against ‘heretics’ is felt today just as it used to be. Many give way to it as much as their forefathers used to do. Only, they have turned it against their political adversaries. Those are the only ones who horrify them. Those are the only ones with whom they refuse to mix. Sectarianism has only changed its object and taken other forms, because the vital interest has shifted. Should we dare to say that this shifting is progress?

It is not always charity, alas, which has grown greater, or which has become more enlightened: it is often faith, the taste for the things of eternity, which has grown less. Injustice and violence are still reigning; but they are now in the service of degraded passions.

–Henri de Lubac, S.J.
Further Paradoxes, pp. 118-119, Newman Press, 1958. (Ellipsis in original)

I have puzzled for a bit over the paradox of the Episcopalian (and more generally “liberal”) approach to “tolerance”, “acceptance”, “inclusiveness”, and other buzzwords for some time now.

Deny the Resurrection and Virgin Birth of Our Lord? No problem, have fun with your bishoprick! Good luck on those book deals! Clearly, no horror of heresy here, right? (Apparantly, the ECUSA has “no core doctrine” regarding the actual meaning of the words in the Nicene Creed which it recites every Sunday.)

Ah, but deny the real religion (sex good! George Bush bad!, or perhaps dialogue good! turf-crossing bad!), and the long knives come out.

There was a time, a long time ago, when it seemed logical to me that a church which tolerates Jack Spong ought to have room for me. de Lubac explains well why this is not necessarily so. I did not know then about Newhaus’ Law (“Where orthodoxy is optional, orthodoxy will sooner or later be proscribed.”).

God have mercy upon us.

Chris Johnson alerted me to this bit of nonsense about to happen in my own backyard:

Hosted by the Faith Action Network, a project of the Michigan office of The American Friends Service Committee Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Issues Program, Together in Faith will bring together LGBT and Ally people of all ages, races, religions and spiritualities from around the country for skill-enhancing workshops led by nationally renowned activists and community-building activities with like-minded progressive People of Faith/Spirit/Conscience. Attendees will leave with new information, tools and networks to help them create LGBT-affirming cities and faith communities.

Together in Faith will begin with a multifaith service and reception on the evening of Friday, May 21, 2004. Presentations and workshops will begin Saturday morning and the conference will conclude Saturday night. All events will take place at or near Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Here are some of the workshops offered:

For your inner neo-pagan:

Speaker: Macha Nightmare

“Sex & Spells: Gender and Political Activism in the Witchen Community”

We will sit in circle for focused discussion about gender, power, and the many ways that people change culture. We will address our values and the ethics of spellwork, after which we will plan, create and empower our own collaborative spell for change in harmony with our values and in accordance with our wills.

For those of you who didn’t get enough of the “Christianity is inherently anti-Semitic” meme during the run-up to The Passion of the Christ, you can get some more with a Queer Power/Jews Rule! twist:

Speaker: Debra Kolodny

“Challenging Christian Hegemony in Interfaith Organizing”

Interfaith activists usually share the powerful, transformative and holy call to ensure that justice and respect flow to all people, regardless of race, color, sexual orientation, national origin, economic class or other identity variable. What obligation do those on this journey have to understand and stand in solidarity with those whom Christianity has negated or diminished? Come explore how Christian scripture, theology and practice can and does diminish if not dismiss the holiness of Judaism. Discover how failure to address this can create an insidious, often subtle, and frequently unconscious anti-Jewish climate, even in the most progressive of circles. Finally, work together to unlearn this harmful dynamic and stand as an ally and appreciator of Jews and Judaism.

And, of particular interest to Michigan Episcopalians, here’s this little gem:

Speaker: Jim Toy

“Advocating vs. Trans/Bi/Homophobic Harassment, Discrimination, and Assault”

A discussion of the characteristics of initiative politics and issues of ethics and morality.
Jim teaches us how to spot an Anti-LGBT argument and fallacy. He discusses helpful pro-LGBT tactics. Learn to teach others how to tolerate, support and advocate for LGBT concerns.

So who is Jim Toy? I hadn’t heard of him before, but his bio according to “Together in Faith” shows that he’s kept busy:

Jim Toy, MSW, Interpersonal Practice, University of Michigan, 1981. First homosexual person publicly out in Michigan (1970). Co-founder of first staff office for queer concerns in a U.S. institution of higher learning (University of Michigan, 1971). Co-author, City of Ann Arbor nondiscrimination ordinances on sexual oriention (1972) and gender identity (1999) Advocate for queer concerns, Episcopal Diocese of Michigan (1970 – present) [emphasis mine] Co-Founder, various HIV/AIDS agencies and groups (1983 – present) Founding Member, ASFC LGBT Issues Program “Towards Understanding” Committee. Founding Member, AFSC Faith Action Network.

Now, I suppose that could just mean that Mr. Toy is a crank who’s been harrassing Michigan bishops for 34 years — “Advocate for Queer Concerns” doesn’t really sound like the title of a diocisan position (yet). Let’s see what else is out there about Jim Toy…

Oh look. An old version of the American Friend’s Service Comittee page lists Jim Toy as the contact for “Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns, Diocese of Michigan.” Maybe that job title isn’t too far off.

[Sidebar: I tried looking up that committee’s membership, just to verify whether Mr. Toy is still on it. No luck there — but I did find Church and Society Committee: A Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. This would be the committee which boasts of funding both Planned Parenthood and the Triangle Foundation. More of your offering dollars at work.]

Not to mention, Mr. Toy’s name appears as a member of the editorial board of The Record (the diocisan newsletter) as recently as last year. I assume his term expired then, since he’s not listed as a current board member. I am thinking this may explain some things about the editorial tone of the paper regarding all things “human sexuality”-related.

Jim Toy even managed to get himself quoted in the Detroit New’s coverage of the controversy prior to GC2003:

“It sends a message to the entire Christian community that God is a God of everyone. If God is all accepting, can we be less?” asked Jim Toy, a member of St. Matthew and St. Joseph Episcopal Church in Detroit.

Either there are two Jim Toy’s in the diocese, or the Detroit News’ religion page writer simply fails to note that her random parishioner quoted “just happens” to be a longtime gay activist with a committee position and and editorial board position within the diocese. I’m so glad we can leave this kind of journalistic integrity to the professionals.

Greg Griffith claims to have verified that diocesan funds are being directed toward this conference. I suppose that leaves it ambiguous at best whether Jim Toy’s workshop there is supposed to simply represent himself or if he is there as a reprentative of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan.

Remember, Michigan Episcopalians: these are your offering dollars at work. And remember that Bishop Gibbs has asked Episcopalians lay aside the “issues over which we disagree” and to “further our commitment to improving our relationships with one another.” Just keep those checks coming, folks, and don’t question the program. That wouldn’t be good “dialogue”, you know.

Over at Chris Johnson’s, somebody asked if I’d be reposting my “White Boys” riff in response to Bp. William Swing’s slander on the NACDC.

So here is the link to the original “Who you callin’ ‘white boy’?” riff.

Based on Bishop Swing’s little tirade, it looks like I have at least one mugshot to add:

Not A White Boy

Bishop Wiliam Swing of California

I can only assume that Bishop Swing is campaigning to be known as the second black Episcopalian bishop of California …