From Louie's blog, AKA "Natter" site ... yet another example of why he's going to end up in Lesser Feasts and Fasts!
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General Convention did not diminish me by its approval of B033. My worth as a child of God is not within the purview of General Convention, and having received the love of God directly, I would be a foolish disciple indeed to allow others to ration that love.
Instead, B033 diminishes The Episcopal Church and severely compromises our witness to a needy world. It tells millions who hadn't believed us yet anyway, that our thousands of signs are dishonest, that we fully welcome you only if you are straight, that we will violate our very beliefs when we think it is expedient to do so.
Was it right to vote for B033 anyway? For example, would gays and lesbians in Nigeria and Uganda be in even worse fix without ++Katharine at the table?
Did not articulate lesbian and gay lay leaders urge us to tell the Holy Spirit to call no lesbian and gay clergy to the episcopate indefinitely?
Many moral choices do not have clear-cut answers, and with many we make a mess no matter what we choose.
Our job as Christians is to redeem our messes, not just those we intended to make.
Gays and lesbians are canaries in this coal mine called the church, and those of us already here will stay here regardless of how toxic the fumes become. We're not going anywhere. But what witness can we make to those outside the church that God loves them? That is both easy and very difficult: we can love them. "Feed my sheep!"
Forget for a while how you voted on B033. In what gays and lesbians can you seek and serve Christ who have never darkened the door of a church? How many gays and lesbians have you ever invited to your parish? Does your parish take out ads in the local gay newspapers? Does your parish offer its space for meetings of local gay and lesbian organizations? Does your parish visit gays and lesbians who are in the hospital or the prison or otherwise down and out? Have you asked gays and lesbians in your parish to help you organize such ministries?
Most people are not prepared to believe that God cares about them until they see us care about them.
Live into the challenge of B033. Make sure that your own manner of life is a challenge to the wider church. Faced with fiercesome double pluses, dare to be double minuses for Christ's sake!
Lutibelle of the Alabama Belles/LouieL1 Newark
3 comments:
Sounds Lutheran to me...
If you must sin, sin boldly!
And what with being in communion with the Lutherans that's working for me ...
While I agree with your view that B033 diminished TEC, I'm not persuaded that the diminishment was severe. I think instead, that it reflected our own reticence at being prophetic. All the prophets, it seems to me, were uncomfortable with the role God called them to, all struggled with the impact of their vision on the culture they were challenging. What a remarkable parallel we live, that TEC speaks prophetically about a condition barely raised to the consciousness of the AC and gets the same treatment as Stephen, who spoke about how the mainstream church had treated its prophets.
I'm not worried about the AC. God will support another implementation strategy of the working of His/Her will if the AC fails. But I pray for the soul of ++Rowan, who is accountable for the AC's relevance to the power of the Holy Spirit.
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