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The Episcopal
church seems to make the headlines via parishes leaving because they
don't approve of gay bishops, gay priests, blessing of same-sex
couples, etc. (They really don't approve of women priests either –
certainly not women bishops!) It's happening here in Connecticut -
and the court battles are a long way from over, The legal fees are
high and climbing but that doesn't seem to bother most of the
breakaway parishes.
An important fact
to remember is that in the US a large majority of the Episcopal
bishops, priests and congregations do not support the conservative
agenda. (Unfortunately this is not the case in much of the rest of
the world.) Even more important is the fact that in most matters the
individual parish is quite independent and sets its own agenda. Here
at St. Paul's our basic view was settled a long time ago when an
openly gay priest was installed. Those offended by the GLBT
community left - and controversy left with them! We have gay,
lesbian and transgender parishioners and a lesbian priest. However,
we are not a “gay” church – we are a diverse church. You will
find poor and rich (actually more like middle class comfortable),
different occupations, different backgrounds (including different
religious backgrounds), some racial diversity, and the full range of
sexuality and gender identity. All this in a small, friendly church
where everyone is family (of course this includes a few slightly
strange relatives)!
Large
organizations, such as the Episcopal church, like to be safe and not
make the membership too uncomfortable (remember the civil right era
when the mainstream churches mostly had to be dragged into the
struggle?). As we can see, the right wing does not compromise. It
also does not allow for the possibility of any scriptural
interpretation besides their own. As a result, those of us on the
opposite side are expected to make all the compromises in order to
keep the organization together. Under many circumstances compromise
can be a very reasonable thing. However, no compromise can be
justified when issues of justice are at stake! Although our main
concern is what happens here in Willimantic and its surroundings, we
do add our voice to this ongoing battle when possible. To
illustrate, the following is a resolution passed by the vestry
(Episcopal-speak for the council or board) in October 2006:
I. Resolved:
that the Vestry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Willimantic, CT,
urges the Rt. Rev. Andrew Smith, Bishop of Connecticut, to lift
immediately his inhibition regarding the blessing by clergy of
same-sex unions and their officiating at civil unions.
II. Resolved: that
the Vestry of St. Episcopal Church, Willimantic, CT, affirms our
shared mission of Christian inclusiveness by endorsing the following
paragraphs from a resolution recently adopted by the parishes of St.
Francis Church, Stamford, and St. Paul's on the Green, Norwalk:
"We are committed
to full inclusion of everyone, no matter who they are or where they
may be on their faith journey, and we oppose any attempt to
discriminate against any person based upon race, gender, age, sexual
orientation, physical ability, or socio-economic status.
We will continue
to invite those who are not yet here to experience God's radical
welcome as an Episcopal church doing church differently and
functioning as the kind of Episcopal church we believe God expects us
to be. We are firm in our understanding that in God's economy there
are no outcasts. And we welcome dialog with those who disagree with
our perspective."
The
diocese has lifted its ban on the blessing of same-sex unions, though
at this writing formal details have not been worked out. If you
desire this blessing, or would like more details, please contact Rev.
Pat. to GLBT comment |
