On her blog, Ruth Gledhill says “frankly, there seems little point in the Anglican Communion bothering to exist any more.” “To many Anglicans, embarrassed and ashamed by a Church that knows not which minority it stands up for or which tradition it is prepared or not to breach, the Catholic option must seem increasingly attractive.”The Catholic option is no option for me. Changing Attitude isn’t about to capitulate to Rome nor to abandon our work for the full inclusion of LGBT people. The further the Communion moves towards judging and marginalising the Epsicopal Church of the USA on the one hand, and being held captive by the wholly unChristian homophobic, cruel and abusive anti-gay prejudices of the reactionary conservatives on the other, the more resolute I become to work and pray and fight for a Christian community which knows what mercy, justice, truth and above all, love, really require of us.
It’s so blindingly obvious that the love of two women is worthy of celebrating and the threat to execute or imprison two women or men who love each other must be condemned. Yet my church – MY CHURCH – dares to condemn one and remain silent about the other.
The words on my mind and my heart are ‘evil’ and ‘corrupt’. How has become it possible in the Anglican Communion to judge TEC because a lesbian in a loving faithful relationship has been elected bishop and not totally condemn the Bill in Uganda that proposes death and imprisonment for LGBT Ugandans? Our Communion has arrived at a point where it has utterly ungodly, false priorities.
Elements of the mind of the Anglican Communion are driving it to become evil and corrupt.
The term 'gracious restraint' used by the Archbishop had become a euphemism for maintaining a status quo of evil prejudice and unjust discrimination.
The silence on Uganda, on homophobia, the false judgements about colonialism, honest relationships, the use of scapegoating mechanisms, the pagan nature of much that passes for Christianity, all are scandals in our Communion.
Ruth Gledhill write that “one blog commenter yesterday suggested that the Archbishop, instead of asking “serious questions” about the election of Mary Glasspool, might like instead to appoint her as his representative to go and lobby the Ugandan Government. What a thrilling spectacle that would be to behold.”
The task for a minority, a remnant in the Anglican Communion, is now to pray and work to maintain a worshipping presence and Christian witness to our vision of God who champions the poor and despised and loves all of us infinitely, without prejudice, until the Kingdom comes. Radical, inclusive, just, loving, truthful Anglicanism isn’t going to die, but it is facing the challenge of a lifetime.
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Nope, we´re not going anywhere but ONWARD! Honest, the Archbishop of Canterbury is disgraceful...you do realize that The Very Reverend Thompson was voted 11th Bishop of Louisiana on Saturday? Reverend Thompson is a wonderful, and heterosexual, inclusive religious man...amongst the candidates that LOST was a Bishop Smith of North Dakota who had recently been granted a audience with Rowan in London...Smith describes himself as a ¨orthodox¨ Christian but, as with his failed work in North Dakota, he is apparently not able to deliver the excluding ¨goods¨ so important to Lambeth. No word of Congratulations for Bishop-elect Thompson (elected many hours before Canon Glasspool) from the ABC...but, Dr. Williams was no doubt working ¨intensely¨ behind the scenes trying to SAVE Anglican LIVES from GENOCIDE in Uganda...he only took a few moments away from this life giving task to CONDEMN Canon Mary Glasspool with his twisted version of Anglican HELL!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I'm talking about those individuals and groups who fail to uphold core Christian teaching and values, who fail to love as God loves us, those who campaign against respect for gay people in the church, those who are prejudiced and homophobic and yet claim to be orthodox and mainstream in their beliefs, those who denigrate the Epicopal Church, those who collude with African Primates and bishops who are ignorant about homosexuality and the presence of lesbian and gay people in their own congregations.
ReplyDeleteI'm talking about conservative pressure groups and individuals in the Church of England.
I know you don't agree, Colin, but I always said that the only reasonable outcome would be an openly affirming alternative communion without conservatives and spineless hypocrites like Williams.
ReplyDeleteI hope America can provide that leadership for those who require it but honestly, life is a lot less complicated without having to justify my membership of a homophobic institution.