There are two ways to see the legal marriage of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. One is as the start of something radical: an experiment that jeopardizes millennia of accumulated social patrimony. The other is as the end of something radical: an experiment in which gay people were told that they could have all the sex and love they could find, but they could not even think about marriage.
The age-old tomato/tomahto refrain comes to mind as GAFCON speakers assert that they are working toward a way to “sustain the highest level of communion and work well together,” not toward a schism. The reason they are dodging that, as some of the metaphors Archbishop Peter Jensen is using indicate implicitly, is that they are operating under the belief that the schism has already happened.
We all know plenty of people who followed a vocational path to a second “career.” The Wall Street Journal today profiles Linda Watt, Chief Operating Officer of the Episcopal Church and a former foreign service officer and amabassador to Panama, in its Second Acts Column. Noting that the two paths are not as disparate as they might seem, the article examines Watt’s background in-depth; Watt also shares her tips for vocationally-oriented career changers.
Earlier this week, Archbishop Rowan Williams addressed the Diocese of Hereford and got a standing ovation when he said the issues presently facing the church were serious ones, but would not split the Church of England.
Jonathan Marlowe points to the problem with corporate ambivalence within his denomination. “The Methodist Church has a clear statement in our social principles opposing capital punishment. I am glad that we take this prophetic stand,” he writes.”Should we apply our principle of nonjudgmentalism to this area and say simply: “United Methodists are not of one mind with respect to capital punishment,” and leave it at that? I would be deeply disappointed.”
This weekend, about 3,000 Native American Episcopalians and others are expected at the Niobrara Convocation as Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori leads the closing Eucharist. In an interview with the local paper, Jefferts Schori also makes a pithy observation about the matters dominating the headlines with regard to the Anglican Communion.
It is necessary to reclaim the “spirituality of sweet tea” in our world: the long talks, the hugs, the common meals and warm conversations. Yes, the world has changed, and the Church inevitably has to adapt to a fast-paced society. However, the essence of Christian community life cannot change. Some regard it as the strongest aspect as the early Christians’ most impressible aspect and wherever it still persists, the Church is strong and active.
When these unbelieving Emperors were issuing savage edicts against all Christians, Alban, as yet a pagan, gave shelter to a Christian priest fleeing from his pursuers. And when he observed this man’s unbroken activity of prayer and vigil, he was suddenly touched by the grace of God and began to follow the priest’s example of faith and devotion.