Episcopal bishops in states that have legalized same-sex marriage are asking the Church’s General Convention to “permit the adaptation of the Pastoral Offices for The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage and The Blessing of a Civil Marriage for use with all couples who seek the church’s support and God’s blessing in their marriages.”
If the 50-year trend continues, projected membership of SBC churches would be 8.7 million in 2050, down from 16.2 million last year. Using U.S. Census projected population figures, SBC membership could fall from a peak of 6 percent of the American population in the late 1980s to 2 percent in 2050.
“Technological and cultural changes sweep our planet at an ever-increasing pace. Never before has it been easier to spread our message. Never before has it been more critical for our message to be shared. As a member of the Episcopal Church, this is your chance to shape how we carry out our mission.” — From the introduction to the survey
The deadline to complete the survey is July 28. Resolutions will be presented to General Convention that will address the work of a Strategic Planning Committee. A draft plan will be submitted to Executive Council by year’s end.
“We are to love the people of the world no matter what they believe; we are to not love the value system of the world. And the problem today is lot of Christians are getting that reversed. They love the value system and hate the people.” – Rick Warren
Lively engaged preachers must make mistakes sometimes. The theological risks we take in public become part of the church’s great conversation. Our faithful task is to tell the great story of God’s love for us in Jesus and include and bless as much of our people’s experience in it as we can.
As children of God we are part of God’s ultimate purposes wherever we are. It is a beautiful thing when we as individuals, like Joseph and Zechariah, catch a glimpse of ourselves in the divine picture, seeing our life experiences as part of God’s plan.