Seeking and serving Christ in all people and respecting the dignity of every human being is at the heart of our baptismal covenant in the Episcopal Church. Although we are a people of Incarnation, sometimes we live excarnately; given the anonymity of the internet and the collapse of contexts on social media, respecting the dignity of every human being in ministry can be more challenging online.
How Episcopalians responded (and continue to respond) online in the wake of a tragedy like the death of cyclist Tom Palermo who was struck by Bishop Heather Cook has, in many ways, exposed a church falling well short of our promises to love in the Way of Jesus. On the heels of a failure of leadership at the General Theological Seminary including the Dean, Faculty, and members of the Board of Trustees enabled by the misuse of social media, it is clear we continue to struggle to live faithfully online.
Tom Ferguson, also known as the Crusty Old Dean, shared his thoughts on social media and the Maryland tragedy here.
Elizabeth Kaeton shares her thoughts on our baptismal promises and how some are responding to the death of Tom Palermo and Bishop Heather Cook here.
Related to these perspectives surrounding the Palermo and Cook tragedy is Keith Voets’ latest blog entry at The Young Curmudgeonly Priest. His piece focuses on how the church, given recent online evidence, misunderstands and does damage to those who suffer from addiction.
posted by Weston Matthews