The problem is that the median tenure of a rector in the Episcopal Church is about five years. The search process takes 18 months for most places. That means that many congregations end up without settled clergy leadership for 1/3 of the time. Those delays suck the momentum away.
Intellectually honest opponents of full inclusion need to acknowledge the dismal rates of success of reparative therapy.
Thinking about the amanuensic process of how the Bible came to be, really opens up an interesting door in how we understand it. It means that from its very beginnings, this set of books that we come to regard as the heart, soul, and backbone of our faith, were forged in relationship with each other, even if these relationships carried a power differential.
Evangelical voters may be willing to support a presidential candidate with a checkered past, and this presidential election, they may have to choose between a candidate who can win and a candidate who mirrors their religious ideals
I believe in the story of Creation with all my heart.
Epiphanies are gifts from the Spirit. They can’t be exchanged like a bad Christmas tie but, in a sense, they can be re-gifted, passed on to someone else in the form of good works, looking and listening for subtle calls for a shoulder to cry on or even a chance to ask if someone has a need we can help fill.
by George Clifford Paul wrote in II Corinthians, “… we have this treasure in clay jars.” The context supports the common interpretation that clay jars
What God is up to in Jesus, is the same type of thing that God is always up to everywhere, in and through the Word, namely pouring out grace, giving life, establishing justice, showing mercy, establishing and reestablishing all things in a universal communion of love.
…we are reminded by word and ritual that God chose an indigent, young Galilean girl, … We pray for the immigrants facing deportation, for the women with back pain and diabetes, who need strength to rise each day and make two dozen beds. We pray for the children, for the church and its message of good news. We pray for the high school students fighting for a chance at a dream. We pray to live lives that are generous and just.
Many of us are sitting in churches we cannot afford to maintain and listening to full-time priests we struggle to pay. In order to provide the props and actors for the traditional services, we call on a precious few to fill the roster of lay ministries. I don’t see as many people leaving the church because of doctrinal differences as from sheer fatigue.