I keep hearing that “all the traditional Episcopalians have left [insert diocese or parish here].”
Or . . . “no traditional priest will ever be selected again in [insert diocese or parish here].”
And yet, constantly, week in and week out, my email box receives news that says otherwise. In this email, an internal medicine physician and an Episcopal layperson, Dr. Alice Dick, lets her rector know why she is not pledging. Alice’s personal blog is FeetFirst, and the blog was featured in a 2004 article about physician blogging; she has been blogging since 2002.
Are there other Episcopalians who are writing their rectors about stewardship issues? If so, I’d love to see those letters!
Well, I’ll give you a list – in no particular order – of some of the issues which are concerning me. I hope this helps.
I don’t want my money funding lawsuits (currently being filed by the dozen, or so it seems, by both the diocese and the national church).
I have a serious problem with communion being offered to the unbaptized.
It greatly alarms me to see the Presiding Bishop – in a public interview with NPR from last year – so reluctant to state that Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life.” She indicated He was a way, but not *the* way. Now, anyone as an individual can have their own opinions on this matter, but when the person is being interviewed as the national head of a Christian denomination I find that simply unbelievable.
I have an even bigger problem with her recent deposition in the Virginia lawsuit where she came out and admitted that she had refused to sell the Episcopal buildings to the departing congregations specifically because they were dissenters, and that if they had been any other denomination, or if the
buildings were to be sold for secular purposes, she would not have a problem with it. That is discrimination and it is illegal. It also gives me a very poor view of the Presiding Bishop.The TEC administration has been so busy with lawsuits, Millennium Development Goals and other time-consuming and useless activities that it overlooked the fact that an ordained priest was a practicing druid (see here: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_24_121/ai_n8702459) and allowed his wife to publish a pagan rite masquerading as a feminine liturgy on the national Episcopal Church website. They just aren’t paying attention, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they are so infatuated with political correctness and “inclusivity” (a term I loathe) that they will accept anything that meets those standards without any interest in whether or not it is Christian.
More generally, I just have become more and more disenchanted with the “improvements” in the TEC liturgy and teachings. I have tried some of the Rite One services, but that doesn’t seem to be enough: the updated liturgy is meaningless. There is no consideration of individual sin, individual responsibility or individual relationship with God. It’s all society – what society has done, isn’t doing or should do. Obviously, the church needs to cover both aspects. But TEC has become a school for social work instead of a church, and there seems to be very little that’s spiritual about it these days.
Last, but certainly not least, I am furious with TEC’s failure to enforce the Windsor Report, Dar Es Salaam and other agreements within dioceses and with individual priests. Let me be clear: what I object to here is their attempt to have things both ways. I would respect TEC if they had refused to sign, actually. If this church truly had the courage of its convictions, the primates would have said: “We’re sorry, but we can’t sign this. We understand that this means we will no longer be part of the Anglican Communion. We understand some of our parishes and dioceses may wish to leave over this issue. We hope that some day you will join us, but for now we accept your decision.” Instead, they have been doing a bait-and-switch for years: signing agreements with no intention of keeping their word. This is not only setting a terrible example for all Episcopalians, it’s spiritually bankrupt.
I’m sorry to say this, but it’s true: I no longer respect or trust the TEC administrative leadership. I do not support them and I will not fund them.
40 Comments •
I truly feel the same as this wpman who wrote this letter to her rector and Iam sure she feels some better for writing it. But the real question is….Will it get read and understood to makea difference? Who’s to say? Only God knows but, I think that her giving of her money, time and talents would be better served where they are truly going to help and be used for the expansion of God’s Kingdom doing God’s work not MDG’s work! Just my humble opinion. I will keep her in my prayers.
What a wonderful letter. The good doctor neatly sums up the wrongheadedness of the modern Episcopal church!
I get woolly here