The Light Parish Newsletter,
November 2003In This Issue:
From time to time I get asked about
various parts of our common life together - why something has changed
or hasn't, why we add new
things or take away old ones, or what is the meaning of a particular
practice. So here are some responses on a number of things that have
come up recently.
- Why is the order of the service a little different at the beginning?
The worship committee has made a conscious attempt to remove non-liturgical elements from the
service. Announcements fall into that category - they mostly have to do with the life of the gathered
community when not gathered for worship. An organ prelude is a time of
preparation for the worship itself. It made sense to begin with announcements, followed by the
prelude, and then the opening hymn or acclamation. In order to worship in
a timely fashion we decided to begin with announcements at 7:55 a.m. and 10:25 a.m.
- Why are we singing a verse of a hymn after the prayers at 10:30 am?
The Worship Committee and the Christian Education Committee wanted
to find a way to mark out the entry of our younger members - a way of saying "your presence among
us is important." When they entered during the peace their arrival among
us was missed. So the hymn verse is a piece of "welcome" music for the entry of the children.
As with anything that is new we're still ironing out the kinks in this particular part of our service.
- Where do the hymns not in the Hymnal 1982 come from?
Most of the hymns that appear in the bulletin come from "Wonder, Love, & Praise", the Supplement to the Hymnal 1982. Some come from new hymns posted on the Hymn Society of America Web-site.
Some are
suggested by other clergy or
parishioners. All hymns are chosen
based on relevance to the readings
for the day or the festival being
celebrated. Because of copyright
concerns it has been suggested that
we purchase 125 copies of W.L. & P.
using undesignated memorial
funds.
- How much are our rector emeritus, associate priest and deacon paid?
Rev. Bill Burnett, Rev. Fletcher
Davis and Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton
are volunteers - they receive no
salary for their ministry at St.
Augustine's.
- What is the Staff Meeting for? I thought the vestry made the important decisions.
The vestry is the duly elected executive committee of our parish, and we have conferred on them the
responsibility for planning and decision-making at St. Augustine's, informed by input from all
parishioners. The Staff (rector, wardens, director of Music, Christian Education, Altar Guild, and the
Administrative Assistant, and, on occasion, other clergy of the parish) meet twice a month to review
events and worship, compare calendars, raise continuing concerns, implement
relevant vestry decisions, and make appropriate recommendations to the vestry. This time is also one to
"touch base" and coordinate parish life. In addition, the wardens and
rector meet separately prior to the staff meeting.
- Why did we purchase some land?
It is no secret that St. Augustine's long ago ran out of room. The land purchase is part of a broader plan
to prepare for a future that will involve an additional building. It provides us with space to expand our
septic system. It also prevented a proposed development being placed very close to our property, thus
preserving our "n-the-woods" identity.
- What's happening about a new
Director of Christian Formation?
The Christian Education Committee
has developed a position
description, and we have begun the
search. This is a vital component in
our
future plans and we need the right
person. As has been said before,
anyone who is interested should
contact the rector or wardens.
If you have any questions you would
like answered, please send them to
staugs@whidbey.com, with the word
"questions" in the subject
line.
God's blessings to you all.
Nigel
by Trevor Arnold, Senior Warden
This column has been entitled
"Warden's Wisdom" in the past, but
after struggling many days for a
topic, a theme...I gave up on trying
to write "wisdom". I'll just pass on
some recent thoughts. I have a
message for all of you. My message
is to let you know how much we appreciate every single person that
enters St. Augustine's...members and
visitors alike. Your smiles, your
hugs, your concerns over our welfare keep me centered. We feel
loved and cared for. You are our
family. Thank you all for your
continued prayers. I am so sure the
energy derived from them is so
powerful the Lord can't ignore them!
It is that time of year when we are
called upon to share our time, our
talents, and to contribute financial
support to St. Augustine's, our "home". We are all blessed with a
variety of talents, as is evident at
the many programs we take part in,
from delicious meals to painting and
grounds work! Then we have our music
program, our childcare, the altar
guild, and so on. The aforementioned
take many hours of preparation - time - something we
all have very precious little of,
but we manage to squeeze a few extra
minutes here and there to complete
our responsibilities, our gift to
our church home. And how generous we
have been in our financial support
to our sister parishes; the many organizations who are not as
fortunate as we. I pray we will be
able to continue our generous
pledges to carry on our ministry.
I am very proud to be a part of St.
Augustine's. I am very proud to be
called upon to serve as your Senior
Warden. I feel privileged to be a
part of the newcomers‚ committee, an
usher, a greeter, and the ECW.
Truly, I am the most thankful person
in the world to call you my "brothers and sisters in Christ".
by Anne Pringle
In spite of threatening weather,
twelve stalwarts remained after
Men's Breakfast on October 11 for
the Parish Fall Work Day. Trimming,
sweeping, and other assorted tasks
were tended to in short order, and
all enjoyed the lunch set up by
Donna Johnson and Liz Kershaw.
Of course everyone has noticed the
(very bright) signs that were put up
during the work day, warning people
to slow down for children, and the placement of one reserved
parking space for disabled down in
front. Depending on use, one more
might be added later.
If you haven't been in the
Columbarium area lately, please stop
by and see the beautiful little
swallow on the wall. This lovely
creation, also by Georgia Gerber, was a memorial
gift from Bill Burnett in honor of a
close friend.
A reminder: If you are the last
person to leave an event at the
church, please make sure the side
door (in the nave) locks are in
place, that the heat both in the nave and the
undercroft are at 60 degrees, and
the coffeemaker is turned OFF.
The Bell Tower garden is in need of
a little help to complete work to
make everything spiffy for the
holidays. Please call Anne if you
have some time to spare.
by Nancy Paris
Bonnie Kodis and her husband, Sandy
Gaither, have been Whidbey residents
for three years, moving to the
Island from Yarrow Point, near Bellevue. Their home is just
west of the Greenbank store on
Smugglers Cove Road where they enjoy
9 acres on the bluff. Bonnie says, "When we moved, we were
looking for a quieter, more rural
lifestyle. We had been looking for a
couple of years and always came back to Whidbey. We love it here."
Sandy is a retired attorney, a
graduate of WSU and of Gonzaga Law
School. He and Bonnie met many years
ago and then "re-met" some years later in Spokane and married.
Sandy has two daughters, one of whom
has two sons, Dakota and Dane.
Bonnie has two stepchildren from a previous marriage, each of
whom has a son, so together, the
couple has four grandchildren.
Sandy enjoys writing poetry,
reading, golfing and fishing. Bonnie
grew up around horses, as her
father, a Spokane contractor, raised
racehorses as a hobby. "It was my
job to feed all the horses (20 to 30
heads) each morning and evening, and
I loved it. Mother and I would travel throughout the Northwest and
Canada each summer on the horse show
circuit. I showed in equitation, 3-
and 5- gait, side saddle and Western classes."
Bonnie graduated from WSU with a
teaching certificate, later
completing her Masters degree in
general science at the University of Washington. She taught school in
Seattle for ten years, mainly
science and health classes. She also
wrote science and health curriculums
for
the Seattle schools for a few years.
She learned to fly more than 20
years ago, and that has become one
of her favorite pastimes. She owns a
small twin-engine airplane in which she and Sandy fly to Carefree,
Arizona each year for the winter.
She says: "I often take my friends
sightseeing, to lunch, or shopping for a day in the plane."
She also enjoys golf and art as well
as gardening. Both she and Sandy are
active with the Seattle Art Museum.
"Although I was raised a
Presbyterian, I have attended a
Lutheran Church in Carefree for
several years," says Bonnie,
"helping with the altar guild and ushering. A friend
suggested St. Augustine's to me. The
first Sunday I attended, Jack Wood
greeted me at the door and introduced me to several members of
the congregation who, in turn,
invited me for coffee afterwards. I
immediately felt a part of a caring
community and St. Augustine's has
been my summer home ever since."
by Judy Yeakel
Our MSO offering in November will go
to Friends of Friends Medical
Support Fund. St. Augustine's has
always been very generous to this organization and they are very
grateful for our help. The kinds of
assistance provided by this
organization cover the costs of
doctor or hospital fees; of lab tests,
prescriptions, mammograms; of
emergency dental care and disability
aids, as well as ferry tickets or
gas to get to appointments.
The need is growing. More than 160
people have been helped so far this
year. The cost of health insurance
continues to rise, along with the
numbers of people without any
insurance at all -- not only
low-income people, but increasingly
middle-class families as well.
(Currently, about half of American families who
file for bankruptcy do so in the
aftermath of medical problems.) The
people helped by Friends of Friends often had decent jobs and
good lives before health problems
started them on a downward financial
slide.
Here are some examples of recent
help given by Friends of Friends:
prescription medication and doctor
bills of an unemployed single woman who needed unexpected surgery;
prescriptions for a mother of four
during a period when she couldn't
use her husband's insurance
because of their legal separation;
ferry tickets for a man who drives
himself three times weekly into
Seattle for kidney dialysis; heart
medication for a mother of two
adopted children; and diabetic
prescriptions for a child of a
homeless family living in a tent.
Medical costs keep rising -- and
particularly prescription drug
costs, which are not covered by
Medicare and many insurance
companies. Accordingly, many people don't get
needed care. Many people can't
afford to get prescriptions filled
so they take prescriptions in
smaller
doses or less often than required,
even though these actions can
diminish the effectiveness of their
treatment.
Stretching donor dollars in careful
and creative ways is a specialty of
Friends of Friends. Payments are
made directly to care providers
rather than to individuals needing help.
They ask health professionals about
discounts. And in a compassionate
way, they counsel with recipients
to find other kinds of assistance,
such as:
- ask the person to talk to
hospitals or clinic social workers
about other help with payments, or
patient-assistance programs offered
by
pharmaceutical companies
- ask them to prioritize their
needs, identify bills that really
need paying right now and which ones
can wait until they're back on their
feet
again
- ask persons to talk to their
health providers about payment
plans
Then, instead of paying the entire
bill, Friends of Friends can just
step in at those times when the
person cannot make payments.
Please give generously to this
unique local group of community
helpers.
- Advent Organ Concert
St.
Augustine's in-the-Woods Episcopal
Parish will host Jonathan Young
performing music for the season of Advent on Sunday, November 30. The
organ concert, performed on the Pasi
Organ at St. Augustine's, will begin
at 4:30 p.m. Jonathan Young was the
recipient of the Westfield Center's
Concert Scholars award and winner of
the first annual Christ Church Young
Organists' Competition. He was
presented in recital at Oberlin
Conservatory, Stanford University
and the Littlefield ranch in Palo
Alto, CA. He is a senior at Pacific
Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA,
and has studied with David Dahl,
University Organist Emeritus of the
college, a familiar performer on
Whidbey Island. Young serves as
organist of First United Methodist
Church of Tacoma, where he presides over the congregation's 50 year old
Aeolian-Skinner organ. A reception
will follow in the Undercroft/Parish
Hall for an opportunity to meet the
organist. The donation is $5 for
adults and $2 for children under 12
(accompanied by adults).
- Ring Ting A Ling!
Our fabulous fund raising St.
Raphael Collection bells are back
and just in time for holiday
shopping! Watch for them in the
Undercroft Sundays in November and
December. The bell maker has given
us an even better deal this time,
60% of the proceeds will go directly
into the St. Nicholas Cathedral
Fund! Have fun shopping and support
our sister church in Russia at the
same time. If you'd like to place a
special order, please contact Carole
Hansen 341-4812.
- Men's Breakfast
The Men's Breakfast is November 8 at
8:30 a.m. Joel Connelly will be the
speaker. The topic will be his visit
to American National cemeteries all
over Europe where American Veterans
are buried.
- Episcopal Church Women (ECW)
The Episcopal Church Women will meet
November 5 at 11:00 AM in the
undercroft. Dr. Marianne Dorman will
be our special speaker. All women of
the parish are welcome. Bring a
sandwich to share. Soup and coffee
will be furnished.
- Church Night at St.
Augustine's
Upcoming Christian Education Events:
"Church Night At St. Augustine's"‚
Thursdays, December 4, 11 and 18;
pot-luck meal at 5:30 p.m., followed
by two programs -- one a bible study
of Paul's letter to the Roman
Church, and the other "Faces on
Faith", video presentations of
well-known North American
Christians, followed by
conversation.
by Donna Johnson, ECW President
- Co-chairs Pat Brookes and Isabel Neddow for their leadership of the
41st Trash and Treasure Sale.
- The men of the parish for
coordinating the outside sales.
- Elaine Ludtke who made the
attractive posters.
- All worker bees who within five
days transformed the undercroft into
a mini-mall.
- The Plant Sale, Chapel Café, and
Bakery workers.
- Fred Ludtke who organized the
pickup of leftover items by the
Senior Thrift truck.
And now the "joy of giving" comes
into play!
by Judy Yeakel
At last the final touches to the
table we use for our gatherings. The
candles are trimmed. The bread is
baked and sliced and the bottle of
wine placed nearby. Aquila should be home
any minute and then we will prepare
for the evening together with our
family.
Ours is not the traditional family.
We have each other but no children.
Our family is made up of Believers
of the Way. And it grows each week even though some leave to go
elsewhere to work or carry the
Gospel to other places. These men
and women are members of our House
Church. They come to worship God and
celebrate the life of God's son,
Jesus. We believe that Jesus is the
Messiah. Those of us who grew up in
Jewish households believe that Jesus
is the fulfillment of the prophetic
teachings of our faith.
Aquila is one of these converts.
After our marriage we lived
contentedly in Pontus for many
years. However, one day we received
the news that the Emperor, Claudius, had
declared by edict that all Jews
would be expelled from Rome. So we
came to Corinth to live in exile. It
was an event that was to change our
lives.
One day when Aquila went to the
local Synagogue, he met a man named
Paul. Paul was debating with the
other men and telling them about a man named Jesus, who was the Son
of God. He had been cruelly put to
death by crucifixion. But many
believed that he had been raised
from the dead. As they were leaving
Aquila invited Paul to come to our
house for a meal. Aquila discovered
that Paul was a tentmaker, as were
we. So we invited him to stay with
us. Paul taught us all about this
new Way of Believing. Finally we
were baptized in the name of Jesus
and became co-workers with Paul.
One day Paul told us that he was
going to Ephesus and invited us to
accompany him. There we established
another House Church and began to be teachers with Paul. Aquila and
I were equals in this work and
equals with Paul.
Just as we had settled in, Paul
announced that he would be leaving
again. Aquila and I were sorry to
have him move on but decided to stay in Ephesus because there was so much
work to be done. So we bid Paul
farewell and then began our
ministries on our own. There were
many people to teach.
I remember particularly a man named
Appollo who was an Alexandrian Jew.
He was knowledgeable about the
scriptures and an eloquent and inspiring speaker. He had been
instructed in the Way and knew about
Jesus. He had, however, only been
baptized with John's baptism. Aquila
and I took an interest in him and
taught him more about the Way. Soon
Apollo decided to move on to Achaia.
We were sorry to see him go but knew
that he would win many converts.
So we continue our work here in
Ephesus. Our community is growing.
We see many good works being done in
the name of Jesus. We are both grateful for our new life and
work. We both hope that someday we
can return to Rome to do our work
there.
Ah, here comes Aquila now. It is
time for us to have our time
together to prepare for our
community, our family to come, a
time for reading scripture and asking God's guidance
and blessing on us and our work. We
thank and praise God daily for his
presence and for sending Paul to us.
Life is very good.
by Dr. Marianne Dorman
In my article on Santiago de
Compostella, I mentioned that one of
the mediaeval pilgrims to the tomb
of St. James was Margery Kempe, whose life we commemorate in the
Anglican Communion on the November
9.
She was an extraordinary mediaeval
mystic who, although illiterate,
gave us the first autobiography in
English (dictated to her Father Confessor) of her life as wife,
mother, traveler, pilgrim, penitent
and visionary. Her life illustrated
that an earthy life can become holy
through grace, and in her later life
she regretted her former desire of
worldly things. "Ah, dear God, I
have not loved you all the days of
my life, and I keenly regret that; I
have run away from you, and you have
run after me." (echoes of
Augustine).
Margery was born c.1373 into a
prominent burgess family in Bishop's
Lynn. She was a contemporary of
Julian of Norwich whom she visited in her anchorage. She was
married at twenty. After the birth
of her first child, she suffered
from depression but also experienced
her first vision of Christ. Following
the birth of their fourteenth child,
Margery and her husband agreed to
live in chastity.
Although illiterate she learned the
Scriptures and many mystical
writings from her Confessor who read
to her frequently. She must have had
a wonderful memory as she really
knew her bible, as well as the
writings of some of the great
contemporary mystics such as
Bridget, Hilton and Rolle.
After her conversion, she spent long
times in fasting and praying in
order to know God's will. Often this
was in conversational style such as
about knowing the best way to serve
our Lord. "Ah blessed Lord, I wish I
knew in what I might best love you
and please you, and that my love were as sweet to you as I think
your love is to me."
To this our Lord replied,"Daughter,
if you knew how sweet your love is
to me, you would never do anything
else but love me with all your heart." [Perhaps we should note this
reply when we pray similarly].
She was not the most popular pilgrim
when she visited holy shrines
because of her animated spirit. For
instance when in Jerusalem on the
Via Dolorossa, near Calvary,
overcome with so much compassion for
her dear Lord, "she fell down
because she could not stand or
kneel, but writhed and wrestled with her
body, spreading her arms out wide,
and cried with a loud voice as
though her heart would have burst
apart, for in the city of her soul
she saw truly and freshly how our
Lord was crucified."
Indeed during her life she gave way
to much wailing for her sins and the
sins of others. She was thus blessed
with what the early Fathers called "the sacrament of tears", the
gift of the Holy Spirit for the
truly penitent. She even wept when
she received Christ"s Body "for she could not bear the abundance of love
that she felt in the precious
sacrament." One time when being
examined by the Archbishop of York,
he
roughly said to her "Why do you weep
so, woman?" To which she replied,
"Sir, you shall wish one day that
you had wept sorely as I."
Her outspokenness about the faith,
especially as a woman, made her dangerous and not surprisingly she
was arrested for heresy, which she denied. When asked if she possessed
the Holy Spirit, she replied:
Yes, sirs, no one may say a good
word without the gift of the Holy
Spirit, for our Lord Jesus Christ
said to His disciples, "Do not study
what you shall say, for it shall not
be your spirit that shall speak in
you, but it shall be the Spirit of
the Holy Ghost."
In defending herself, even with
bishops, she was fearless. Before
the Archbishop of York who demanded
that she leave his diocese immediately, she retorted that she
couldn't as she must visit her
friends and converse with holy
people. He gave her permission to
visit but not to speak about the faith. She
refused:
No, sir, I will not swear, for I
shall speak of God and rebuke those
who swear great oaths wherever I go
until such time that Holy Church ordained that nobody shall be so
bold as to speak of God, for God
Almighty does not forbid sir, that
we should speak of him.
At these time of trials and
tribulations, even when imprisoned
she prayed at great length for "our
Lord God Almighty to help her and
succour her against all her enemies both
spiritual and bodily."
Her boldness to uphold Christ's
teaching should be an inspiration
for Christians today in this most
secular world where Christians
morals and values are being eroded
constantly.
by Judy Yeakel
Not a full article this month, but
some addendum to the last two on The
Bell and Picnics:
Fred Ludtke reminded me that one of
the most unique and sensational
parts of some of our picnics were
the air shows he performed for us.
Fred has been an acrobatic flyer for
many years (retired from that now).
At some point during the picnic
celebration we would hear a small
plane fly low over our party and
there was Fred, doing loops and
other kinds of aerobatics. Fun for
all of us, including other groups
who might be picnicking nearby.
Here is some additional information
on our Bell and its origin:
As I said last month, we obtained
our bell from The Church of the Holy
Communion in Tacoma when that Church
was closed. Holy Communion was established in 1885
and closed in 1976. Church of the
Holy Communion in New York, after
which it was named, gave many items for the new church. In
1893, McNeely & Co. of West Troy, NY
was commissioned to cast our bell.
It was given in memory of Luther P. Keller by his father,
Luther P. Keller of Philadelphia.
Then it was shipped to Tacoma by
ship where it was installed at the
Church of the Holy Communion in that city.
It must have been moved at least
twice when Holy Communion moved to
new buildings. I'm sure that was quite a job in those days.
by Isabel Neddow
Two new acquisitions in the St
Augustine's library question whether
the four Gospels of Christian
tradition are the whole story. The
lost Gospel of Thomas was discovered
in 1945 among other ancient
teachings of Jesus. Religious
historians believe that these
writings were suppressed by a church
hierarchy wanting a unified
Christian canon.
"Beyond Belief" by Elaine Pagels
(230 PAG) is a fascinating look at
the divergent teaching and views of
Jesus in the early Christian era. If
you start with "The Gospel of
Thomas" annotated and explained by
Stevan Davies (230 DAV), you will be
more enlightened when you read
Elaine Pagels‚ work, and better
understand the "mystical
revolutionaries" of the Lost Gospel.
Both of these books are on the
rolling cart along with some other
works on the Gospels. For the more
serious reader, there always is "The
Gospel According to Peanuts."
by The Rt. Rev. William E. Swing,
Bishop of the Diocese of California
Because of the upcoming consecration
of the Rev. Eugene Robinson and
because of the official recognition
that some dioceses permit same-sex
blessings, the Episcopal Church of
the United States of America has
come to a difficult moment. What is
going to happen to our Church? For
my answer to that question, I will
address the following issues.
How did we come to be the Episcopal
Church? When we were thirteen
colonies, all of our congregations
were under the authority of the
Bishop of London, who was under the
authority of the King of England. In
those days we were always called
"Episcopal Churches" because we
professed the principles of the
Church of England and we had a
bishop, or an episcopal leader, in
London. As the Revolutionary War was
ending, it was obvious that we could
no longer be under an authority that
finally rested in the sovereignty of
the King of England. So we broke
from foreign jurisdiction, and we
created an independent church
government that contained the
constituent principles of the Church
of England. And we called ourselves
the Episcopal Church - actually the
Protestant Episcopal Church of the
United States of America (PECUSA).
Would it be possible for the
Anglican Communion to dismiss the
Episcopal Church as a province? Yes,
but that is highly unlikely after
more than two hundred years of lived
history. To dismiss the Episcopal
Church, the only route would be for
the Archbishop of York and the
Archbishop of Canterbury to
determine that the Church of England
no longer recognizes and accepts PECUSA. That is not going to happen.
Could parallel provinces in the USA
be established to accommodate people
of differing sides of the present
crises? In other words, could there
be one province (PECUSA) for people
who voted for Robinson and another
province for people who voted
against Robinson? That seems highly
unlikely. In the future, there will
be disagreements on a plethora of
other issues. Each disagreement
cannot create another province. Such
a vote to create a new province
would have to be made by the General
Convention of the Episcopal Church
and in conformity with the
constitution of PECUSA. That will
not happen.
Are there other alternatives?
Perhaps, but I can't think of any.
It seems that the children of the
old Episcopal Churches will have to
learn to live together in union just
like the states do. To Balkanize the
Church would be an atrocious error.
In this land we have learned to live
in unity while in the midst of
diversity in Church and in State.
What are key Church issues around
Christians who are homosexual?
- Scripture. Leviticus 20:13
demands that all practicing
homosexuals be murdered. Once the
Church decides not to murder them
but to take a more moderate stand,
then the issue is where to draw the
line and still be loyal to the
entirety of the Scripture. Some draw
the line here; some draw the line
there.
- Apostolic Authority. If a bishop
of the Episcopal Church is part of
the Apostolic Succession, have there
been homosexual bishops at any time
in its two thousand-year history?
Yes, of course there have been, and
that did not interrupt the Apostolic
Succession.
- Faith. Is sex a central or core
issue in the life and teachings of
Jesus Christ? Are the core issues
Jesus' divinity and the Trinity, or
is the
core issue sex? (St. Augustine: "In
essentials, unity; in
non-essentials, liberty; and in all
things, charity.") Sex doesn't seem
to be the central
revelation of Jesus Christ.
Are there any recent ecclesiastical
trials that pertain to the matter at
hand? Yes, one. The Court for the
Trial of a Bishop, 1994. The Rt.
Rev. Walter Righter ordained a
non-celibate man who was living in a
same-sex partnership. The Court
found "that there is no Core
Doctrine prohibiting the ordination
of a non-celibate, homosexual person
living in a faithful relationship
with a person of the same sex . . .
." The Court said that if General
Convention wants to pass a binding
resolution with appropriate
penalties against ordaining people
in same-sex relationships, the
General Convention is free to do so.
No resolutions have been offered to
that effect in the subsequent
decade.
Why did Cardinal Ratzinger of the
Vatican send encouragement to the
Episcopal conservatives meeting in
Plano, Texas? For the same reason
that the Roman Catholics offered a
special deal to Episcopal priests
when we were going through the
crisis over women's ordination.
Shameless exploitation! When they
were going through their pedophile
crisis, we kept quiet and prayed for
them.
Is all of this about lowering
standards and affirming the gay
lifestyle?
No. This crisis is about raising the
standards in one dimension of
homosexual experience.
- The Church looks at heterosexual
experience of promiscuous, wanton
sexual behavior and calls it sinful.
Same with homosexual promiscuity.
- The Church looks at serial
relationships among heterosexual
people going from partner to partner
and calls it sinful. Same with
homosexual serial relationships.
- The Church looks at heterosexuals
who are in covenanted relationships
where one of the partners is
"sleeping around" occasionally and
calls that sinful. Same with
homosexuals who "cheat" while in a
committed relationship.
- The Church looks at heterosexual
couples who live faithful,
responsible, caring lives together
for a lifetime, and the Church calls
that good. The Church looks at
homosexual couples who live
faithful, responsible, caring lives
together for a lifetime, and up till
now, the Church called that sinful.
Here is the rub. This is the one and
only issue being debated. Is there a
high standard in intimate
relationship to which homosexual
couples should aspire? To which they
should be held accountable? If your
child were homosexual, would you
want your child someday to be loved
and to love in a responsible,
faithful relationship? This is not
about "gay lifestyle" - as if there
were only one way to be gay.
Pornography mocks everyone, straight
and gay. Is there anything that a
homosexual person could aspire to in
terms of a sexual relationship?
What does the Presiding Bishop,
Frank Griswold, think about this? In
a New York Times interview of
September 30, 2003, he stated that
in Biblical times there was no
understanding that homosexuality was
an orientation and not a choice.
"Discrete acts of homosexuality"
were condemned in the Bible because
they were acts of lust instead of
love, forgiveness, grace "of
committed same-sex relationships.
Homosexuality as we know it as an
orientation is not mentioned in the
Bible. I think the confirmation of
the Bishop of New Hampshire is acknowledging what is
already a reality in the life of the
Church and the larger society of
which we are a part."
Will all of this have a negative
impact on marriage? Certainly our
diocese lives constantly with
gay-straight issues, probably more
so than any place else. I do not see
that the presence of homosexuals has
slowed down the number of our people
who want to marry. And judging from
our celebrations of couples who have
been married for fifty years or
more, the homosexual presence in our
midst has been of no consequence on
marriage. Life goes on, marriage
goes on in a place with a high
concentration of gay individuals and
couples.
What about the children raised by
same-sex couples? Some gay couples
in our Diocese have adopted
children. Seeing these families
wrestling with the everyday issues
of schooling, discipline, finances,
friendships, etc., the scene looks
pretty ordinary to me. And the
children in every instance I've seen
are doing fine. Last summer the
Roman Catholic Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith declared that
allowing gay couples to adopt
children would "actually mean doing
violence to these children." After
the stupefying aggregate of violence
against children that has been
tolerated and facilitated by their
family of faith, it seems ironic and
wrong that they mount an attack
which has the potential of doing
violence to the children and parents
of gay families.
Would a same-sex blessing be a
marriage? I have been on record for
twenty years saying that I think
that the word "marriage" means a man
and a woman. I still do. I don't
think we ought to touch that word.
Perhaps the state will someday call
a same-sex blessing by the name
marriage. But I think that the
Church ought to use an exclusive
word for a historically understood
reality. As for "Blessing of a
Same-sex Couple," that phrase, while
helpful in this time of transition,
hasn't much poetry to it. Another
word or words will need to be found.
What difference will this issue make
in the everyday life of a
congregation? Very little. Life will
go on in congregations about 99.5%
of the way life has always gone on.
In the past, the Diocese of New
Hampshire has not much impacted
everyday life in the Diocese of
California. I doubt if that will
change.
In conclusion. I realize that good
Episcopalians in the Diocese of
California for honorable reasons do
not see the above issues as I do.
These
have been bruising days, a hurtful
time for these people. I thank you
for staying with your Church at this
hard moment. Your discernment and
conviction are genuine, and you have
a place of integrity in the wide and
deep family of faith. I may be
wrong, and you may be right. But we
praise God in harmony of different
voices rather than in unison. May
the Holy Spirit lead us into all
Truth.
This article is reprinted from
"Episcopal Bay Area", the diocesan
newspaper of the Episcopal Diocese
of California.
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Marcia Siring |
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Gail Roach |
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Mickey McGuire |
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Doris Hunter |
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Pam
Carter |
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Mitzie MacLean
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Ted
Brookes |
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Bill Carruthers
Hannah Weirich |
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Nicholas Coachman
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Chris Lubinski |
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Frances Maxwell
Zaine Weirich
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Emily Seaman |
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Gretchen Wood |
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Nancy Ruff |
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Dorothy Sofge |
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Bruce Campbell |
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Helen and Tom
Clendenin |
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Shirley and Bill Bauder
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