Regular readers of this blog may recall that when the diocese of South Carolina sought consents from the church's bishops and standing committees, I argued that consent should issue.
My argument was that the representatives of the congregations, prayerfully chosen, had met, and prayerfully elected Mark Lawrence. And he had made assurances that he was not becoming a bishop to lead a schism. If we then claim to believe that the Spirit responds when we ask for guidance, that Jesus is with us when we gather for prayer, and that sometimes our inspiration might not fit some other folks, we must, I argued permit the consecration. Otherwise how can we argue for other controversial elections?
Many of my progressive friends took the other view. They wrote and voted arguing that then Fr. Lawrence was in fact being disingenuous in his affirmations of loyalty to TEC. They predicted that he would suddenly discover that he just had to lead a schism. In other words they judged him a liar. It appears they were right.
The commission with jurisdiction has issued a finding, in a thoughtful and complete paper, that in fact Bp. Lawrence has sought to abandon TEC. Given the content of the certification presented to the presiding bishop, and the clearly unlawful response by the diocese, property litigation is in our future.
Was I wrong? In one clear sense, yes I was. Others discerned the likely content of the certification even before Bp. Lawrence was ordained, I believed him. In another sense, no. I argued that the conservatives should be given the opportunity to show themselves as members of TEC. At least one bishop and one diocese have done so -- badly.
I am tempted to say, "OOOPS!" I must admit my friends made the call. I have learned anew something I should have remembered. As Barry Goldwater observed when the, "religious right" began to subvert the Republican Party, every good Republican should line up to "kick Jerry Falwell in the ass." These self-anointed, "orthodox" dismiss compromise, see tolerance as weakness, and respond to a lost vote by stalking off, attempting to take other's property with them. These are the same, "bible believers" (they do not actually believe it) who have subverted the once proud GOP and turned it racist, misogynist, fundamentalist conspiracy. They have subverted the GOP, they won't get TEC. Unlike Speaker Boehner, PB Jefferts Shori has decided to stand up to the terrorist.
My argument was that the representatives of the congregations, prayerfully chosen, had met, and prayerfully elected Mark Lawrence. And he had made assurances that he was not becoming a bishop to lead a schism. If we then claim to believe that the Spirit responds when we ask for guidance, that Jesus is with us when we gather for prayer, and that sometimes our inspiration might not fit some other folks, we must, I argued permit the consecration. Otherwise how can we argue for other controversial elections?
Many of my progressive friends took the other view. They wrote and voted arguing that then Fr. Lawrence was in fact being disingenuous in his affirmations of loyalty to TEC. They predicted that he would suddenly discover that he just had to lead a schism. In other words they judged him a liar. It appears they were right.
The commission with jurisdiction has issued a finding, in a thoughtful and complete paper, that in fact Bp. Lawrence has sought to abandon TEC. Given the content of the certification presented to the presiding bishop, and the clearly unlawful response by the diocese, property litigation is in our future.
Was I wrong? In one clear sense, yes I was. Others discerned the likely content of the certification even before Bp. Lawrence was ordained, I believed him. In another sense, no. I argued that the conservatives should be given the opportunity to show themselves as members of TEC. At least one bishop and one diocese have done so -- badly.
I am tempted to say, "OOOPS!" I must admit my friends made the call. I have learned anew something I should have remembered. As Barry Goldwater observed when the, "religious right" began to subvert the Republican Party, every good Republican should line up to "kick Jerry Falwell in the ass." These self-anointed, "orthodox" dismiss compromise, see tolerance as weakness, and respond to a lost vote by stalking off, attempting to take other's property with them. These are the same, "bible believers" (they do not actually believe it) who have subverted the once proud GOP and turned it racist, misogynist, fundamentalist conspiracy. They have subverted the GOP, they won't get TEC. Unlike Speaker Boehner, PB Jefferts Shori has decided to stand up to the terrorist.
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