ECENT CONVERSATIONS With several clergy and wannabe clergy folks within ECUSA, Orthodoxy, Judaism and the Indy Sacramental movement have led me to a corner I’ve visited before and I keep coming back to it the longer I pray.

Define the difference between Ordination in any mainline church and ordination in almost every non-mainline church and the issues arising can be discussed in one of two ways: theology and polity.

Is all Christian ordination the same?

This is a theological question. One knows, of course, about Catholic claims of Apostolic Succession and sundry other magical powers. One knows, also about the more-Protestant idea that “Apostolic Succession” comes through following in the teaching/fellowship of the Apostles. One knows of theologians who insist that only one (or only some) communities have this valid gift. And one knows of other theologians who offer a contrary view. It dawns on me that the person who says “we all have it” is exercising at least as much faith as the person who says “we have it and no one else does”.

Is there a pension plan?

This is polity.

I know “tentmaker” clergy – ie worker priests – in ECUSA, Orthodoxy, Presbyterianism, Judaism, Gnosticism, Paganism, ahmmm. wow. OK: I know a lot.

Why can I not accept/wrap my brain around the idea that this is a perfectly normal reality?

You know: to be honest, I like the idea of finding a parish job that would take me away from all the hassles of secular work. Yes, I know there are other hassles in Church work: I’ve been there. Ten years at 815 Second Ave have well proven to me how well Professional Christians can love each other. I’d rather work at a Borders bookstore.

SO WHY THE HELL WILL GOD NOT STOP BOTHERING ME? This is a theological question.

WHY IN THE HELL AM I SUCH A LOSER OTHERWISE? This is a polity question.

Increasingly, as ECUSA falls apart, I recognise the truth in what one ECUSA bishop said, recently: soon no one will be able to afford “Professional Clergy”. The model increasingly will be worker priests supporting lay ministry in communities. And the seminaries are buckling under the weight of it all: Seabury is only the beginning. CDSP, EDS and General will, I predict, find themselves shortly up that branch (crick for you Flatlanders and creek fro the Yankees) with a parallel lack of suitable marine transportation equipment.

Will we be moving to on-line training coupled with in-person apprenticeship and mentoring or will we have to fight the long fight of letting the old system suffer gangrene and a forced amputation, before we are finally allowed to grow a replacement limb?

“We’ve always done it this way” is a claim of polity.

“Church will continue to have priests” is a claim of theology.

Increasingly, I’m beginning to see issues of polity to be entirely untrue.

At St Gregory of Nyssa parish we evolved an ample model of lay leadership and ministry. The people called “Deacons”, even without the rite of ordination, manage to be deacons: they serve, they minister, they teach, they model. They are clergy in all the ways that matter. And they minister up to the level of their own gifts. And they are all tentmakers: keeping day jobs so that they can continue to minister. There were, of course, no non-ordained folks who presided at the Eucharist. But we had a good few laity preach (albeit most of us were deacons thinking we wanted to be priests). And if you were to read the liturgical scripts developed there, paying attention to what the lay deacons actually did… you’d see those of us who so wished were well-empowered by our community to, if you will, mostly-preside.

Church will continue to have priests.

The corner I’m at says there are two ways to go and I really want to go the way that comes with the huge salary (but not enough for the hours) and the pension plan and the one month sabbatical after 5 or 6 years and the cool buildings.

But if that route continues to fall apart – between its willingness to file lawsuits on the on hand and its willingness to throw the gay people under the bus on the other hand – what would be the point in going that way?

Or is asking just an excuse?

Is the other route real? Yes. But it doesn’t have any pension plan and not everyone will let you play reindeer games.

And, if priesthood is what I’m called to be, why does that bother me?

PS: and, following the economy, the Bishop’s claims above are only more true. My guess is we’re seeing the first round of lawsuits now and, if any of them win, they will turn around and file suit for their pensions from the Church Pension Fund. And when they do that, coupled with the loss of value in the market, the CPF will find herself to be Sans Portfolio. Then we’ll all be worker priests – and worker-deacons and Bishops, too