Grummet
OR MORE ON THE Fallout from revolution, here’s a quote from one gay priest in ECUSA:
“I’m also trying to find a reason to believe that our actions this past week of General Convention will do anything to help the Communion to not disintegrate even more. As one gay priest, and with many I know, we are not feeling all that good about what we have done. That will be quite perplexing to some straight activist types, but give ear to our voice anyway.
Do we only care about Ubuntu among our own or honestly among all? It means that I do not always get my way. In not seriously considering the well being of ‘the least of these,’ our GLBT sisters and brothers on the ground in places where they face real violence and imprisonment every day of their existence, we do them a great disservice. “
BRAVO! He’s noting that if American actions in ECUSA destroy the liberal voice in the Anglican Communion (by causing schism) then the gays and lesbians in parts of the communion (especially Africa) will suffer greatly. Thus, in demanding “OUR RIGHTS, DAMN IT” at all costs, Americans, once again, will destroy others. This thing they’ve done put’s the lie to their PB’s speech on “ubuntu”. It’s all just window finery.
While it’s easy to pin this on ECUSA, I think it is Americans that have no idea how to be Christians, how to wait for the weakest, how to hold off on “my good” so that you can have your good as well. Counter the Buddhist Bodhisattvah idea that Jesus uses where the strongest does not go forward without bringing all the weakest along is the American Heresy of Individual Salvation (we invented it here): God and Me and to Hell with Thee.
Increasingly this seems an issue of our desire for instant gratification. We’ve confused salvation (an idea that takes this life time and the next to achieve in the mind of God, moving from glory to glory in communion to deeper communion) with that silly American idea of “once saved always safe.” We keep looking for the right “sinners prayer” to say and fix everything – economic stimulus, women’s rights, gay rights, drugs, sex, iPhones, free internet for everyone, pulling out of Iraq. Whatever it is this week that we must have. Liberation is good but the idea that it might “fix” us once and for all is silly.
The only thing that will fix us, America, is not more rights or liberation, but rather humility, poverty, death and repentance. We need to give up our idea of private and rights and wealth and “the American Dream” – or else find a way to keep these ideas from polluting our spirits. Getting right with God is going to take a change on the cultural level.
(Religion Geekery points for knowing the reason behind the title of the post, “Grummet” is the German word for “Aftermath”.)
Tags: ecusa, gay, gencon | Category: Teh Gay, church geekery
Discussion: You came too late to this party
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I relate to many of the sentiments you express here about American culture, Huw, but I think we need to keep in mind that Ubuntu is a two-way street. It requires the ability to see things from other’s perspectives. At times, the liberals have failed at this, but so have the conservatives. Keep in mind that the only reason why the liberals were able to accomplish what they did at General Convention was because the strongest voices within the church against this action have left.
I also wonder about the pragmatic dimensions of a church that allows for a multiplicity of views on such an important issue as sexuality. Can such a thing work? Can a church that speaks out of both sides of its mouth on such an important issue be an effective witness to the world, or will the world look at us and think we’ll need to get it together and have a united front? It seems that the situation on the ground has been nothing but bickering and arguing, and not a whole lot of outreach going on. I don’t know the answers to these questions. There is an advantage to taking a big tent approach (look at the Democrats compared to the Republicans) but there comes a point where an organization has to take a stand either way.
I just don’t think Sexuality is that important when it is taken out of the context of the faith. And, in the context of the faith, it’s only one thing out of a bazillion. And if it causes my brother to stumble, it’s nothing. At all.
One other thing I think is worth noting: this entire event is partly (or maybe mostly) in response to the conservatives failing to honour their end of the bargain. Alien Bishops continue to invade, to the point of a full-on schism with ACNA. ECUSA has responded with a “OH YA? F-U and the Procession you rode in on!” A lovely way to show forgiveness and charity, I think. It shows how far the level of dialogue has broken down that both sides proceed to take pot shots at each other. And, given the vast numbers of heterosexuals involved in the voting it seems that gays get to be used as the weapon here.
It’s a very sad situation indeed – maybe not as much of a triumph as I intitially thought. God only knows where this is all going to go. I’m with you in that I pray that God changes hearts on both sides of the aisle on this issue to where we can start talking with each other again and in the end agree to disagree.