Letters
from 19 June to 25 June 2006
Like
all letters to the editor everywhere, these letters are
the opinions of the writers and not Anglicans Online.
We publish letters that we think will be of interest
to our readers, whether we agree with them or not. If
you'd like to write a letter of your own, click here.
Venting about
the US General Convention
Gosh
I sure am glad I left the Church even though, after a lifetime
of involvement I can't stop myself from following its doings. Where
else in the universe would the appointment of a woman to a high
position in corporate governance be regarded as a manifestation
of "continuing insensitivity and disregard" for the the sensibilities
of international partners? (see this
article in the New York Times)
Even in our most detestable conservative political regime, no one
worried that appointing Condoleeza Rice as secretary of state would
manifest 'insensitivity' to our allies in the Middle East, where
women can't drive cars or appear in public without male escorts.
Boy,
am I ever glad I bailed. Where else in the real world are the sexuality
issues that are tearing the Anglican Communion apart even a
concern? Outside of the Third World, where doctors pick up extra
bucks doing virginity tests, who on earth cares? Is it any wonder
that most educated Americans, if they're at all aware of the Church's
doings, look at this circus and see it as something from outer
space? Do these priests really imagine that if they make the right
pious noises about women and gays they'll convince the lower classes
and third world peasants to adopt appropriately enlightened views
about women and homosexuals?
H. E.
Baber
Chula Vista, CA
baber@sandiego.edu
19 June 2006
I am
writing in support of the courage, bravery and love that is being
displayed at your Convention and in response to the Bishop of Rochester's
remarks that the Anglican Church should split.
"The
right choice is in line with the Bible and the Church's teaching
down the ages, not some new-fangled religion we have invented to
respond to the 21st Century."
I am
in total disagreement with the Bishop of Rochester, who seems to
be in denial about the Church's development through the ages. Three
centuries ago, the Church supported the burning of witches. Two
centuries ago, slavery and class divisions were openly embraced
by the Church of that time. Civilisation
has, thankfully, changed and developed over the millenia. We now
understand that approximately 11% of the population is gay and
to condemn this group to a life in the shadows does not seem like
Christian behaviour to thinking people.
I left
my Church during the debate over whether women could be ordained.
All too mindful of the sensitivities of men who could not conceive
change, they had little thought for the feelings of women and I
felt isolated, exacerbated by the fact that my best friend is a
gay man. Thankfully, questioning has helped me to continue on my
spiritual journey.
Last
year, when a young, Muslim friend undertook his pilgrimage to Mecca
to celebrate the Fourth Pillar of Islam, did I fully realise the
patriarchal roots of the great religions. This is the celebration
of Ishmael, Ibrahim's son, being saved by God replacing him with
a lamb. To modern minds, such an act of infanticide in the name
of faith would be unthinkable and it struck me how human beings
have diminished God by reducing Him to an image that is within
our limited understanding.
For
me, it is wonderful that the Episcopal Church in America is
leading the way in developing a truly inclusive and loving faith.
Angela
Vennells
previously St. Leonards
Sheffield, UNITED KINGDOM
19 June 2006
Your
selection of Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has doomed the Episcopal
Church. I don't mind that she is female. However, what SHE believes
is irrelevant. God does not want us living as homosexuals. It is
a sin. Ask the Catholic Church. Re-read scripture: Leviticus 18:22
and 20:13, which declare that for a man to "lie with a male as
though lying with a woman" is "an abomination" or "detestable act" --
in Hebrew, "toevah" -- something utterly repugnant to God or Paul´s
mention of same-sex intercourse in Romans 1:24-27.
Please
don't tell me that these things don't apply to "today's world".
Institutions that endure hold true to core beliefs that don't change
because the wind now blows from the east, rather than the west.
You have become common, no longer a leader of men. You face a tough
challenge and you buckle to be popular, to tolerate everything
and everyone. You abdicate your position of leadership in the world.
I have
an ex-wife who wants to be the friend of my children instead of
a parent. She does things out of fear and, ultimately, is incapable
of enforcing high expectations or standards for their behavior.
What rules she does have change when there is any friction or resistance.
The Episcopal Church has now become a bad parent, incapable of
expecting anything from themselves, or providing support/direction
to the many congregations who desperately need direction and support
from the "parent".
Organized religion continues to drop standards for behavior and has
tossed accountability out of the window. Sadly, you are part of a
larger failing. We are heading toward the day in which there will
be only relative morality and situational ethics with personal beliefs
allowed to circumvent the Word of God. This movement has been in
motion amongst those who worship the environment and animals instead
of God. The education community has been in this "relative" decline
for decades. Many churches have now jumped on the bandwagon, yours
included.
Please
understand that you place your congregation in the awful position
of having to defend their Church, removing the focus of celebrating
and sharing their beliefs with those who are seeking the truth
about life and living. You change the "truth" as you elevate a
new head of the Church whose personal opinion will drive the future
agenda. The Episcopal Church enables the decline of western civilization
with such decisions. You make it difficult to raise children in
traditional religions, albeit Protestant or Catholic. The Southern
Baptist, Methodist and Assemblies of God will grow in our part
of the country as a result. I won't be back.
Brian
Tremblay
formerly of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Smithfield
Smithfield, North Carolina, USA
19 June 2006
To
all my brothers and sisters in ChrisT:
I thank God The Father for the election of the new Presiding Bishop.
I live in the diocese of Fort Worth, where sadly the bishop and many
of its members are opposed to this election and any kind of progressive
thinking. I happen to be a gay man, but more importantly I am a child
of God. I do not have a parish at this time because I feel so unwelcome
here in my diocese, cut off from the denomination that I love dearly.
So instead I attend The Metropolitan Community Church; I would love
nothing more than to return to The Episcopal Church.
There
must be others in Ft Worth who feel the same way that I do. I choose
not to march lockstep back into the dark ages. I pray for The Episcopal
Church and its new Presiding Bishop and for the bishop and diocese
of Ft Worth. I pray that God will open the blinded eyes and ALL God's
children will have a place at "the table'.
The
peace of the Dear Lord Jesus Christ, who loves ALL His children.
Phillip
Hewitt
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
20 June 2006
YOU
ARE NOW A FALSE RELIGION, ONE WHICH OPENLY ENDORSES ADULTEROUS
REATIONSHIPS, AS CONDEMNED BY THE BIBLE. THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IS
MOVED BY SOCIAL MORES AND NOT THE INSTRUCTIONS DELIVERED TO US
IN THE BIBLE. THE ANGLICAN CHURCH DOES NOT FEAR OR LOVE GOD; INSTEAD
IT THUMBS ITS NOSE AT THE LORD AND SAYS WE KNOW BETTER THAN YOU
WHAT IS GOOD FOR US.
EVANS
GLEATON
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, USA
PEGLEATON@MSN.COM
21 June 2006
Ah,
but the kangaroo is gone
This
is an admittedly biased letter. I’ve known Martha Englert
for 20 years, since before she was a priest. She’s one of
my best friends, and she is my daughter’s godmother. She’s
one of my favorite people.
I met Martha when we were colleagues at The Associated Press, where
she was a consummate professional and a good-humored colleague. She
went on to become a newspaper police and crime reporter in Maine,
where her performance was stunning. As a journalist, I can tell you
that Martha went beyond the regular cops and robbers stuff, she was
just so good at talking to crime victims and their survivors and
also to criminals and the accused and other people who were desperate,
disenfranchised or living on or beyond the margins of society. It
led to some really good newspaper stories. It also led to a change
in Martha. I wasn’t surprised when she told me she felt called
to the priesthood.
A few years later we watched her head off to EDS in Cambridge, Mass.,
and then back to Maine - first to St. Peter's in Rockland then to
St. Luke’s Cathedral in Portland and then finally to Wisconsin
and Grace Church. Everywhere I’ve seen her in action, I’ve
been thrilled to see the connection she’s made with her new
community. I’ve watched Martha use dog-walking time as a chance
to discuss Christ with a dying cancer patient; I’ve watched
her deal with a suicidal woman who arrived bloody at her front door;
I’ve watched her comfort the afflicted over and over and over;
I’ve watched her invigorate churchgoers who were, quite frankly,
headed for the door. I watched her talk to teen-agers, elderly people
and everyone in between after September 11th. Everywhere she went
at St. Luke’s, the children – from toddlers to teen-agers – were
fans of Martha.
I’m writing to say that Martha is wonderful. The fact that
her bishop is prosecuting her in the way that he is clearly means
that he does not know her. I wish he would take the time to get to
know her. I wish he would try and understand the support and love
she is receiving from near and far. It's not political, it’s
personal, and it is very much deserved.
If what I have read is true, Bishop Miller never discussed the charges
against Martha with her. (This can’t be true, can it? It’s
just not fair.) I don’t know if this is appropriate, whether
pride, canon jurisprudence or other obstacles prevent it, but I wish
the bishop would sit down with Martha in whatever forum is proper
(A job review?) and discuss the charges. I would like him to get
to know the wonderful woman that I know.
Elizabeth
Edwardsen
South Portland, Maine, USA
23 June 2006
Earlier
letters
We launched
our 'Letters to AO' section on 11 May 2003. All published
letters are in our
archives.
|
