Doomed to Fail

The Pittsburgh paper this morning has an article about the former Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh finally getting to be what he has always desired: the Primate and Presiding Bishop – of his own Church, of course. But at what cost and to how many trusting and innocent laity?

Problems, divisions, schisms in the church are almost always clergy led and they are always about power and always masquerading as theology. This one is no different. The problem here is that while Bishop Duncan may well have about 100,000 members, most of them are not on the same page. Some oppose the ordination of women, in fact, consider such a deed heretical, yet they find themselves in the same bed over the homosexual issue, no pun intended. I always thought those who considered themselves orthodox would have nothing to do with those they deemed heretics. I guess I will have to think again.

Of course this new venture by the Bishop and his followers is doomed to fail because it is rooted in negativity even though it claims to be about the positive and correct, in their way of thinking, interpretation of Scripture. What they have become instead and in fact is The Church Against. Against the ordination of women, against homosexuals, against anyone and everyone who will not allow them to be the sole interpreters of Scripture.

Years ago a thriving Anglo-Catholic Church in the Diocese of Spokane was led out of the Episcopal Church into the Antiochian Orthodox Church over the homosexual issue. The remnant who remained are still struggling to survive but they are and they are growing. Those who left are dying one by one. No baptisms, no confirmations, no converts. No one wants to join a church that advertises itself as “We are the church against.” Yes, they claim biblical orthodoxy but the sermons are negative and doomsdayish to the core. Not my kind of church or sermon.

Years before that, immediately after General Convention changed the Canons to allow the ordination of women and set the stage for the acceptance for the Book of Common Prayer 1979, five priests pulled out of the Episcopal Church, each forming his own Church. They were all against something that was done but no one of them was in agreement with every other one on all the issues. If any of their churches exist today or in any significant numbers, I would be shocked.

In the meantime, here in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the remnant remains and it remains strong and vibrant and excited to continue on with growing the Church. We will meet in a re-organizing convention next Saturday to elect and put in place the required canonical pieces. I expect an upbeat and joy-filled gathering and Eucharist that will be enhanced by an ordination.

On Tuesday I attended my first clergy gathering where to a person everyone was upbeat and hopeful and where they all said that for the first time in a long time they felt safe. They knew they would not be attacked by fellow clergy because of their theology and practice. Bishop Jones from Virginia, who is our pastoral consultant and whose Diocese has seen the defection of not a few parishes, remarked that their recent convention was upbeat and joyful for the first time in a long time. When negativity disappears, the positive is possible, but not until then. When negativity reigns, the process is doomed to fail.

Just a fair and friendly reminder to the newly-minted Primate.