Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold said the Ohio meeting should be seen as “as a vast field of exploration [beyond good and evil] rather than a moment of decision” that might be construed by some as a make-or-break moment in the history of the Communion.
In 20 years, he predicted, the church will be talking about something else.
Read the whole thing here. And read / join the discussion at T19. Noteworthy among the comments there, was this prophetic voice:Griswold says we will be talking about something else in 20 years, and he’s probably right. A few prognostications as to what we (sorry, they) will be discussing:
- Blessing polygamous “marriages” (though that probably will take 10 years, not 20).
- The latest report from the Standing Committee on Mission sounding a note of “caution” as ASA sinks below 250,000; the Committee will make the recommendation that rap music be introduced for all processionals to stem the tide.
- Into the fifth year of a “listening process” with Wiccans, GC will add an official shrub-worshipping rite to the Alternative Book of Services. The American Anglican Synod of America, representing a few churches in Fort Worth, will threaten a schism if the service is not removed by Lambeth 2028.
- “Open-Creation Communion,” in which pets are invited to receive the organic-wheat bread and fair-trade white grape juice at all ECUSA churches along with all humans so as not to be “anthro-centric."
4 comments:
Or, my hope is, all the "me generation" baby boomers will be long since dead or at least confined to nursing homes and their feel good theologies will be a heretical blip in the grand scheme of things Anglican. This generation of millenials is very 1950's throwback, at least from what I observe. They believe in playing by rules.
Speaking of the Diocese of Ft. Worth, I've never been able to understand how, based on their a priori commitments, they can remain in communion with ECUSA while simultaneously rattling the sabres for years on end.
Wyclif --
Well, they couldn't keep things going as they are if, God forbid, Bp. Iker were no longer able to be bishop. Since Gen Con 1998, ECUSA has mandated that all new bishops MUST (on pain of death or excommunication or something) agree to "ordain women." The same goes for Quincy and San Joaquin too. The next bishops they elect will have to agree to ordain women, if they are still a part of ECUSA.
So much for "all voices" and tolerance and holding theologies in tension and pluriformity and what not.
Some of you may know, my diocese, Albany NY, is in the process of electing a new bishop. One of them, the Rev. Walcott Hunter, opposes the ordination of women and would not ordain them himself. The election is Saturday (March 25) -- pray for us: it's a very difficult thing to vote for a bishop. When I was in a more regretably-led diocese, I thought it would be easy. Not so. How does one, by the mundane instrument of his own vote, express the will of God? It's a heavy burden. Pray we get it right.
Post a Comment