State of the Episcopal Church

On the train back from NYC I read the first 80 or so pages (0f 811) of the Triennial report to General Convention of The Episcopal Church.

Like all mainline denominations we are declining. Two main areas of blame in the report were the brouhaha over the consecration of an openly gay man as bishop and the "declining birthrate" among Episcopalians. So it is all about sex. We apparently need to have less and more.

Now that I have removed my tongue from my cheek, let me posit that the two are related. We continue to speak less and less to a generation that thinks that "the gay thing" is no big deal.

So here's an idea (also mentioned in the report). Why don't we claim and proclaim our identity? The battles for LGBT inclusion are being won in the public sector. The war is certainly only a matter of time.

If we were to stop the bickering and come up with the ad campaign that supports the real Anglican ethos that is lost on most of the Anglican Communion, we will not be focused on the present but on the future when the real Gospel message can be shouted, "Love one another as Christ loved you!"

The fundies are certainly not wishy-washy. We can be just as firm that we believe in a Gospel of liberation and that Scripture is meant for us to read in the context of today, not as a relic of yesterday.

We need to say it plain. Father Matthew, we need more of you. We have plenty of deep thinking theologians, we need them to speak to our clergy. But our clergy needs to make it real for the rest of us.