Since my return from vacation this past week, I have been asked by several of my parishioners about my thoughts on the Episcopal Church’s General Convention, which was recently held in Anaheim, CA. While I would like to take a bit more time for reflection and prayer, I do think that it is right that I give some initial thoughts on this past convention. In due time, I will write a more complete response, but for now, I offer my humble thoughts on the actions that have taken place in the Episcopal Church.
First, let me say that I am deeply troubled at some of the actions that were taken during this convention in regards to human sexuality. I will not take the time here to make any theological arguments, as there are much more gifted theologians and priests who have written on the subject, and I doubt that I would have anything further to add that has not been said before. Suffice it to say, I am a conservative priest that believes in the traditional teachings of the church in regards to human sexuality, and I believe that the Episcopal Church is traveling down a road that is in conflict with Scripture, the traditional teachings of the church, the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the majority of Christians churches worldwide.
Secondly, these developments are no surprise. The Episcopal Church has been in discussions for years on the discernement for Holy Orders for actively gay and lesbian members, as well as the development of same sex liturgies for gay and lesbian couples. My surprise is only in the speed of the actions. I had hoped that the Anglican reaction over the past several years would give TEC some reason to pause and reflect on its course, but in the end, I believe that the Episcopal Church is making the decisions that everyone has anticipated for some time that it would make.
With all of this said, let me state that I love my church. It is where I rediscovered my faith in Jesus, and it is where I choose to serve the Lord. I have many brothers and sisters in Holy Orders within my church whom I disagree with on this subject, and I believe that they are in error. Conversely, they believe that I am in error, but I trust that their affections for me are genuine and true. They love Jesus, just as I love Jesus. While at odds with my understanding of Scripture, I believe that they have come to their decisions through faithful prayer and deep thought. While we cannot and will not agree on the subject of sexuality, we are still brothers and sisters in Christ. We are one Body with Christ and each other. We cannot look at one another and tell each other that we do not need the other. We are all sinners, broken and unworthy, relying on Jesus to transform us and to guide us into who He calls us to be.
Finally, Saint Margaret’s is a traditional parish, and will continue to be a traditional parish. +Bishop Curry, our bishop, supports St. Margaret’s and the ministry that we are doing. We are an Episcopal Church that will continue to do the work of the Lord in this place, unafraid, confident in our faith in Jesus, relying on His direction for us. As I reflect on my past two days at St. Margaret’s, I have been a part of two wonderful worship services, visited with two families who are confronted with cancer, seen 75 children in our building for Vacation Bible School, met with 20 families about the youth ministry in our parish, and worked with two vestry members as we discuss the mission work in our church and the Christian Education program for the fall. We will still worship the Lord, still educate our children about Jesus, still support our families, still feed the hungry, still tend to the sick, still pray for those in need, still preach the radical Gospel of Jesus, still baptize, still marry, still anoint the sick, still bury those who have died, and still absolve the penitent. Nothing over the past two weeks has changed our ability to do these things. We can do no less. We will do no less.
To God be the Glory and the Honor!
Fr. Todd+
