While I have to admit I haven’t really kept tabs much on the comings and goings of the Episcopal Church since my conversion to Roman Catholicism two years ago, every now and then friends or news releases percolate up so that I’m still allowed a small glimpse into the continued deterioration of the Church as a viable and respected representation of Anglicanism in the United States.
Charlotte Hays of National Review Online recently reported her observations from the Church’s 2012 General Convention, and reading it confirmed every suspicion I had that today’s Episcopal Church has contined its degeneration from the great and important institution it once was into a faux Christian institution led by a leadership apostate in every way. The primary reason? Its continued obsession with gay, lesbian, and transgender sexuality:
Can there be anything left to change after Indianapolis? Indianapolis voted for provisional liturgies for uniting same-sex couples (rings are exchanged), ceremonies for pet funerals (I guess my little cat died too soon), the ordination of transgender people to the clergy (why not — women and ex-women welcome?), and an apology to American Indians for having introduced them to Christianity.
It is interesting that so much of what happens at the General Conventions revolves around sexual issues. Sexual behavior, almost more than any other facet of our lives, involves an urge to do what we want to do, regardless of the rules. The Primal Episcopalian, Henry VIII, split with Rome because he wanted to do what he wanted to do with regard to a sexual issue. Women were allowed to be ordained because, well, women wanted to be priests. A Gospel or Tradition that says you can’t do this must be ditched in favor of a new discernment.
A couple of thoughts here:
1. I wonder just how much the average Episcopalian “in the pews” really knows (or even cares) about this kind of thing. After all, one’s faith is, and should be, between him and her (or, I guess, in the case of transgendered individuals, him/her?) and God alone, so does it really matter what the Episcopal Church implements during a General Convention? Does anyone outside of the House of Bishops and its clergy even care?
2. What should be concerning to any Episcopalian interested in the sustainable health and well-being of their church (both big “c” and small “C”) is just how unserious the Episcopal Church has become in its internal workings and the way it practices its Anglican heritage, theology, spirituality, and outreach in a world sorely in need of the message of hope and redemption through its Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hays is right to question the Church’s continual obsession with sex and sexuality; I mean, the whole progression from gay and lesbian to transgender inclusion in everything strikes me as pathetically absurd. Think about it: our culture drifts further and further towards the abyss of secularism (even atheism), and what does the Episcopal Church concern itself with? Making gays, lesbians, and transgendered individuals feel good about themselves and the questionable – if not perverted – lifestyles they have chosen?
3. I’ve got a proposal for the next General Convention. Dump the whole idea of men’s and women’s restrooms in all Episcopal Church buildings – after all, we’re all one and we don’t want to offend anyone by (gasp!) oppressing them by forcing them to choose between one sexual point of relief or another. I mean, let’s get serious here about how the Church presents itself to those struggling with their own sexual identities!
It’s all so sad, I’m glad I got out when I did. Roman Catholicism might not be perfect – in fact, it’s far from it – but at least when I go to Mass I feel as if I’m going to church and seeking forgiveness, redemption, and spiritual renewal at a hospital for sinners. In the Episcopal Church, the whole idea of sin was tossed out the window along time ago – after all, wouldn’t that risk imposing judgment on and offending people, right? Can’t have that in this day and age. It’s pathetic.
