Can Holy Mother Church be Saved? ..... Yes, she can.

I’m never sure why I write these things – these essays that nobody reads.  Maybe they’re just for my own self-edification or to sort out my thoughts for my own sake to share with no one.  But, in the long run, it really doesn't matter, now, does it.

Now that the dust is beginning to settle from General Convention 2012, I’m beginning to ruminate about its consequences and actions.  Of course, what I think doesn’t really make much difference.  After all, I’m a part-time parish priest with no real standing anywhere.  Not that I’m complaining, mind you.  I like it that way.  Just putting my credentials, or lack thereof, out there. 

And on one level, I really have no dog in this race.  Granted, I’m a partnered, gay man – today is our ninth anniversary – so the whole same-gender unions thing is important – to an extent.  On one level, it doesn’t go far enough.  Gay folk are still second class citizens in the Church and will remain so until the same rite used for heterosexuals is used for us and we actually call gay relationships what they really are: marriages.  But what General Convention has enacted is a good first step.

On the other hand, it really doesn’t make much difference to me one way or another.  What Ron and I have is indeed marriage whether Holy Mother Church says so or not.  But this isn’t a monologue on the theology and history of marriage.  That’s for another time.  We don’t really need the Church to validate us.  We can do that on our own, thank you very much.  And those we love and care about and those who love and care about us see our marriage as such.  So does the State of Washington.  So, I guess in some ways it’s a moot point. 

The thing that I’m finding curious, and have for some time now, is the manner in which this issue has become so divisive.  Not that it shouldn’t be.  There will always be differences of opinion, deeply held opinion, on such subjects.  We are, after all, humans and when one puts two human beings in a room and asks each the same question one will receive three opinions, at least!  That’s the way we’re hardwired. 

Both “sides” of the opinion field come from basically the same place.  Both come to heart-felt beliefs – for which they are willing to die in a ditch – to some degree honestly and for various reasons as well as personal experiences, histories and biases.  Each side has its theological, biblical and secular reasons for the conclusions to which they have come.  Each side also ignores the facts that the other side presents.  And each side believes that its opinion is the right and only conclusion to which any committed Christian can come. 

When one boils it all down, theology isn’t really the issue.  As a colleague reminded me, this is much more a psychological issue than an issue of belief.  Each side has had its feelings hurt....badly; though each side would be loathe to admit it.  Many of those quarreling are men and men in general wouldn't know a feeling if it slapped them in the face - especially white, Anglo-Saxon men.  For the conservatives dealing with the marriage issue, I really think that their real problem is the "ick" factor.  Comments I've read center on what two men do in the bedroom but rarely what two women do.  It seems to be a visceral reaction to something they consider beyond distasteful.  Well, the ick factor is OK.  It's what they're feeling.  But basing one's argument on feelings rather than facts isn't a helpful way to come to conclusions.  The exact same can be said about the GLBT community.  While its paranoia may be based in some profound experience of personal and communal history, at some point those feelings of paranoia need to be worked through and healed.  Wallowing in self pity is never the road to wholeness.  The Church, at least the Episcopal Church, isn't a place where such self pity is necessary.  The Gospel of Jesus is about transformation and healing, not wallowing in the muck.  The cross was three hours.  The resurrection is eternal.

However, ours is not a Tradition of blacks and whites, of knowledge of the ultimate truth beyond some basics like “Love God, love your neighbor.”  We have always been a Tradition of multiple opinions, practices and beliefs.  We have even gone so far as to label the adherents to these beliefs and practices as “parties” at different points.  These parties have fought and scrapped for their beliefs, sometimes vociferously.  And when the dust had settled, they gathered around the same Table and broke bread together and passed the Cup, understanding that what they held dearest was still incomplete at best.

Our present situation is different, and I might add, in my opinion quite un-Anglican and certainly un-Christian.  Each side has based its opinion on their experience of the Divine, its study of Scripture and theology and its own personal and cultural biases.  This is all fine and good and as it should be.  How else does one come to a conclusion?  At the same time, each side has taken on the role of being the mouthpiece for God – claiming ultimate, sole truth – while demonizing the other.  Accusations are made of the other side being “un-Christian,” or “bigots,” or certainly on the road to hell.  People have walked away from the table while the other side has said, “Good riddance.” 

Some have made the argument that the Church has declined in membership because of certain trends within its ranks and have abandoned her like rats on a sinking ship without looking at the statistics.  These statistics reveal that all churches are declining in membership especially the evangelical churches and the Roman Church.  However, I believe that the decline in membership within the Episcopal Church has little to do with Prayer Book revision or the ordination of women or the blessing of same-gender unions.  I believe that the decline in membership among the churches and especially the Episcopal Church is due to the fact that those outside the Church do not see an outward and visible sign of the presence of Jesus.  We have willingly left behind our call as a Tradition offering to the world a community in which to deal with the ambiguities of life and faith and have replaced it with the need for being “right.”  We have lost our abilities to see that the other side may have a kernel of truth buried somewhere.  And we have lost the mutual respect for each other to which our Baptismal Covenant calls us, not to mention Jesus himself.  We have become – each side of us – has become arrogant and self-righteous at the expense of the other and at the expense of the Gospel.  And the time has come for us to cease and desist and return to the humility before God to which Jesus calls us. 

The prime example of this phenomenon is seen regarding the full participation of the GLBT community.  Over the past forty years, the GLBT community within the Church has been vocal about the pain it has suffered feeling like second class citizens.  It has blamed who are labeled “conservatives” as being narrow minded and bigoted and the source of its pain.  Those who object to the full participation of the GLBT community within the life of the Church have labeled this community as “sinners” or worse and the decision of the Church to bless the unions of same-gendered couples as a betrayal of Scripture and tradition and even God “himself.”  This betrayal is blamed on abandoning the true faith at best and at worst heresy.  And this betrayal is the fault of the liberals who are much more concerned with being politically correct than faithful.  And the actions of these liberals have caused them such great agony.  And for each side, the only way that such pain can be alleviated is by the former abandoning its position and firmly taking up and firming the cause of the latter.

But we have always been a Tradition of the middle way.  From the time of Elizabeth I, we have always not just tolerated but celebrated the fact that while striving for the same thing – reconciliation and renewal of the world in Christ – we approach it from different vantage points and places.  Ultimately, we have affirmed the same Creeds and prayed from the same Prayer Books and read the same Bible but been open to various and sometimes seemingly and actual opposite interpretations of the same.  And we have lived comfortably with that knowing that our knowledge of God is miniscule compared to the Being of the Divine.  But we have forgotten that we are but human.  We have forgotten that we are fallible and inconsistent beings created in the image of God whose love for us is infinitely beyond our comprehension – and not just us, but for the whole world.  And until these trends are admitted, addressed, worked through and healed, the Church as a national institution will continue to flounder and make absolutely no difference in the world.  We will continue to be viewed as hypocrites and Pharisees by the vast majority of the population and rightfully so.

I am certainly not willing to claim to be the mouthpiece of God but I am willing to offer an educated opinion based on my own sense of the Divine and the teachings of our Lord with the caveat that I may be totally wrong.  However, the opinion is that the Church as institution needs to move into new – or old – territory.  I believe that she is being called to be a witness to the love of God made manifest in the person of Jesus of Nazareth whom we call “the Christ.”  This is not a new call.  But she needs to begin the process of listening and hearing from both sides of the ecclesiastical spectrum all over again.  She needs to acknowledge that among her children there are those who hold beliefs and opinions so dear to them that they are willing to die in a ditch for them.  The last thing she needs to do is tell her children to “play nice.”  Nice never solves anything.  It just fosters smoke screens and subtle – or not so subtle - dishonesty.  But what Holy Mother Church MUST do is insist - in the name of Jesus Christ - that we affirm the vital things that unite us: the faith in the Trinity, the Humanity and Divinity of Christ, the Sermon on the Mount, the Golden Rule; and refuse to condemn each other for the things that divide us.  Agreement is not the goal.  Honesty is the goal.  Mutual respect in the midst profound differences is the goal.  The end of judgment and condemnation is the goal.  Humility is the goal.  In a word, the Gospel is the goal. 

Only when Holy Mother Church has begun the healing process between her children can she get on with the real work of the Church: reaching the world with the unconditional love of God in Christ.  That’s our job.  That’s our mission.  We’ve spent enough time arguing with and condemning each other about tertiary issues and put the Gospel on the back burner.  And the world is laughing at us and rightfully so.  And, at the risk of being the mouthpiece of God, God is shaking the divine head and rolling the divine eyes. 

The Anglican Communion in general and the Episcopal Church in particular – among others – has the best “product” on the market.  Our worship is second to none.  Our theology is intentionally broad – for the previously stated reasons.  Our music is glorious.  We reach out into the world trying to alleviate human suffering.  We have a commitment to justice and peace not based on political correctness but in our response to the teachings of Our Lord.  But our advertizing is horrendous.  And the only way we can correct it is to return to the foundations upon which our Tradition was founded.  We need to return to the Gospel which unites us and agree to disagree on the secondary and tertiary issues – for they have become the Devil among us - and get on with the work of renewing the world in Christ. 

Therefore, I, a simple parish priest of little account – who likes it that way! – call upon the hierarchy of the Episcopal Church – and maybe even the Anglican Communion - to invite all its delegates and bishops and any other of the interested faithful to assemble and begin the process of the renewal of the Church.  The hierarchy might invite someone like Archbishop Desmond Tutu as moderator of this gathering = after all, I am talking about truth and reconciliation.  The venue doesn’t have to be a trendy convention center and its participants housed in fancy hotels.  Such a gathering and such renewal must be based in a sincere desire for reconciliation between those whose heart-felt beliefs are very different with the intent of returning to the mission to which we are called.  It must be based on a sincere desire to let go of the need for being “right.”  It must be based on stating beliefs and feelings in humility and respect for those whose beliefs are at the other end of the spectrum.  It must be based on the sincere and heart-felt belief that condemnation and judgment have no place among Christians.  It must be based on the sincere willingness to listen to the deep convictions and hurts of the “other” and understand that such convictions and hurts are not based necessarily in malice or ill-will but a profound commitment to faith as the “other” sees it.  It must also require that each “side” take responsibility and ownership for its own pain and anguish and cease blaming the other as its cause and insisting that until the former side agrees with the latter, the pain will continue.  Such a gathering must gather based on the profound and stated belief that we might understand what it means to “forgive us our sins as forgive those who sin against us.”

When this process has begun, then those assembled must recommit themselves to the Gospel of Jesus Christ – to the basics of the “faith as this Church has received them.”  Such gatherings may start out small and take much time and many gatherings but in the end such gatherings must have at their goal the recommitment to seeking the will of God though the clues may be in shadows and the answers ambivalent and vague – which they always are – without becoming polarized, self-righteous or given to blame.  Such gatherings must recommit themselves to providing Eucharistic communities where those who have frequently seen us as hypocrites and Pharisees feel welcome to join us in trying to figure out the mystery of life in communion with the Divine and Holy One.  At some point, each bishop and delegate needs to return to his/her diocese and begin the same process at home.  Within dioceses which have come to some resolution on the given issues and maybe others, the process needs to happen anyway.  And from the diocese to the parish/mission.  Then, and only then, can the Church begin to grow – not with the intent of increasing numbers of butts in the pews and pledges in the coffers, but with the intent of bring hope and wholeness to a suffering world.  It is only then that Holy Mother Church can regain her own hope and wholeness by living out the mission to which she has been called.