Mark Harris at Preludium posted "The Pastoral Letter" of Bishop Bruce MacPherson, bishop of the Diocese of Western Louisiana, in response to General Convention 2009 in Anaheim. Mark says:
Bishop MacPherson is an honorable man and he is telling it as he knows how. His letter is one filled with concern, but also with hope. As one of the spokespersons for the Communion Partners, I believe he is speaking with clarity. That I do not agree with him is not of much interest. That he is an articulate voice for the "minority" is of interest.
Mark posted the text of the entire letter, which I will not excerpt here. Bishop MacPherson directed that his letter be read at all services this weekend.
The Diocese of Western Louisiana is not my diocese. We belong to the Diocese of Louisiana, with Bishop Charles Jenkins as our bishop. So far as I know, Bishop Jenkins has not issued a pastoral letter. All I can find about convention on the diocesan website is this incomplete account of the first days of GC09.
+MacPherson's letter is more moderate in tone than the one issued in my diocese... in which +Howard referred to us as "Florida Episcopalians" and used the word "fearful" three times in one sentence.
ReplyDeleteStill, as I noted to Fr. Mark, the sentiments expressed do not read as "pastoral" when it is a gay person reading the letter.
Meanwhile, my own parish heard about the heartbeat of mission this morning. And so I continue to pray for those who are "fearful" that they might put on the armor of light instead, and let's get on with doing all good works as God has prepared for us to do. Please!
SCG, Bp. MacPherson wants clarity. The Archbishop of Canterbury Wants clarity. The Anglican Communion, indeed what we call Anglicanism, which existed long before the Anglican Communion as a formal body came into existence, has managed to coexist without clarity on the very meaning of Eucharist. Why the insistence upon clarity in all things now?
ReplyDeleteAnd the two most hotly-debated resolutions were about sex. Please don't misunderstand me. The votes on the two resolutions at GC09 were absolutely correct and had to be done, but I pray that now we can move on and be about the Lord's business.
Perhaps what they truly want is Closure, not Clarity. At least it sounds so to me...
ReplyDeleteOur Eucharistic prayer is as clear as mud, containing 2 mutually exclusive theologies (Calvinist and Catholic) of the Sacrament in one prayer.
ReplyDeleteThe reasons and the motivations for the break with Rome were clear as mud. The Elizabethan settlement was as clear as mud.
I'm puzzled as to why it is now so urgent after 5 centuries to get all of our little doctrinal ducks in order.
I'm coming to admire the Italian indifference to consistency in matters of politics and religion. Italian Communists named their sons after Lenin, and took them to church to be baptized.
Italy has outlasted all the ideologies and dogmas that ruled over it.
Susan, I don't know what they want. Do they really want us to wait until every province signs on? We'll wait until hell freezes over.
ReplyDeleteCounterlight, "We are all Italians? Solidarity?"
Mother Teresa said to a priest asking her to pray for clarity that there was no such thing.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, the closest vote in the HOD was on urging repeal of DOMA (50.4 to 49.6). Another close one was on health insurance. [I don't have my book with all my notes here right now.]
Caminante, the close vote on repeal of DOMA is puzzling to me. And health insurance? That's only fair.
ReplyDeleteAs for the search for clarity, that's in the same category as the search for purity.