This bizarre story indicates that the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church was seriously told, as a guest, that she could have a Mitre in Southwark Cathedral, but not on her head. Forrest Gump’s mum used to say, stoopid is as stoopid does, and the whole mentality of such a request, if it was ever made, is profoundly stoopid. The whole thing stinks of hypocrisy. It bears the fingerprints of blind officialdom rather than the Archbishop himself.
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As a bishop I learn that, loaded with creative potential and myth as my job can be, when all is said and done I am just a driver of the Lord’s Number 49 bus, and the more I can rememeber it’s his bus not mine, saints preserve me, the less likely I am to get too far up myself. This makes me easier to live with, and learning it daily is worth a day of anybody’s wages…
Bishop Alan's final paragraph is a cautionary word for us all. We're not all bishops, but if we claim to be Christians, we must remain ever mindful to whom we belong.
Please read his entire post.
A very fine post, and thanks for the link, Mimi. As usual, Bishop Alan gets to the heart of the matter.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tim.
ReplyDeleteBut would Bishop Alan ever recognize the Archbishop's fingerprints? What else would they look like than this?
ReplyDeletePaul (A.), I've wondered myself if the directive was issued from Lambeth Palace by someone other than the ABC. I would not be surprised. But Lambeth Palace has not issued a clarification, so we really don't know.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, with the upcoming Church of England Synod, which will consider the matter of women bishops, the ABC may not have wanted a woman bishop wearing, rather than carrying (?!!) a mitre, right at this time, especially since the ABC and the Archbishop of York have offered an amendment to the pending legislation on allowing women bishops, which I'm still studying. The amendment seems to offer a separte and not quite equal status to women bishops, but I'm not sure. You can read the text of the amendment at Thinking Anglicans and perhaps enlighten me. You understand that sort of legalese far better than I, m'dear.
I believe that Williams and (thank G-d, because he has eliminated himself as a viable candidate for Canterbury) Sentamu, stepped off the cliff, hand in hand, this morning. Their "compromise" proposal for women bishops in the C of E is past belief.
ReplyDeleteBishop Alan is indeed wonderful. Love the "49 bus" analogy.
Hi Grandmere Mimi and all--For a really nice look at one of our women bishops wearing her mitre in England check out TTLS. After all this stuff and nonsense from ABC and ABY today, James's little post is a real treat.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this month's Atlantic has a great article "How Women Are Taking Control of Everything." Do you think if I sent it to them they would shape up?
Also, IMHO GS1782 might be worth keeping a close eye on.
Bonnie, I'm going to need help with the picture in TTLS and James(?). Do you have links.
ReplyDeleteDo you think if I sent it to them they would shape up
I doubt it. I think they are slow learners.
Bonnie, I skimmed through GS1782, but I don't really have the kind of mind to take in the info from the 8 pages. Why do you think this one is worth watching? What jumped out at you?
ReplyDeleteBonnie, I understand now that you were referring to James' blog, "The Three-Legged Stool".
ReplyDelete