POSTCARDS FROM MY FRIENDS - FAIR AND ACCURATE

It seems that everyone (except me) has posted about Ross Douthat's opinion piece in the New York Times and Jay Akasie's thoroughly mean-spirited column in the Wall Street Journal.

From Akasie:

General Convention is also notable for its sheer ostentation and carnival atmosphere. For seven straight nights, lavish cocktail parties spilled into pricey steakhouses, where bishops could use their diocesan funds to order bottles of the finest wines.

I was in Anaheim for GC2009, and I was obviously not on the A-list for an invitation to the parties.  Akasie says he is Episcopalian, and I'd like to know which Episcopal church he attends.

Others have said that Ross Douthat's column in the NYT was thoughtful and reasonable, but I can't agree.  True, he was not as nasty as Akasie, but still...  Not that TEC is above criticism - I've been critical - but neither columnist paints a fair or accurate picture of the church.  I didn't have the heart to take on either of the columnists, but others did, many others.  Scroll though the posts at The Lead to find the responses.

I'd like to point to posts by a pair of friends of mine, not because the two are my friends, but because I like what Doug Blanchard and Elizabeth Kaeton say about The Episcopal Church, my church.  My friends paint a much more realistic picture of the church I love than either of the writers in major media outlets.

In his post titled "What Ever To Do About the Episcopal Church", Doug says:

September of this year will mark the thirtieth anniversary of my confirmation into the Episcopal Church.  I've joined or participated in congregations in Missouri, Texas, Michigan, Italy, Kentucky, New Jersey, and New York.  In those three decades, I've been pleased to be part of congregations that were never large, but were full of people happy to be there, people from many different generations and classes.  Religious life was always a serious matter of education and prayer with Sunday school, adult education, Bible classes, pastoral training for laity, hospital partnerships, prison ministries, food pantries, hot meal programs, programs for homeless kids, Benedictine spiritual groups, prayer groups, house congregations, etc.  These congregations were always busy and full of life.  Most striking about all of them is that the majority of their members, including the clergy, were converts.

'Tis true; 'tis true.  Many of the members of my congregation also chose to be members of the Episcopal Church.  Read it all.

Next Elizabeth's post titled  "Postcard from Nineveh".  Already, I like the title.

The main thesis of the recent attacks have to do with holding up the recent actions of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church - authorizing liturgical blessings for the covenants made between people of the same sex, changing our canons to disallow discrimination based on gender identity and expression, etc. - as an example of why Christianity is in decline.

Elizabeth paints a picture of the church of the future, which I believe is spot on.

I don't think the church of the future is going to look anything like it does now.

I suspect it's going to look smaller, less bound to buildings and structures, more directed to caring for others than maintaining ourselves, more committed to following an unknown path to the future than cherishing dusty old maps that lead us over and over again to the past.

Of course, you should read the entire post.

UPDATE: And if you want even more on Ross Douthat, Paul (A.) says...

Our friend Slacktivist has posts on Douthat responses here, here, and here. The second of these posts posits an interesting proposition: Automobile-shaped development has produced an automobile-shaped ecclesiology. All are worth perusing.

ALTHOUGH I'M TAKING A SABBATICAL...

OMG! Hegelian Dialectic in Anglican Robes. - Tobias

...from "As the Anglican World Turns", Elizabeth Kaeton at Telling Secrets is not. If the following quote from the post is not enough to get you over to her blog...

Here's but one example of Blessed Rowan's cluelessness: At the press conference at the end of the Primates meeting, Dr. Williams indicated that he is planning a global tour to mend fences to, he said, in his very own inimical way (Are you ready for this? Okay, here we go), "find a synthesis between the thesis of sexual orthodoxy and the antithesis of homosexual practice".

...then there's something wrong with you. Sorry, but it's true. :-)

BLUE CHRISTMAS - THE LONGEST NIGHT

Tonight, many churches will celebrate "Longest Night" or "Blue Christmas" services. From Episcopal Life.

During these shortest days and longest nights of the year, many Episcopal Church congregations are offering services meant to bring comfort to those who struggle to find the joy of the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Often called Blue Christmas or Longest Night services, many take place the evening of December 21, the night of the winter solstice, and are designed for people who are coping with loss. Those people hear the Christmas song that describes "the most wonderful time of the year with the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you 'Be of good cheer'" but instead feel they are living the lyrics of the 1957 hit "Blue Christmas" when Elvis Presley sings "I'll have a blue Christmas without you, I'll be so blue just thinking about you."

My friend, Elizabeth Kaeton, is quoted in the article. Elizabeth says:

"It's probably one of the most pastoral things I do at Christmas," said the Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton.

Kaeton places the rationale for offering a Blue Christmas service squarely within the message of Christmas. Noting that Episcopalians proclaim in The Book of Common Prayer's Preface of the Commemoration of the Dead (pages 349 and 382) that "life is changed, not ended," she said. "I think this message gets carried into this service in a way that Christmas sentimentality doesn't."

"If we really understand why Christ came to us, then you really have to think about death and eternal life," she said.

Amen.

We hold before God:
those for whom life is very difficult;
those who have difficult decisions to make , and who honestly do not know the right thing to do.

We hold before God:
those who have difficult tasks to do and to face, and who fear they may fail in them;
those who have difficult temptations to face, and who know only too well that they may fall to them, if they try to meet them alone.

We hold before God:
those who know that they can be their own worst enemies.

We hold before God:
those who have difficult people to work with;
those who have to suffer unjust treatment, unfair criticism, unappreciated work.

We hold before God:
those who are sad because someone they loved has died;
and any who are disappointed in something for which they hoped very much.

William Barclay

From Celtic Daily Prayer.

Elizabeth posted a lovely Blue Christmas service at her blog, Telling Secrets. Working with rector, Max Wolf, and director of music, Alex Helsabeck, the three produced a lovely service for All Saints Episcipal Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Picture from Adventus.