SORRY, WE'RE NOT READY FOR A WOMAN

A good many folks in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, who see Christians arguing about women clergy and bishops and same-sexuality, bi-sexuality, trans-sexuality look at us in wonder, and not a few conclude, "I want no part of that." Women clergy, women in leadership in the church, same-, bi-, and trans-sexuality are simply not issues for them. Yet, those of us in the church continue to waste time and energy on these matters instead of being about the business of building the Kingdom of God. Is it any wonder that the generations vote with their feet and don't occupy the pews in the churches?

The Episcopal Church has progressed toward implementing just and equal policies for women in the church, but, at the grass roots level, those of us who are present know that in certain parishes and dioceses, all is not as rosy as it might appear in the press reports. The church has had women priests since 1977, 34 years, if you want to count from the date women were" regularly" ordained. It's way past time for those in parishes who say, "We're not ready for a woman priest," and those in dioceses who say, "We're not ready for a woman bishop," to put their (I call it what I believe it is.) misogyny behind them and begin to focus on calling or electing the most qualified of the candidates and the person who is the best fit for the parish or diocese where they will be serving, leaving aside entirely the gender of the candidate as a consideration.

Sadly, the present situation on the ground for LGTB clergy shows even less progress toward justice and equality than for women, but I'll leave that discussion for another post. In the meantime, let's not deceive ourselves into thinking that we don't pay a price for the inequality that remains.