Did I speak too soon?

[dsdrane]

W/R/T to the ABC...OMG, WTF???

[BruceChris]

That KJS is not doing? -- P&L, Bruce Chris

[nmwolfboy]

Yeah, us glbt members of TEC, who aren't happy with the WWAC or the ABC's leadership. And let's not even get into CANA or AMiA.

TTFN,
Scott

[Daniel]

Just what would Gandhi do

Originally Posted by BruceChris

That KJS is not doing? -- P&L, Bruce Chris

Well...isn't that like asking what Jesus would do? And I think the answer is pretty simple. Gandhi and Jesus would both have the interests of the downtrodden and the disenfranchised in mind. They would also have compassion for those who - because of lack of ignorance and upbringing- act our their homophobic fears.

What Episcoplians are being asked to do is essentially this: "don't frighten the horses'. Let's not do anything to upset the people who are so upset. But they're already upset. They are the ones who- in psychologicial terms- are projecting like crazy.

This dynamic is very much alive in the discourse surrounding gay marriage. Conservatives are forever saying that they must protect marriage, when in fact, we know that gay marriage is not going to take anything away from any one. Their fear is pure projection. So they make fear into law. That's projection on a grand scale.

Do those who are homophobic need to be presented with the information and knowledge we have here? YOU BET YOUR SWEET LIFE THEY DO!

That is a good first step. This has to be done relentlessly. That's what Gandhi would do. Then a delegation of gay Anglican persons needs to go and chain themselves to these guys doors. Or something similar to that. Something up close and personal. Over and over and over again. That's what relentless means.

There is the assumption that Schori has our interests at heart. And maybe she does. And she may indeed have a genius for getting people to relate to one another. That's going to be hard when a fair number of those who oppose her and our cause won't even have communion with her.

It may be off the mark, but she may be trying something I have seen at work here. And that is this: conservatives, I have noticed- are often far more concerned with being listened to on a human level than they are about what is actually coming out of their mouths. They want acknowlegement. They also want to keep face. And this speaks to the issue at hand. Compassion means that we connect through matters of the heart- not merely the head. That comes after. If Schori's effort is to jumpstart this process- I applaud her sagacity. But a great deal more than 'cooling your jets' is going to have to take place now. That alone - without any effort to speak truth to power- is going to give them the inch they will turn into a mile.

Lastly- I would like to offer the words of the Rev. Barbara Crafton. She was on the staff of a church in Greenwich Village where I sang for many years. She's a very good writer and has written many books- and sends an 'almost daily emo'. This came today. Her words echo my own feelings.

I CAN DEAL WITH AN IMPERFECT CHURCH

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen
gathers her brood under her wings
and you were not willing!
Luke 13:34

I haven't written my pithy, quotable essay on the Anglican Primates
meeting in Tanzania yet. I want to write it, but I keep thinking of
things that slow me down. Not indecision about the disagreement at
hand -- I'm not in doubt about the rightness of everyone being fully the
person God intends, whether in marriage or ministry. My own life has
been too rich with the blessings of friendship with far too many gay,
lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people to turn my back on them now.

The notion of holding back on the respect my heart and my head both
prompt toward them "for a season" sticks in my craw, mightily -- it is
one thing to ask me to sacrifice my own desires, quite another to ask
me to offer up the rights of someone else.

For if we "fast" from ordaining any more gay bishops, or from joining
Christians in same-sex unions, the fast will not fall equitably on all
of us here in the Episcopal Church. Both John Bauerschmidt and Tom
Briedenthal, both of whom I respect and admire, could proceed with
their consecrations as planned. The straight weddings I have on my calendar could prceed. None of those people would have to sacrifice a thing. My GLBT sisters and brothers would pick up the tab alone.

And yet. And yet. There is Bp. Katherine with her confidence in God's
presence, so evolutionary in character; she takes a very long view.
Wants us to be around to influence and be influenced by sisters and
brothers who disagree with us. Knows that nothing lasts forever, not this anguish and not anything else.

There is Jesus, with his 70x7 forgiveness, his turning of the other
cheek, his silent witness as he pays the penalty for his civil
disobedience. He paid it himself, of course. Didn't ask anyone else
to take his place.

I will not violate the dignity of anyone in order to please anyone
else. I won't acquiesce in such a thing, either, without naming it
for what it is. I also won't insist that others agree with me as a
condition of my continuing to relate to them. I won't absent myself
from the table. Those who cannot endure my presence there will have
to eject me, because I'm not leaving on my own.

I can deal with an imperfect Church -- been doing it all my life. And
the Church has dealt kindly with all my errors, which go back as far as
my baptism. I love its largeness, love its embrace of the world, and
want it to remain worldwide. If it does not, I will be waiting for the
day in the future when, this present pain in the past, we reunite with
those we have lost, and try to explain to our grandchildren just why
all this happened.


Copyright © 2007 Barbara Crafton - http://www.geraniumfarm.org

[Daniel]

This is what's happening in Africa.

http://365gay.com/Newscon07/03/030207africa.htm