The venerable Oradell church was seeking a leader who could bring some life experience to the pulpit.
Enter the Rev. J. Barrington Bates, 51, an art history major who had done stints as choral singer, a pilgrimage leader at ancient Celtic sites and even once had a cameo role in the “Third Watch” television series.
Bates also worked as a computer programmer ”“ a career that made him reconsider his direction in life.
“I made a lot of money and I hated it,” he said. “I ended up taking one of those career tests and found out I was best suited to be in ministry or an opera singer.”
Sounds like a good fit for the Diocese of Newark:
“After years of feeling alienated from organized religion, he became enamored with the liturgy of the Episcopal Church and its liberal theology. He plunged into his priestly career during the 1990s, earning a doctorate and three master’s degrees and writing numerous articles on theological topics.”
Just another chap, who grew tired of his previous career and thought, how wonderful it would be to become a priest? Just another box to tick off in his CV, with no particular theological strength to bring to the church….. sounds liek a certain PB to me.
Of course, we are talking about TEC in the DioNewark, aren’t we, so I suppose it’ll all work out just fine.
Just what the church needs, ANOTHER one. LM
Scotsreb, what do you have against men and women who recognize, later in life (rather than earlier) that their true vocation is ordained ministry? I think your comment is a pretty snarky generalization of “late vocations.” And you have no idea as to Fr. Bates’ theological strength — it is, while liberal (I assume you do not approve), thorough, steeped in the early Fathers, deeply prayerful.
Perhaps you (and Tony and Larry) might want to give a struggling parish a good wish and a prayer?
At least he won’t be leading the inspired multitudes. The church graph is one of the more peculiar ones I have seen, but the ASA which used to be 150 in 1995 is now down to 50 at most.
http://12.0.101.88/reports/PR_ChartsDemo/exports/ParishRPT_8162007115541PM.pdf
Margaret, again I ask, why not give a struggling parish a good wish and a prayer? Reciting ASA stats has become almost a mantra of reasserters…I don’t suppose there are any “orthodox” “Anglican” parishes that show any sort of decline? Hmmmm?
Why not give this parish a blessing — that they may grow not just in numbers (God doesn’t ask us to be “successful”) but in spiritual health in Christ Jesus (God asks us to be faithful)?
Some of the comments here and elsewhere, hoping that things will go wrong in any ECUSA venue or situation, and gloating in anticipation of same, are sins against the Body of Christ and the Holy Spirit.