In many sweet ways – little notes on the refrigerator, photos of kids on the walls – Holy Comforter parish in Broomfield resembles a happy family.
But next Sunday, this 49-year-old family faces something like a divorce.
That’s when the Rev. Chuck Reeder and an unspecified number of parishioners join the national conservative flight out of the Episcopal Church because of its departure from traditional teachings on marriage and Scriptural authority.
“Very soon, this is not going to be the congregation it has been,” Reeder told Sunday’s Bible study crowd over pastries and coffee. He confessed to typos in this week’s study outline and added, “Go easy on me. This has been a tough week.”
Unlike the bloody war of lawsuits elsewhere, this parish breakup is civil and polite – gentle, even. Nobody’s trying to take the property. Reeder won’t even discuss who’s staying or going, lest it seem like a bitter “us” versus “them” issue.
But everything still hurts.
Busy week … Chicago, East Haven & Broomfield … and it’s only Monday.
This treament of Fr. Reeder says volumes to readers of the Rocky Mountain News about the character of the bishop of the Diocese of Colorado. And gives a context from which to view the actions of the diocese in the Grace & St Stephens fiasco as well.
At least they are departing in a civil way without theological pot shots at each other. Score one for civility!
Don’t be misled by the headline and excerpt above. The very next sentence after the excerpt details the diocese’s “civility”:
At last week’s parish meeting called by the bishop, O’Neill opened by saying “God is always doing something new.”
It seems to me that scripture tells us that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
What O’Neill, and the revisionists that I know, don’t understand (or maybe don’t want to acknowledge) is that it is not God that is doing something new, it is that God is calling us to do something new in our lives, to abandon our life of the world and to live in the world for His kingdom.
O’Neill also used Colossians 3 for meditation, but only verses 1-3, then skipping down to verse 12. Verses 5-6 are just a bit too inconvenient and difficult to explain, I guess.
Harvey, I agree we shouldn’t be taking “pot shots” at each other but we do need to be as clear as possible about what unites us and divides. Although the pain of the separations is similar to the pain of divorce the ’cause’ of the separation is deeply theological.
The official Episcopal web site’s definition of Christianity is inadequate. It talks about the centrality of scripture but then says it is open to interpretation. Sin and repentance are not mentioned once. This is not a difference over arcane theories of atonement there is no concept of salvation and personal renewal. This is not even Christian let alone Anglican.
“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you,” says the Lord (Ezek. 36:26, and other places). “The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel….” (Jer. 31:31) “A new commandment I give you: love one another,” said Jesus to his disciples (John 13″36). “And the one who is seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new’>.” (Rev. 21:5).
To be and to do are not the same thing.
John A. wrote: “The official Episcopal web site’s definition of Christianity is inadequate. It talks about the centrality of scripture but then says it is open to interpretation.” Of course, Scrpture is open to interpretation! What do you think has been going on in Christianity for the past 1950 years?
Posse Rider, great catch. [i]Of course[/i] +O’Neill didn’t dare read Colossians 3:5-10, so I have pasted the section without omission below:
[blockquote]Colossians 3
Put On the New Self
1Therefore if you have been (A)raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, (B)seated at the right hand of God.
2(C)Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3For you have (D)died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4When Christ, (E)who is our life, is revealed, (F)then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
5(G)Therefore consider (H)the members of your earthly body as dead to (I)immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
6For it is because of these things that (J)the wrath of God will come [a]upon the sons of disobedience,
7and (K)in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.
8But now you also, (L)put them all aside: (M)anger, wrath, malice, slander, and (N)abusive speech from your mouth.
9(O)Do not lie to one another, since you (P)laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
10and have (Q)put on the new self who is being (R)renewed to a true knowledge (S)according to the image of the One who (T)created him–
11a renewal in which (U)there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, (V)circumcised and uncircumcised, [b](W)barbarian, Scythian, (X)slave and freeman, but (Y)Christ is all, and in all.
12So, as those who have been (Z)chosen of God, holy and beloved, (AA)put on a (AB)heart of compassion, kindness, (AC)humility, gentleness and (AD)patience;
13(AE)bearing with one another, and (AF)forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; (AG)just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
14Beyond all these things put on love, which is (AH)the perfect bond of (AI)unity.
15Let (AJ)the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in (AK)one body; and be thankful.
16Let (AL)the word of [c]Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom (AM)teaching and admonishing one another (AN)with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, (AO)singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
17(AP)Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, (AQ)giving thanks through Him to God the Father.[/blockquote]
Perhaps reappraisers disagree with Jesus (“Scripture cannot be broken”) and instead see Scripture as a sort of curate’s egg. When it was pointed out to the curate that he had been served a rotten egg, he replied, “No, no, parts of it are quite excellent!”
Oops, didn’t preview. I think biblegateway.com bolded the passage for me with a footnote labeled [ b ].
Bob, yes, of course scripture is open to interpretation. But what methods and principals should be used to interpret scripture? In recent decades we should have been debating [i]how[/i] to interpret scripture. If we had agreed to a reasoned debate on the interpretation and application of scripture there would be no crisis right now.
As far as I can tell there has been little discussion of this sort because some people claim that the views of TEC are “inspired by the Holy Spirit” with the sense that this trumps scripture and the views of other Anglicans. People on both sides of this conflict quote scripture in an ad hoc way but it tends to be about “the clobber verses” rather than the essentials of the faith. The Good Samaritan is adored while the Prodigal is ignored.
The verses you quote are a good example. You highlight the verses about love while omitting the verses about repentance:
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Ezek 36:25-27 (NIV)
30 Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes–his own teeth will be set on edge.
Jer 31:30 (NIV)
23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
John 14:23-24 (NIV)
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Rev 21:6-8 (NIV)
Regarding the dismissing Father Reeder this Sunday rather than waiting for October 1st as the letter of resignation letter had written. Really an unkind cut. Most ungracious in the part of O’Neill to a gracious letter. I hope the congregation sees O’Neil as the petty bureaucrat that he is, taking orders from 815.
Charles Reeder+ is a remarkable Anglican priest, the best homilist I have heard in my 69 years. Now free of the stultifying TEC Diocese of Colorado I expect this extraordinary man and his extraordinary parish to grow more visible in the Anglican world. Do not miss the opportunity to worship with them when visiting Denver.
That O’Neil broke his word and did something rude and uncharitable should come as no surprise to those who have watched his behaviour over the years. He does, however, serve the Church by giving us a clear view of what lies ahead for orthodox Christians in TEC. Persecution, presentments, bankruptcy, broken promises. This Diocese is imploding, with catastrophic decline in ASA. Thanks, Rob, for this further illustration of the futility of civility when dealing with revisionist bishops.