A majority of dioceses in the Episcopal Church have confirmed the election of an open lesbian as a bishop in Los Angeles, bringing Bishop-elect Mary Glasspool one step closer to consecration.
The Diocese of Los Angeles, where Glasspool was elected as an assistant bishop last December, announced confirmations from 61 of the denomination’s 110 dioceses on Wednesday (March 10).
[blockquote] “I look forward to the final few consents to come in from the bishops in the next few days, and I give thanks for the fact that we as a church have taken a bold step for just action,†said Los Angeles Bishop Jon Bruno. [/blockquote]
What we have done is given the finger to the Anglican Communion and claimed that ‘autonomy’ is more important than the Body of Christ. Amazing how TEC leadership will become upset when individual rectors and/or congregations treat their Diocese in the same way. In other words, TEC wants autonomy from everyone else but demands absolute loyalty from within.
We will now see what the Bishops will do?
I expect some profuse dithering and intense hand-wringing, then an eruption akin to the Plop-Plop of an Alka-Seltzer tablet. There will be some frenetic pronouncements, then it will be over.
Dare the bishops not consent, what with Katie at the door and her Beers & PERSONAL Litigation assistant sponsored by the evangelism budget at their doors?
I dare say that we shall not see even a whimper out of the “Camp Allen bishops” and not even A single “blowin’ in the wind(sor) bishop” in opposition. There’s a new sheriff in town, recall.
And that group that signed some sort of declaration at GC2009, not one them either!
Bruno’s just calling out the purple shirts, that’s all!
Once (not if) the bishops’ consents come in, expect the ABC to issue a 3,000 word statement summarizing the current situation and describing this action as “unhelpful”. He will go on to urge everyone to remain in dialog. Beyond that, he will do nothing.
#4. dwstroudmd.
[blockquote]I dare say that we shall not see even a whimper out of the “Camp Allen bishops†and not even A single “blowin’ in the wind(sor) bishop†in opposition. There’s a new sheriff in town, recall.[/blockquote]
Don’t they have a moral duty to openly oppose her election and clearly state their reasons? If they won’t do this then aren’t they as culpable as those advocating for Glasspool?
#5 is absolutely right…not only will the ABC label this as “unhelpful” I expect it will cause “serious concerns” and require “intense discussions” and further “listening” to each other. Then we can look forward to the dozens of scholarly attempts to decipher what the ABC has actually said.
TEC has really done it now!
We now have a “G” and an”L.” Can a “B” and a “T” be far behind? This is far from over. And the decline continues.
So now the count is up to 61 sc’s? Presumably the number may still grow between now and May 8th when the 120 day period for confirmation ends. I hope the LA Diocese posts the list of those giving approval. Such a Hall of Shame would be a helpful thing to know.
David Handy+
Does this mean the Archbishop of Canterbury will have to write another letter?
#10. Jim the Puritan,
[blockquote]Does this mean the Archbishop of Canterbury will have to write another letter?[/blockquote] After an appropriate interlude where we get our hopes up for the umpteenth time only to have them dashed once again.
#8, PB – you are so right……and to have political correctness…..since there is the claim of 10% of the population are glbt……doesn’t it stand to reason that the push should and will be made to have a 10% representation in the house of bishops……its only fair darn it…..
(I posted the below on a near identical thread from a couple of days ago.)
I really don’t see the big deal here. The outcome is a forgone conclusion and has been from the start. The usual huffing and puffing from the usual quarters notwithstanding, there will be no significant consequences over this. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional. I can not see this generating a new wave of defections. Seriously. Anyone who was ever going to leave TEO for any reason whatsoever has already done so. Those still in it have nailed their flag to the masthead and are determined to go down with the ship. It’s not something that I or anyone else here is happy about. But that’s the way it is.
Sometimes I get the feeling that there are a lot of people on this forum who haven’t figured this out. So I guess it needs to be said bluntly. The war for the soul of the Episcopal Church is over and the Christians lost. What people choose to do with that fact is up to them. But it is a fact.
Sometimes I get the feeling that there are a lot of people on this forum who want to win the battle for the soul of the Episcopal Church, but don’t care if they lose the war for Christ-likeness. What people choose to do with that fact is up to them. But it is a fact.
BTW: Does anyone know whether it’s possible to find out right now how each diocese has voted?
If 61 standing committees have consented,
who are they?
Titus 3:10-11
Re # 14
JHP,
I am content to let your comment (presumably directed at me) stand on its own merits. People may draw what conclusions they will.
I would be interested to know if there is any statistically significant difference in membership (that is, attendance) rates between those dioceses in concurrence with this, and those not in concurrence. the result is not obvious. For example, it may be that LGBT are swarming to some localities, in order to deflect the Church’s agenda there. Understand that four or five is a “swarm” in areas of severely declining attendance.
The Roman Catholic Church, which has experienced growth in many areas, has largely done so due to Hispanic immigration. The Church imagery has gradually shifted to a consistently Mexican cultural presence in some parishes. If attendance were measured from generation to generation, rather than by immigration, the decline would be remarkable.
Still, I think that Ad Orientem (#13) is correct. The battle has been fought and lost, both in terms of doctrine in mainline Protestant churches, and culturally in the RC church.
In “The Faith Instinct,” a popularized book of anthropology and religion by Nicholas Wade, the author posits that a propensity towards some sort of religion is built into humans, due to the need for social cohesion at a time when our structures were changing from small family tribes to larger organizations. No judgment is made as to whether or not that was part of a divine plan. Yet if we assume Wade to be correct, it seems likely that even if we have a built-in tendency towards faith, it will fail when social cohesion fails, as it is doing today. Or, in the alternative, it will prosper only when the adherents act and think alike in numerous ways (not just religiously), as seems to be the case with “political correctness.”
I am glad I am out of the TEC, but to see further decline and increasing stupidity still hurts.
I foresee much hand-wringing and many tears -but TEC will be allowed to go its own sweet way. It’s like the child who is threatened by its parents with severe consequences that would follow an act of disobedience, with some temerity goes ahead anyway, and finds that nothng more than a few words of regret follows. Next time they simply ‘sin boldly’.