The U.S. Episcopal Church is in the middle of a wrenching debate that could end with its departure from the worldwide Anglican Communion over disagreements about gay clergy and same-sex unions.
Episcopal bishops are expected to wrap up six days of meetings and ministry in New Orleans on Tuesday with an answer to a request by senior Anglican bishops who met in Tanzania earlier this year.
They have asked that the U.S. church by the end of this month renounce the blessing of same-sex marriages and agree not to allow more non-celibate gays to become bishops.
The stakes are high not least because the Episcopal Church, with 2.4 million members, provides 40 percent of the budget for the operating costs of the 77-million-member global Anglican Communion and a substantial amount of the funds for overseas mission and relief work.
“If the Episcopal Church is isolated from the broader community or chooses to isolate itself, the work of the global communion will suffer greatly,” said Jim Rosenthal, communications director for the Worldwide Anglican Communion.
Invariably TEC’s money gets prominent mention.
I wonder if any of the writers of this article read today’s Gospel.
If this whole thing is all about money, we should just close up shop.
[blockquote]I wonder if any of the writers of this article read today’s Gospel. [/blockquote]
Precisely my thought.
Aside from money, whay do they always focus on the gay issue. That is only a symptom of the ills of TEC, not the core of the problem. And it is doubtful if any of the writers actually know what the Gospels are let alone even read them.