At the same time, I can’t help thinking of friends from Montana whom I first met at Hope and a Future in 2005. Then members of an Episcopal parish, they now belong to Christ Church Anglican in Butte, a mission of Uganda. They saw the writing on the wall and left without their property to begin the work of converting the world in another place. I ask myself, how catholic it is for those of us in hitherto ”˜safe’ jurisdictions to praise them for their faith, yet offer them nothing in the way of institutional support. A few years ago it was accepted that an ACN bishop who offered pastoral care to such a group was likely to find himself facing a presentment for boundary crossing; hence, the African ”˜incursions.’ It does not seem right that we should continue to stand apart from them indefinitely. The International Convocation was a good beginning, but it left such parishes isolated from their brethren still within The Episcopal Church. So on Friday, I expect to vote in favor of the proposed changes to constitution and canons, but I will do it without the conviction that I would wish at such a time as this. Not because I feel it is disloyal to my commitment to The Episcopal Church, for loyalty must be to doctrine as well as discipline, but because, in so doing, I have taken it upon myself to advance a course that will move American Anglicanism away from the catholic model that defined The Episcopal Church from the struggles of the 1870s to the struggles of the 1970s.
“in so doing, I have taken it upon myself to advance a course that will move American Anglicanism away from the catholic model that defined The Episcopal Church from the struggles of the 1870s to the struggles of the 1970s.”
Jeremy articulates my struggle well. I am one of those still waiting for a clearer idea of where I am going when I leave. I am past the “if” but not on to the “where” yet.
We have to play the hand we are dealt. What happens when the catholic hierarchy (bishops) reject the faith they are supposed to uphold? What happens when they themselves become the heretics?
The answer is that we find ourselves in the sort of situation we have.
I might add what we no longer have the option of good or bad choices. All the options are bad and all we can do is seek out the least bad option.
Br. Michail,
Keep in mind that one of God’s specialties is turning a collection of bad choices into a great victory. Given free will, you still need to make the choices.
APB
Good point, the widow was using the last of her oil and flour for a final meal her and her son and the prophet says,”Give me something to eat.”. It must have looked to her like a really bad set of choices. Starve and die now or starve and die a bit later. God had something else in mind.
APB, true. God does bring good out of bad.
The two Scriptures that have led me these last days have been.
Matthew 16:15 – “What does it profit a man if he were to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul”
Romans 8:28 – “God works all things for good to those who beleive and are called according to his purposes”
Pray for us all in Johnstown. The long awaited realignment is about to begin.
Great comments on a very good article!
Psa 91:14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
God bless all of you who are engaged in this great quest!
Also, on:
Romans 8:28 – “God works all things for good to those who believe and are called according to his purposesâ€
There are two parts to that verse:
Part one: God works all things for good.
That is His domain – we can do nothing about that.
Part two: to those called according to His purpose.
This we must do with fear and trembling. It is our domain to seek to be called according to God’s purpose. This do.
Amen.
An excellent post and I fully empathize with Mr. Bonner’s sentiments. None of this is easy or welcome and much that was good will inevitably be lost no matter which course of action is followed. Lord have mercy.
Aragorn, as quoted by Dr. Bonner:
[blockquote] “Yet we that remain cannot forsake our companions while we have strength left. Come! We will go now. Leave all that can be spared behind! We will press on by day and dark!†[/blockquote]
I am reminded of Psalm 126: [blockquote] Those who sowed with tears…
Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed… [/blockquote] The seed is food for our hungry babies. What will happen to the hungry babies that we leave behind as we go out and cast our seed upon the ground, not knowing if there will be a harvest?
[blockquote] …will reap with songs of joy;
…will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves. [/blockquote] Only our Redeemer can bring the harvest.
Only our faith in Him can carry us on.
And those who have sown the wind will reap the whirlwind.
As one of the referenced Christ Church Anglican in Montana parish members, I want to thank Jeremy for his fine analysis and writing. As to the issue of the conviction of the vote, the closest analagous situation I can think of is the voting we did in the period around our leaving our Episcopal parish behind. It was with a firm conviction we were following God’s call, and as such was invigorating, but it was also a terribly sad time, as we each left behind unfulfilled hopes, missions which were shy of bearing fruit and – most importantly – those dear brothers and sisters who could not or would not come.
God has blessed us all with His Church. We have marred her in our many divisions, but more so in our lust after heresy. This time in the Anglican Communion is such as none of us has ever seen – the permutations seem to expand almost daily. And, yet, the catholicity of the Church is, I firmly believe, doctrinal – steadied by foundational doctrine – rather than necessarily institutional. I believe achieving a common institutional structure makes the catholicity easier to see – and thus a useful witness to a watching world – but my being Ugandan (in a spiritual sense) and your being American (a bit ironic that, eh, Jeremy?) doesn’t mean we are no longer reflective of the universality of God’s Church. We are brothers and sisters because we are part of the Church militant, because we are sinners who believe the salvation from our wretched selves is only through belief in and transformation by Christ with God’s abounding grace.
And, yet … ahhh … and yet I long for us to be in that single institutional structure (whatever that will look like) because I long for our experiences and foci to be common, because I long for the ease that would bring to our filial relationship, because I long for us to fight the enemy side by side. Thank you for your faithfulness and for listening carefully to how God calls you to vote. We are praying for you and the members of your Diocesan Convention.
Well said, Montanan. As a former Episcopalian, then a Ugandan, and now an Anglican outside the current conversations, I share your longings. May God bless you richly and may he bring us back in from Babylon in the fullness of His time.