Remember that the more specific you can be, the more the rest of us will get from your comments–KSH.
Blog Open Thread: Your Thoughts on the Tenth Anniversary of the Plano Conference
Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, Anthropology, Episcopal Church (TEC), Ethics / Moral Theology, GAFCON I 2008, GAFCON II 2013, Global South Churches & Primates, Instruments of Unity, Lambeth 2008, Same-sex blessings, Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion), Theology, Theology: Scripture, Windsor Report / Process
Many good things happened at the meeting. The highlight for me was the reading of a letter of solidarity from Cardinal Ratzinger, then the Pope’s #1 assistant, later Pope Benedict. My most vivid memory was checking into my room and calling home to let my wife know I had arrived safely. I was looking out the window and interrupted my wife in mid sentence with ” holy c–p, that’s Louie Crew standing out there!” FYI Dr. Crew refused to sign the required statement that the Bible contains all things necessary for salvation (I’m sure you are shocked to hear that), so he was denied registration.
I was then serving in Oregon, where I was feeling increasingly marginalized by a diocese lurching ever leftward. I remember when I received word of the conference I said to myself “I just have to go.” I registered so early that it was originally scheduled to be held at Christ Church, so I booked a hotel room in Plano (and had to negotiate Dallas traffic every morning to get to the Anatole!).
The word of encouragement I received at the meeting was simply “You are not alone”. I met many old friends, heard encouraging presentations of orthodox faith, and experienced great, unedited, un-PC-improved Episcopal worship.
But the highlight for me, as it was for #1 was that electric moment when, amidst several letters of greeting, came the letter from Cardinal Ratzinger. At that moment I truly felt that we were not alone.
I also discovered that Dallas was a great place, and six months later I was called to my current parish in the Diocese of Dallas!
My wife and I didn’t make it to Plano, but we did drive up from Charlottesville to be part of Plano East in Woodbridge, VA. I was “volunteered” to be part of the service, doing one of the readings I think. I remember a sense of sadness at what was clearly the beginning of end for my 20 year involvement in TEC. However, I also remember being excited by Cardinal Ratzinger’s greetings. We were later privileged to be with him on stage at a Wednesday audience in Rome and again at the National’s stadium in DC. Of course, by then he was Pope Benedict and we were Roman Catholics.
I remember well being there. At that time I was studying for an MA at a Roman Catholic uni and so knew well who Cardinal Ratzinger was, and was very surprised to receive an address from him! Since then, of the two priests who went on that trip, one has left TEC for ACNA. Of four of my then 20-something friends (I was also 20-something than) who wanted to become priests, three of them became priests in ACNA, and the other one converted to Catholicism.