The very first graphic, I suppose, reveals the very reason I am no longer an Episcopalian. My own very best memory- kneeling next to my father, praying together “Our Father…..”
And what word is missing from the graphic that they paid some graphic designer to design because by the arrangement of words in the graphic, and colors, and brightness levels, you can influence which words are selected (Delphi Technique is not limited only to small group conversations- lots of ways to get people to select what you want they to select from a list- ask any stage mentalist or sleight of hand card magician).
Jesus does get a mention off to the side, and it least His name is upright and legible, although easily lost in a sea of adjectives. And their is “spirit”, but I daresay, not the Holy Spirit.
The missing word is, of course, “Father.” They are reimagining a church can be like without God the Father.
It is fascinating to me that one of the Task Force members declared certain comments (under “let go”) as “hateful,” “passive-aggressive,” “having an agenda.” How did she know? Answer? Because they differed from her opinion and her agenda.
Youth is sidelined – barely visible in upper right hand corner.
Nothing about Scripture.
Not even anything about Service.
What is “Thoughtful God Acceptance” ???!!!??
even if those are two different phrases: “thoughtful” and “God Acceptance” – what on earth does God Acceptance mean?
They’re working with a TEENY TINY response rate! I found it quite striking that “few” of the task force members have bothered to respond to the 4 question survey.
[blockquote]Nearly 190 groups and individuals have responded to the four online questions, sometimes with lengthy comments. All of those comments are posted just below the explanation of the engagement kit at the link above. More responses have come to the task force via other methods, putting the total number of responses somewhere between 260 and 280, according to the Ven. Robert Franken, who along with the Rev. Leng Lim, led the task force through a lengthy multi-part discussion of the responses received thus far.
The task force needs more input, Franken said, because the response to date “gives us a picture but it doesn’t yet give us the whole picture, and we want to make sure that the picture we’re getting is the right picture.â€
Few of the task force members have answered the four online questions, according to a show of hands. And not all who have facilitated groups who used the engagement kit have supplied the results to the task force, Franken said.[/blockquote]
Wow. When even the task force members don’t believe in what they’re doing and can’t be bothered, you have a very serious problem!
I was struck by the nearly complete absence of meaning in the torrent of words spewed forth. It was not only the use of certain code words (hat tip to #3 above), but the dearth of concrete examples of anything.
And then there was this — one of the participants told the task force that it must articulate “our holistic vision for how we’re hoping that the church moves in a new direction as a networked facilitator actually, as opposed to a corporation.â€
Can anybody translate this into English for me? Probably not. There is no content to translate. The sentence is almost devoid of meaning. While I wait, I think I will re-read Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language.”
This sentence from Orwell anticipates both the article and the persons quoted:
“The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not. This mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose, and especially of any kind of political writing.”
And, lest we have any doubt, this article was political writing.
My earliest memories of the Church in which my wife and I were confirmed by Bishop Banyard are of a Church which used the 1928 BCP, and a Church which practiced what they preached. Evensong once a month with sung services, the Eucharist every Sunday, no thought of women clergy, and in which women wore head covering in the congregation and the choir. The acolytes were of course boys. Now, thankfully, some of that has changed, in that the head coverings are gone, and what were once mainly black and white vestments have been replaced (for the most part) by liturgical colors, and girls are now acolytes alongside the boys. Now, having said that, we are thankful that we are no longer Episcopalians, but communicants of the ACNA.
This diagramming of a new Episcopalianism is an abomination, and is something which should be avoided by anyone who claims to be a part of the Anglican Christian community. The lesser emphasis on Jesus is a clear indicator of the direction in which their leaders are choosing to lead them. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but they have chosen to downplay Him, and it will come back to bite them.
Clearly Pope Francis missed out on a good bet. If he had gotten this group to reform the Curia instead of those 8 cardinals, he might have gotten a wordle of his own. 🙂
The very first graphic, I suppose, reveals the very reason I am no longer an Episcopalian. My own very best memory- kneeling next to my father, praying together “Our Father…..”
And what word is missing from the graphic that they paid some graphic designer to design because by the arrangement of words in the graphic, and colors, and brightness levels, you can influence which words are selected (Delphi Technique is not limited only to small group conversations- lots of ways to get people to select what you want they to select from a list- ask any stage mentalist or sleight of hand card magician).
Jesus does get a mention off to the side, and it least His name is upright and legible, although easily lost in a sea of adjectives. And their is “spirit”, but I daresay, not the Holy Spirit.
The missing word is, of course, “Father.” They are reimagining a church can be like without God the Father.
May God have mercy on them.
sorry for the grammar/spelling slips above, I should always proofread when emotional
It is fascinating to me that one of the Task Force members declared certain comments (under “let go”) as “hateful,” “passive-aggressive,” “having an agenda.” How did she know? Answer? Because they differed from her opinion and her agenda.
Like #1, looking at the “wordle”
Youth is sidelined – barely visible in upper right hand corner.
Nothing about Scripture.
Not even anything about Service.
What is “Thoughtful God Acceptance” ???!!!??
even if those are two different phrases: “thoughtful” and “God Acceptance” – what on earth does God Acceptance mean?
They’re working with a TEENY TINY response rate! I found it quite striking that “few” of the task force members have bothered to respond to the 4 question survey.
[blockquote]Nearly 190 groups and individuals have responded to the four online questions, sometimes with lengthy comments. All of those comments are posted just below the explanation of the engagement kit at the link above. More responses have come to the task force via other methods, putting the total number of responses somewhere between 260 and 280, according to the Ven. Robert Franken, who along with the Rev. Leng Lim, led the task force through a lengthy multi-part discussion of the responses received thus far.
The task force needs more input, Franken said, because the response to date “gives us a picture but it doesn’t yet give us the whole picture, and we want to make sure that the picture we’re getting is the right picture.â€
Few of the task force members have answered the four online questions, according to a show of hands. And not all who have facilitated groups who used the engagement kit have supplied the results to the task force, Franken said.[/blockquote]
Wow. When even the task force members don’t believe in what they’re doing and can’t be bothered, you have a very serious problem!
TEC is a “Church?” Really? You could’ve fooled me!
I was struck by the nearly complete absence of meaning in the torrent of words spewed forth. It was not only the use of certain code words (hat tip to #3 above), but the dearth of concrete examples of anything.
And then there was this — one of the participants told the task force that it must articulate “our holistic vision for how we’re hoping that the church moves in a new direction as a networked facilitator actually, as opposed to a corporation.â€
Can anybody translate this into English for me? Probably not. There is no content to translate. The sentence is almost devoid of meaning. While I wait, I think I will re-read Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language.”
This sentence from Orwell anticipates both the article and the persons quoted:
“The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not. This mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose, and especially of any kind of political writing.”
And, lest we have any doubt, this article was political writing.
Actually, Franz, it’s what I call “Obfuscatory Episcobabble.”
My earliest memories of the Church in which my wife and I were confirmed by Bishop Banyard are of a Church which used the 1928 BCP, and a Church which practiced what they preached. Evensong once a month with sung services, the Eucharist every Sunday, no thought of women clergy, and in which women wore head covering in the congregation and the choir. The acolytes were of course boys. Now, thankfully, some of that has changed, in that the head coverings are gone, and what were once mainly black and white vestments have been replaced (for the most part) by liturgical colors, and girls are now acolytes alongside the boys. Now, having said that, we are thankful that we are no longer Episcopalians, but communicants of the ACNA.
This diagramming of a new Episcopalianism is an abomination, and is something which should be avoided by anyone who claims to be a part of the Anglican Christian community. The lesser emphasis on Jesus is a clear indicator of the direction in which their leaders are choosing to lead them. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but they have chosen to downplay Him, and it will come back to bite them.
Clearly Pope Francis missed out on a good bet. If he had gotten this group to reform the Curia instead of those 8 cardinals, he might have gotten a wordle of his own. 🙂