At this juncture in our nation’s history, it is vitally important that we separate the values that are worth fighting for from those that are simply matters of cultural preference. There are values that are universal and non-negotiable. I find them in the Bible and they have shaped my life.
It is in the Bible where you will discover the truth that every human life is of inestimable worth. You will find that God created marriage – one man and one woman for life. This is not some social arrangement that we can redesign at will; it is part of God’s design for humanity.
However, for about the past forty years I belonged to a church that no longer advocates these values. In fact, it is attempting to deliberately replace our core values with some of the latest cultural whims.
That church is The Episcopal Church. It still has remnants of its rapidly fading prestige, but its current leadership seems to have lost its way and it has caused a major rift in the Anglican Communion.
The division within the Communion has been widespread and unbelievably painful. About half of the 38 provinces are in broken or impaired relationships. Dozens of dioceses are in disarray and hundreds of churches and millions of people have been negatively impacted by this fracture in our common life.
Godly vision from a Godly man. Thank you for sharing Kendall.
Intercessor
“We have a future and it is exciting. We all do if we will remember our roots. We do not need to apologize for the values that shaped our nation or question the biblical foundation of our faith. We must, however, stand firm to ensure that those values remain the cornerstone of our churches and our country.”
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This core message must be repeated and repeated and repeated.
It must be expounded upon within ECUSA in clear and basic words that will bring the pew-sitters to their feet in comprehension and propel them into challenging the actions of revisionists within ECUSA.
Think of how the money being wasted in litigation against the CANA, Southern Cone, and Ugandan-rescued parishes could be used:
* to address the Millenium Development Goals
* to assist those who are suffering the effects of Hanna, Gustave (and very shortly) Ike
* to assist organizations who provide adoption assistance and assistance to unwed mothers
They ran this on CSPAN last night and I happened to catch it. Good delivery, great message…but the crowd was not the most enthusiastic. He came after a long series of speakers basically saying the same thing….and he probably had to spend so much time in his presentation trying to explain who Anglicans and who the Episcopal Church is/are….I think he lost a big chunk of the crowd.