Destroying a Church in Order to Save It
We learned recently that two nearby communities in the Colorado Diocese of the Episcopal Church are closing down, and at mass this morning a good many people from Holy Spirit parish attended, doubtless "interviewing" St. Raphael as a new church home.
Holy Spirit had been having trouble for several years, but the other came as quite a surprise, and when Carol and I drove past St. Francis of Assisi parish recently, there was a sign out in front indicating that the parish was changing its affiliation to one of the several national Continuing Anglican jurisdictions. (The buildings belong to the diocese and will probably be sold to one of the Jesus-rock contemporary churches.) No one seems to want to talk on the record about the problems, but from what we can learn, the fighting at St. Francis over the gay clergy issue made certain people in the reactionary faction so furious that they picked fights, yelled, screamed, and made everyone miserable until the parish crumbled.
Admittedly, that may be an exaggeration stemming from the liberal sympathies of most people at St. Raphael's, but then again, from what I'm reading on the Web, it may not be. And one has to wonder if this tactic is deliberate, or simply selfish people being themselves. I don't think it's beyond imagination to speculate that some people may want to do everything in their power to destroy the Episcopal Church, including depriving ordinary parishioners (who may not feel strongly about the core issue either way) of their longstanding parish homes.
At very least, such a tactic would be un-Christian. Objecting to a decision the Church made is natural and expected, but once the Church has followed the deliberative mechanisms in its own constitution and come to a final decision (as it did in this case) the people on the losing side can either accept the decision, abstain from acceptance but remain in attendance, or walk. Some of the losers are clearly walking, but are doing so in such a destructive way that they are leaving only wreckage behind.
The relationship of homosexuality to Christianity is a difficult one, but that's not what I'm depressed about. Is it moral to use rage as as a weapon in a dispute over moral principles? One would think that the Christian way would be to say, "Sorry, we can't continue with the Church given its recent decisions. Good bye and God bless." That's not what we're seeing here.
St. Raphael's role has long been to provide a refuge to people (like Carol and myself) who find ourselves on the losing side in Church conflicts, though generally in the Roman Catholic Church. Carol and I didn't make scenes. We just left, and we try not to let anger smoulder over the whole ridiculous birth control issue, on which the Romans seem to hang their entire theology.
Our little parish will try to remain true to its history, and we hope that some of the people from Holy Spirit and St. Francis will travel a few more miles on Sunday and join us. There's a general feeling around here that the conflicts in Colorado Springs are not about God at all, but about being Right Men (and Right Women) and having Our Way, no matter what collateral damage may be brought down on bystanders.
Damn. There's a reason that Anger and Pride are deadly sins. I just never thought I'd see so much of it in the Episcopal Church.