Well, with the Lambeth Conference winding up, the Simple Country Bishop has declared victory and is off for some haggis:
"Now, we're off to Scotland. I will be preaching and celebrating at the Cathedral in Glasgow on Sunday morning. Scotland, the Dean/Provost is eager to tell me, is NOT England! "
Most Bishops are heading home after Lambeth. But not the Simple Country Bishop. He goes where the Holy Agenda leads:
"If I didn't believe that already, it was confirmed when he said he would not be able to meet us at the train station, because he was doing a same-sex blessing in the Cathedral at the time of our arrival. Dorothy, I guess we're not in Kansas anymore!"
Or, New Hampshire. Remember that place?
And was it all worth it? For the Simple Country Bishop, it was (to continue the Wizard of Oz references) somewhere over the Rainbow:
"I was also asked by several people whether or not my own witness, and that of other gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, had been "worth it," and "effective." If I've learned anything over the last five years, it is that I am not responsible for how my words and actions are received and whether or not they make a difference. I can only be responsible for (and judge myself by) the faithfulness with which I make my witness to the love of God working in my own life. I am proud to have stood with the people of Integrity, Claiming the Blessing, the Chicago Consultation, Inclusive Church and Changing Attitudes, as we all have made that witness, loud and clear. It was VERY interesting to me to look at the faces of those at the conference -- many, many of which were somber, sad and tense. In contrast, the faces of lgbt people and our allies, looked joyful, happy, even radiant."
Awww. Can't you can just hear the ruby slippers tapping together and everyone saying "There's no place like full inclusion. There's no place like full inclusion..."
Others, however, were of a different opinion. First up, Cherie Wetzel of Anglicans United:
"One of the most intrusive aspects of this Lambeth Conference has been the presence of gay activists. Integrity, USA is the umbrella organization, but six gay/lesbian organizations have come here, run a daily newspaper called the Lambeth Witness of Gay and Lesbian Christians, rented about 1/3 of the spaces in the Marketplace and provided speakers for many self-select groups for bishops and their wives. Additionally, these folks have sponsored about half of the evening fringe events.
They use all the advertising and promotional techniques that money can buy. They are better funded than any other organization here. Gene Robinson is also here, has been for almost a month now. He is seen daily walking on the campus and interacting with bishops that will talk with him. Of course, the TEC bishops are only too happy to do so and there are a few from a couple of other places that are also always happy to see him, like Michael Ingham from Vancouver, Canada. Remarkably, as the conference continued, there is less and less press about Gene. The gay newspaper keeps him on their front page; none other."
And how are those "joyful, happy, even radiant" friends of the Simple Country Bishop treating everyone else? Let's let the good Ms. Wetzel continue:
"My second trip to the Marketplace was disrupted. The first booth on the corner by the door is the Integrity booth. They are handing out rainbow ribbons and increasingly these are showing up on TEC bishops, some wives and the gay press. When you walk into the marketplace, a watcher at that booth, akin to a Carnival barker, starts shouting about your rainbow ribbon. If you don’t have one, you are admonished to come and get one. If you are leaving the marketplace and still don’t have a rainbow ribbon, you are again told to get one. Dangerous? No. It is simply annoying."
"At lunch break for the bishops on Thursday, there was a gay demonstration on the lawns outside the big blue tent and their closest lunch cafeteria. Gene was there at the beginning, but when they started kissing and acting out, he left. So did the bishops, hurrying their wives away."
If I had to be subjected to that, I'd be "somber, sad and tense" as well. (Funny, the Simple Country Bishop didn't mention that kissing and acting out in public in his post. I wonder why?)
And here's what the Bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East had to say:
"I find that many of our North American friends blame us and criticise us for bringing in the issues of sexuality and homosexuality but in fact they are the ones who are bringing these issues in. Here at Lambeth, you come across many advertisements for events organised by gay and Lesbian activists which are sponsored by the North American Church. If you visit the marketplace at the conference, you will notice that almost half the events promoted on the noticeboard promote homosexuality and are sponsored by the North Americans. And in the end, we, the people who remain loyal to the original teaching of the Anglican Communion, which we received from the Apostles, are blamed. They say that we talk a lot about sexuality and that we need to talk more about poverty, about AIDs, and injustice. They are the ones who are bringing sexuality into this conference. It’s not us. We want to talk about the heart of the issues which divide us, not only sexuality. That is just a symptom of a deeper problem."
And that deeper problem, has not gone away. No matter how much spin and money the Diocese of New Hampshire, The Episcopal Church (tm), or their mouthpieces like Integrity may have expended on this Conference.
For those who still have a liver left, here are the stats for the FINAL Simple Country Bishop drinking game:
I: 31
We: 25
Me: 10
Mine: 0
Total count: 66
God: 4
Lord: 0
Jesus: 0
Christ: 4
Total count: 8
No comments:
Post a Comment