How Does the Holy Spirit Work in the Episcopal Church?

The Holy Spirit teaches most freely in democratic practice. As democratic polity leads the Episcopal Church toward the inclusion of all, the exclusion of none, the Holy Spirit is at work inspiring behavior that Jesus taught us to practice. We are Christians, followers of Jesus Christ and the teachings of Jesus in his lifetime.

Now the Anglican Communion, largely dominated by men, is trying to reform in a way that will create a hierarchal power structure. This is antithetical to its historic beginnings as the Church of England, formed in Elizabethan Great Britain. We are talking Elizabeth I, btw. Think of the times of Shakespeare for reference.

Queen Elizabeth watched Roman Catholics and Anglican Catholics killing each other off in droves over religious beliefs. Her Majesty had the wisdom to pull all factions together with agreement on basic principles and a Book of Common Prayer, then pointed out that having room for many shades of belief within that common structure allowed the Holy Spirit to help the church and Merrie Olde England to grow and prosper. (My words, my very abreviated version of history.)

And so it has happened. The Church of England evangelized as it colonialized and the Anglican Communion is now a world wide denomination with 38 provinces, each subscribing to the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds and sharing Books of Common Prayer. Colonization subsided, but the teachings of the Anglican Communion have survived and thrived. Each province has grown in grace by the teachings of the Holy Spirit and each has structured its manner of internal governance, its polity, in ways that fit local customs and traditions. So it is that the Queen of England today, HRH Elizabeth II, appoints bishops, and that American bishops are elected by the clergy and laity of their diocese. There is more to it than that on both sides of the pond, but the key difference in polity is democratic action vs. appointment.
Other provinces govern themselves in ways that fit their cultures and some of them select by democratic process, too.

Tradition 2 in 12-step programs states: "For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority--a loving God as He may express Himself through our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern." The group, meeting together with differing ideas, prays for guidance and votes on leaders and issues. The outcome is believed to be the best outcome God could give and is accepted by most participants.

Doesn't this sound like 'servant leadership'? And doesn't it compare with our elected bishops chosen through the Holy Spirit-led group conscience of the diocesan members? Not all will agree, but we accept that God is working in the election process to give us the best possible candidate. Likewise, the Episcopal Church resolves issues through a Spirit-led democratic process. This can happen on vestries, in diocesan deliberations, or at the triennial General Convention.

So, back to the original point: The Holy Spirit has led the Episcopal Church progressively forward at a different pace than other parts of the Anglican Communion through freedom to explore those shades of belief. The group conscious of TEC has gradually devined that slavery in today's world is counter to Jesus' teachings; that prayer need not be in archaic language to be valid, but may be in contemporary language more meaningful to the pray-er; that women can be deacons, priests, bishops and yes, Presiding Bishops, serving God and their communities with grace and dignity; that we are called by Jesus and led by the Holy Spirit to reach out to all marginalized people in our society and to see in them the reflection of God's love. These people are the hungry, the homeless, the immigrant, the orphan, the sick, the disabled, the prisoner, and the despised. We are called to make society whole through the love of God and the salvation of our Redeemer. That the American church continues to seek and embrace new people is a product of God's grace through our democratic polity.

By having faith in the Holy Spirit's guidance and by getting on with the business of welcoming all of God's children into communion, the Episcopal Church can grow in grace and prosper as Elizabeth I's Church of England did. As long as we quarrel and deny our God-given mission, our church will remain stagnant.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

This is indeed a tragic comment on stewardship of our planet.

I was called to do a little research about my previous post(see below), to be sure I wasn't blowing smoke. Now you can do the same. The Wikipedia article leads to links from agencies such as National Geographic and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as well as others.

One resource said the size of this deadly patch is as least as big as Texas and perhaps as big as the continent of Africa.

And it is growing. Plastics are the worst component. Let's be careful with our trash, friends. Let's start thinking about reusable containers, biodegradable alternatives to plastics, etc. Please.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Somewhere in the north Pacific Ocean there is a mass of accumulated flotsam and jetsam. It is reputed to be miles across it's diameter. It is loosely bound together by a vortex current that moves with the ocean currents generated by weather conditions. It is a toxic malignancy on the ocean comprised of plastic products, shipping fuel and spilled oil, scrapped or lost fishing nets, shoes (with or without feet) and other fabric products, and the other wretched trash of careless humanity. It continues to grow, and it is too immense to clean up by any normal means. It traps wildlife and kills. It is a shame.

My original idea for this post was to deliver a variety of topics briefly and concisely and to practice embedding links. I thought 'flotsam and jetsam' would be a cute way to say, "A Variety of Topics." And what comes out of my diverse mind? A mini-rant about Topic A, flotsam and jetsam.

The long pause since July 7th is the result of my apt attention to the goings on of the World Wide Anglican Communion (hereinafter WWAC), a loose association of 38 provinces, originated by the excellent evangelism of the Church of England around the world. The archbishops and bishops (with some exceptions) are met in Canterbury UK for the decennial Lambeth Conference. Why do I care? Because I am an Anglican.

I was born a cradle Episcopalian (aka American version of Anglican), baptized into the body of Christ within a week of my birth. I grew up with an active, church-going family and I loved church, loved Sunday School (for kids), and loved teen youth groups and activities. I have learned in advanced adulthood that one cannot just shuck off such beginnings. I have distanced myself from the Episcopal, first in my youth and then more recently. But I continue to be fascinated by the interactions of this incredibly diverse religious community.

With us it is always something. Changes in the Book of Common Prayer drove traditionalists to start 'orthodox' Anglican churches. The ordination of women--only since 1977 puh-leeze!--drove traditionalists to start 'orthodox' Anglican churches. Well, guess what? Now the movement to provide full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender folks is driving traditionalists to start 'real' Anglican churches.

The nouveau 'orthodox' or 'real' Anglican churches aren't recognized by the WWAC. Yet over this latest issue, HUGE parts of the Anglican Communion are talking schism. This issue has become a slow motion side-show to the Lambeth Conference and if you like watching paint dry or grass growing, you might like to check out a daily official summary of the Lambeth Conference here.

More entertaining are blogs from articulate advocates of either side. Here are a few examples:

• Integrity is a leading advocacy group in the Episcopal Church working toward full inclusion of sexual minorities.
  
• Titus 1:9 advocates to maintain the status quo in the Episcopal Church. Its author, Kendall Harmon, seems to be respected as an articulate spokesperson for this point of view. (Full disclosure: His is not my point of view, tho' I respect his presentations.)
  
• The Right Reverend Gene Robinson, Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire, has become the focal human being for this issue. He was singulary uninvited to the Lambeth Conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury. His two blogs, Canterbury Tales from the Fringe and The Gene Pool pull at my heart especially. Over $50,000 was raised, not for his travel, but for his security team in Canterbury. He and his partner of twenty years, Mark, have had death threats since before Bishop Gene's consecration. The threats continue to this day.

When you've had your fill of all this sturm und drang, do what I do: Check in with the very droll Fr. Christian Troll to lighten your heart and blacken your soul: He's Fr. Christian and he reads The Bible. A certain degree of prior knowledge about Anglican high jinks is prerequisite for Fr. Christian. (Big eye roll.)

If you've read this far, you are an Episcopalian or an Anglican or an Anglophile. You are also bored stiff. But I have mastered embedding links. Next time I'm going to learn how to embed a link that generates a new window. Can you wait??

God loves us, each and everyone, beyond our wildest imagination! (With or without the WWAC)

So Many Subjects; So Little Writing

One scarcely knows where to begin:

• McCain vs Obama
• Economic changes
• Transportation challenges
• Education
• Health care
• Railroads

Railroads??

Yes, railroads. I have a friend named Bruce, whom I call James. It's a long story. But this gent told me railroads would be a good investment and would pay off handsomely in the future. He said that in the early 1990's.

I scoffed. I hooted. I couldn't imagine the dying railroad industry being resuscitated in the 21st century. And I told him so.

Yet the trend is beginning. With diesel fuel prices knocking on $5.00 per gallon, major trucking companies are loading cargo containers and long haul semi- trailers onto railroad flat cars for shipping of any distance. The trade-off for this cost saving innovation is somewhat delayed delivery of goods at the destination. As I drive to work along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks parallelling Highway 60 I watch car after car roll by with key names in the trucking industry: Schneider, J. B. Hunt, Swift, even UPS loaded up. My path takes me past a mechanical unit that loads and unloads the frieght containers. It is always busy.

I dream of boarding a commuter train that will trek me out to my job in Sun City on the same tracks, and trek me home in the evening. Local transportation mavens favor exactly this future to move people from the northwest valley to the southern and southeast valley. So far it is talk only, but James may be right about this soon.

Here's the kicker. We have carbon-spewing airplanes long-hauling people at ever increasing prices. Aviation fuel has risen proportionately with diesel and gasoline. Airlines are doing the best they can to hold airfares down by instituting poly-fees, fees for luggage, fees for food, fees for beverages, and on it goes. To survive, the airline industry needs to pare the number of flights down as much as possible and begin charging airfares sufficient to cover their expenses and make a decent profit.

So how fast can we build additonal tracks? How fast can we build passenger cars, dining cars, club cars and sleeper cars? How soon can we offer passengers lower cost long distance transportation with a trade-off of delayed arrival at the destination?

Let's talk just a minute about that delayed arrival. Many of us are too young to have passenger train travel experience in America. Let me tell you.... Room to stretch your legs. Comfortable enough to get up and walk up and down aisles or even into other cars. Pleasant dining cars with menus--yes, choices! Sleeper cars that rock one to sleep to the hypnotic clickety-clack, clickety clack. Big picture window to watch the world roll by. Upon arrival one is rested, relaxed and ready to be productive at the business meeting or attentive to the family or primed for vacation.

Yes. It will take longer. So you have time to finish your homework, prepare your Power Point presentation, read a book, meet new friends. Life is more enjoyable and restful at a slower pace.

Economic circumstances are likely to slow us down anyway. This is one idea--James' idea--whose time has come.