December 19, 2006
That's My Church!
Well, now. Quite the vestry meeting we had last evening.
As I talked about yesterday, our chief topic of discussion was the secession of several Churches within the Diocese of Virginia and the reaction of our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee. A new development yesterday was the establishment of a Property Commission by the Bishop, the task of which is to handle the issues surrounding the disposition of real and personal Church property held by each of the departing Churches. One of our parishioners was appointed as a member of this Commission, so he came along last evening to give his thoughts on things.
I more or less expected the usual party line:
-- The scope of the split is no big deal
-- The secessionist ringleaders' true motives are less than worthy
-- The Press likes to sensationalize these things, so of course they get the story wrong.
-- The Bishop has bent over backwards to try and accomodate these people, but even in the face of his efforts, theyr'e still walking away
-- Despite the headlines, we're all still One Big Happy (Strong!) Church doing the Lord's good works.
But what I wasn't expecting was the viciousness with which these talking points were paraded. Usually, there is much head-shaking and tsk-tsking, accompanied by sorrowful laments about those who are troubled, challenged or confused in their journey and a call for those of us still on the right path to pray for them, for ourselves and for reconsiliation in Jesus' big ol' tent.
Not last night, though. No, instead the tone was positively brutal. Not only are the ringleaders a pack of tongue-swallowing reactionaries, besotted with delusions of grandeur and hell-bent on a political and economic coup, their followers are nothing but dupes and morons. Further, their project is doomed to failure. Currently, they are all united only in hate (an actual quote, btw); once the thing they hate is gone, they'll proceed to fracture and splinter even further. Indeed, the Rector was positively gloating over the eventual downfall of the Rector of Truro or, as he called him, "the new self-styled African Bishop of North America." Even the results of the secessionist parishes' voting was questioned, with dark hints tossed about concerning vote suppression and manipulation. As for the Diocese' handling of the property issue? Well, I think they're probably going to let the smaller fry go, largely because there isn't much property involved anyhow and also because the Church believes these groups will come back begging for re-admittance in a year or two anyway. But the big fish? It's hammer time. Truro and Falls Church have struck a very sore nerve and I don't see the Diocese compromising with them at all, at all.
So no doubt you're asking yourself Where Was Robbo?
Well, I sat through the presentations by the Rector and the Property Committee representative quietly stewing, while most of those around me appeared to swallow the Party Talking Points hook, line and sinker. Indeed, the thing became a regular pep rally. Go Church! Rah Rah! Rah! But then somebody proposed a vote of thanks by the vestry to the Bishop for all his hard work. Here was where I thought I had an opening.
"I'm very sorry," I said, "but I'm afraid I'll have to abstain from such a vote."
"Whaaaaaaa...????" said the meeting.
I knew that I had to couch things the right way, so I tried to pick my words of explanation carefully. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what I said, but the gist of it was this: that a great many things had happened of late, that there was a lot of information to digest and ponder and that I was extremely uncomfortable with the idea of offering any endorsement until I had the opportunity to think things through. Warming to my work and figuring in for a penny, in for a pound, I also mentioned that perhaps it was just me, but personally I had felt both hurt and angered by the threatening tone of the Bishop's December 1 letter to the clergymen and vestries of the Diocese reminding them of the potential legal risks involved in challenging its authority. "Bullying," I called it. I also said that I was troubled by the reduction of all the secessionist motives to apparent cartoon villainy and hoped that we could evaluate them in a more charitable spirit. Finally, I said that I believed the trouble in the Diocese was part and parcel of the larger issues currently being debated within both the ECUSA and the Anglican Communion, that such issues were coming to a head, and that I believed it our duty as Church leaders to see to it that our congregations were educated about them in as fair and impartial a manner as possible.
I must say that the reception I got was better than I'd expected. While nobody embraced my entire package outright, several voiced their agreement with bits and pieces of it. Which is fine by me. All I wanted to do was to break up the cheerleader routine and get people to start thinking a bit. IMHO, the issues at stake are far too important for us to act as nothing but a rubber stamp to what comes down from On High.
Well, the Rector didn't want to send a message to the Bishop without the entire vestry's support, so the matter was dropped.
A small thing, I know, but nonetheless at least I took a stand. And I reckon I'm officially a marked man now. Any number of people came up to me afterwards and thanked me for speaking up, but if my body is found floating about in the Potomac, you'll know why. In the meanwhile, now that I've unmasked my batteries, so to speak, I suppose I'll have no choice but to keep it up.
I must say, this whole thing is quite nerve-wracking. I'm a litigator by trade, so argument is perfectly natural to me. But that's on a professional level. This sort of thing is much more like a really ugly family row, and even rearing up on my hind legs to debate such a small point quite drained me emotionally. I think a lot of people watching this little drama from the sidelines don't appreciate the anguish with which most of us caught up in it have to deal. Think of an extremely messy divorce and you'll get some idea. I went home and had nightmares all night about separation and disruption.
As I often say, we shall see what happens.
Posted by Robert at December 19, 2006 10:06 AM | TrackBackOrganized religion is like belonging to a union. What ever happened to loving your fellow man?
Posted by: LeeAnn at December 19, 2006 11:11 AMRobert, thanks for speaking up at the meeting. It saddens me that the larger church dismisses the real disagreements the Truro and The Falls Church parishes have with the direction the leadership is taking. It's not an easy thing to make the decision to leave your denominational heritage and I know that the parishes that decided to split only did so as a last resort and because they felt that there could be no reconciliation on the issues.
Posted by: jen at December 19, 2006 11:23 AMOh, and thanks for accidently google chumming ourselves there at the end....like we need spam trafffic like THAT!
Posted by: Steve the LLamabutcher at December 19, 2006 11:37 AMHold your cards tight. Hold your wife and kids even tighter...
May God bless you, you are indeed a marked man...
Posted by: Mrs. Peperium at December 19, 2006 11:38 AM"Only united in hate". I think I'm going to change my tagline to that.
Posted by: The Colossus at December 19, 2006 11:44 AMKeep the faith. I've named you my hero of the day.
Posted by: NBS at December 19, 2006 11:55 AMYeah, you're marked all right. But, if I may say, the Lord has a purpose for all of this.
Posted by: GroovyVic at December 19, 2006 03:01 PMI second or third the thanks for speaking up - so few are willing, when faced with cheerleading, to put their true thoughts out there when it's against the grain.
Posted by: beth at December 19, 2006 07:27 PMThe African Bishop these splinter parishes are rushing off to join doesn't sound like the nicest guy to me.
I'm not saying your Presiding Bishop is right, just that he seems more extreme than traditional.
Posted by: Zendo Deb at December 19, 2006 08:18 PMOnward, Christian Soldier!
Posted by: kemp at December 19, 2006 08:22 PMRobbo,
You have my admiration, what you did took real stones. To paraphrase William F.Buckley, it is not easy to stand athwart history and cry "STOP" !!!
Mark
Posted by: KMR at December 19, 2006 09:44 PMCradle Episcopalian. Friends in both Truro and Falls Church. These people are not homophobic nasty hating souls. They are some of the best Christians I know, in the best sense of that word. They have agonized over this issue and they believe God guided them to vote as they did. As to the Presiding Bishop and others at the top: You can lead, but you'd better be sure your army is behind you. Right now large parts of it aren't there. Sounds to me like Bishop Lee should take a pride and humility check.
Posted by: Ann at December 20, 2006 04:02 PMI have a question, I read somewhere that part of the import of the vote of Truro and Falls Church was the distinguished history of those parishes... in fact a history that predates ECUSA. As such, how does the ECUSA figure they have rights to parish property that is older than their organization?
Posted by: mike at December 20, 2006 04:25 PMAn absolutely awesome blog entry. So helpful to remind us how to be praying for those in leadership throughout Virginia right now as they grapple with these matters.
Thank you for taking a stand, for causing folks to stop and think. May the Lord guard your heart and mind in His peace and give you much wisdom. May He lead you to those with ears to hear when He gives you something to share.
Posted by: Karen B. at December 20, 2006 04:27 PMThank you for speaking up so thoughtfully. I think this is a reminder to all of us on all sides of this issue to avoid demonizing others. From time to time we might read 1 Cor 13 and reflect on the fact that Jesus told us this is how we should treat our enemies.
Some eruptions are an expression of pain. The problem comes when they touch off other eruptions and grow like an infection. Sometimes the boil needs to be lanced -- a sign that this may have been the case here is that your intervention changed the tone of the meeting.
God bless you for speaking up. May we all do the same in the days that follow.
Robert: First time visitor (via Stand Firm). Love the look, and the humor. I'll definitely be back.
Thanks for the word from your vestry. Like a couple of other commenters, I was struck by the line "they are all united only in hate." I'm in northern Virginia, have met some folks from Truro, and know enough about both Truro and Falls Church to know that the person who uttered such slander obviously knows nothing about either, or about their compatriots. It's a pity that those who are so concerned about "reconciliation" and "inclusion" don't even bother to familiarize themselves with the people and positions that they now so readily defame.
Posted by: David Fischler at December 21, 2006 10:17 AMWe own three llamas on our ranch outside Houston. What would you name a llama if you owned one? Furthermore, why would you want to own one? They smell, they spit, and they aren't terribly bright. But we love them just them same.
We named one Dhali Llama. We named the other one Osama Bin Llama. And we are looking for a name for the third one.
Any suggestions?
Posted by: Howard at December 21, 2006 10:17 AMThanks be to God that you listened to God and spoke. May God continue to give you strength and courage in the days ahead.
Posted by: The Lakeland Two at December 21, 2006 10:24 AMThank you for your post and what you revealed to us. I was struck by the effect that one, lone dissenting voice can have. One voice of reason to quieten the mob ...to be very 'clicheish'.
It made me even more aware that within the outspoken anger, even vitriol of the meeting, those patricipants are not entirely at ease with their agenda. So keep right on going, brother!
BTW, I am partly Peruvian and I will be a lone voice in saying that butchering llamas gave me a very queasy feeling ... unless you meant Tibetan lamas (that cheered me and settled my stomach.
In Christ,
Bill
You are a brave and faithful Christian, who applied your wits and self to the defense of the body of Christ. God bless you in this season of his nativity and Epiphany. Since the war that has now come to VA's shores in its fullness has been raging out of control in places like the northeast and CA for some time, it is oddly moving to hear how other members of your vestry reacted to your well-chosen and sage advice. As they consider developments in VA, perhaps you could persuade them to read the Windsor Report and learn how their church reacted to it, and where your rector stands on it. Although so much is already lost here (and to get some sense of the vitriol here, you should check out the trumped up, hideous charges against the rector of St. Thomas Church, Fifth Ave, in NYC, that have been lodged with the Diocese of NY to wrest that property away from the wealthiest bastion of orthodoxy in the region), what happens in VA matters a great deal in regions that, for the most part, no longer have the strength or numbers to be able to wage much of a resistance. The American Anglican remnant in these regions, as you may know, now depends largely on victories won elsewhere by strangers such as you who know, love and worship the same God as we. Thank you, dear brother in Christ.
(As an aside.....I don't get Llama butchers.....? What does it mean?)
Posted by: Seen_Too_Much at December 21, 2006 04:45 PMGlad you found your grits, old man. It isn't easy to risk ostracism, is it? Believe me, it gets easier to speak out each time you do it. You might even encourage others to do the same, although you'll probably never know that for sure.
It is a shame that it takes a crisis for us sinners to find our backbones, but that's the way it is. Now teach your children to stand and be counted and future generation may never have to.
Christmas blessings,
Joe
Ex ECUSAN of Charles Bennison's wicked diocese.
Howard: How about Barak Obama Llama?
Posted by: David Fischler at December 21, 2006 05:30 PMHoward,
How about Rama Lama, or the longer variant, Rama Lama Ding Dong, which would shortened to simply Ding Dong.
Or perhaps an italian identity with "La Mano",
or an italian/hispanic handle with "la ma salsa"?
Howard, How 'bout O Llama God (that takest away the sins of the world, of course.)
Posted by: loonpond at December 23, 2006 01:26 PM
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