The Questioning Christian

Most Episcopal Parishes Are Still Quietly
Going About Christ’s Work — Article

Written by

D. C. Toedt III

in

Simon Sarmiento’s Thinking Anglicans blog comments on an article by Joan Gunderson challenging the growth claims of the very-conservative "Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes."  Gunderson is an officer of a group of dissident, liberal Episcopalians within the Diocese of Pittsburgh, home of network moderator Bishop Robert W. Duncan.  She asserts that "approximately 27 percent of [Pittsburgh] diocesan communicants belong to parishes that have officially repudiated the network."  (Emphasis added.) 

Gunderson also asserts:

… The vast majority of Episcopalians are members of parishes going about Christ’s work – worshiping according to the Book of Common Prayer, caring for their neighbors, gathering for prayer and study, sharing time together as a community, inviting their friends to church, and growing as a community of faith. These people are doing what Episcopalians have always done, honoring the idea of the via media by refusing to make individual interpretations of scripture into dogma that must be accepted by others.

Contrary to its critics, the Episcopal Church has recently been the fastest-growing mainline protestant church in this country. In the last decade, Episcopal communicants grew 17.9 percent, and despite the current disputes, the church exceeded its revenue goals for 2004.

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Make no mistake, only one side is driving the present conflict. Upset by their minority status within the Episcopal Church, the AAC/Network nevertheless demands that everyone believe as it does, because its members have declared themselves to be "right."

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So is this a case of the Church burying its proverbial head in the sand? I think not. Rather, it is that most Episcopalians have kept things in perspective. The controversy is a result of our flawed state as human beings in a flawed human institution we call the Church. Humankind constantly diminishes God by trying to fit God into boxes (theological, political, and biblical) that we have created.

By focusing on Christ, the message of redemption, love, and service, rather than the current theological/biblical squabbles, Episcopalians are keeping their "eyes on the prize." That, I would suggest, is putting things in their proper place.

(Extra paragraph breaks added.)

Comments

2 responses to “Most Episcopal Parishes Are Still Quietly
Going About Christ’s Work — Article”

  1. Wayne Avatar
    Wayne

    This may not be a case of the Episcopal Church burying its head in the sand, but it does look like the type of ugly public quarrel that makes non-Christians just shake their heads and move on with their lives.
    I am not a fundamentalist or a scripturalist but consider the following points:

    …refusing to make individual interpretations of scripture into dogma that must be accepted by others…

    Pot calling the kettle black. Does the mainline church insist on a particular interpretation of the sixth commandment? Would they accept those who insist that murder is justified for the ubermensch? Every sect has a line of interpretation that members may not cross. This, as in all cases, is simply a squabble about the lines.

    …the fastest-growing mainline protestant church…

    Notice the qualifier “mainline”. This seems fairly disengenuous. The author is trying to give the impression that the Episcopal Church is undergoing some sort of “boom” period in spite of the squabble, when nothing could be further from the truth.
    The truth is that while there are up years and down years, the mainline churches are steadily losing members over time, while evangelical churches are gaining members. It could be argued that any blips of growth in the mainline churches are because of evangelical sects within those churches. I’m not applauding this trend, I think it’s a bad omen for thinking people in our society. But it is what it is.
    I think the trend speaks to the absence of a clear message in the mainline churches when compared with evangelicals. Why exactly should people go to a mainline church as opposed to joining the Kiwanis club or Rotary club? See here for statistics on mainline losses from 1990 to 2000.

    Reply
  2. David Huff Avatar
    David Huff

    D.C., nice you see you back and posting again 🙂 I will pick one, small nit here. I rather object to the description of Dr. Gunderson’s group as “dissident” and “liberal,” both of which can have negative connotations.
    They most certainly disagree with the AAC/”Network” movement in their diocese, as I do with the one in mine. However, the various Via Media USA affiliates represent the principles and theology of the mainline ECUSA – not that of some sort of extremist, dissident group. We are mainstream Episcopalians just trying to keep our heads above water amongst a hostile (local) majority.
    As for “liberal” ? Well, yes, I suppose so in comparison to the AAC. But that’s like calling Barry Goldwater a “liberal” in comparison to Pat Robertson 😉 It’s true in a strict, technical sense, but doesn’t shed any real light on the nature of the disagreement.

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