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Letters: Episcopal Life Monthly June 2009
Episcopal Life welcomes letters, especially those with pictures, and will give preference to those in response to stories. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must include the writer's name, address and phone number for verification. Send to Letters, Episcopal Life, 815 Second Ave., New York, NY 10017; or email to letters@episcopal-life.org. All letters will be edited for brevity and clarity.
Sharing the grief
I share a profound grief with the Episcopal Migration Ministries over the April 3 shootings at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York. My thoughts and prayers go out to those innocent victims and their families here and abroad. It was one of the darkest days, where I felt troubled in my spirit. Having assisted several refugee families in their resettlement in Lexington and Louisville through Kentucky Refugee Ministry/Episcopal Migration Ministries, I feel intimacy and community with them.
People who come to our shores as refugees are wounded and broken in their psyche. They possess no land and own nothing. They are strangers to the culture and to the religion. Of course they, too, are God's people and belong to the kingdom of God.
As we read in the Gospels, Jesus was the king of the oppressed and outcasts. He championed their cause, shared their hardships, bore their pain, relieved their suffering and accepted them when others deemed them unacceptable. He gave them hope and embodied God's love for them. He commanded us to love one another as he has loved us.
The Rev. Aaron Paul Collins
Louisville, Kentucky
Budget cut a mistake
Cutting the overt commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the Executive Council was a travesty. Trying to find our giving within the budget is not the same. The line item allowed organizations that do MDG work (like Episcopal Relief and Development) to leverage that money into even more donations for their work. Without a line item we are just kidding ourselves.
Ann Fontaine
Lander, Wyoming
Funding is crucial
We understand that there is a resolution suggesting that there be no suggested percentage of funds going to the Millennium Project. If there is anything that absolutely must be funded, it is this project. The church must respond to the severe poverty in
the world. Otherwise, it is irrelevant to the world.
Christ came for the most needy. So must we. Please require each parish to give a certain percentage of their income to the Millennium Project.
The Rev. Don Timmerman
Park Falls, Wisconsin
Embrace all gifts
I am excited and encouraged by the Conference of the Anglican Churches in the Americas on Mutual Responsibility and Mission ("Anglicans in the Americas meet in common mission"). The Anglican Communion is, at its best, a manifestation of the body of Christ in which the Holy Spirit blesses members from different cultures and contexts with various gifts and charisms.
As Christians, we are called to live in communion with one another and to embrace all of the Spirit's gifts – graciously and fearlessly. The conference provides us an excellent example of communion at its best.
As I prepare for General Convention as a deputy from the Diocese of Chicago, I hope that we will strive to embody both mission and inclusion in our relationships with Anglicans worldwide and with one another. It is possible: Across the Episcopal Church, many parishes and dioceses both participate vigorously in the mission of the worldwide Anglican Communion and embrace the full inclusion of our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered brothers and sisters.
The Rev. Ruth Meyers
Evanston, Illinois
Columnist appreciated
Episcopal Life is always informative, interesting, and thought-provoking, but I will miss the spiritual food provided by the Rev. Anne McConney. I thank her for her wit, humor and grace.
Barbara Hughes
Danville, New Hampshire
Way to deepen faith
The Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester, in his practice of Zen meditation and his comment that Zen practice is "a path to awakening to the truth of the reality of human suffering," should receive accolades, not critiques from the church.
Hopefully, his practice and comments will open up conversations amongst Christians and Episcopalians about Zen Buddhism. Zen is a meditation practice, not a belief system.
Several years ago, during the beginning stages of a Zen practice, I met with my spiritual director, called Roshi, in a formal proceeding called Dokusan. The Roshi was the Rev. Pat Hawk, a Roman Catholic priest and a member of the Redemptorist order.
I asked: What is it being a Christian, a priest and having a Zen practice? Both sitting on zafus, we stared at each other, eye to eye. After an indeterminable time of silence, Roshi Hawk said, "Nothing to give up." End of interview.
The Dalai Lama has said that Buddhist practice for Christians is for deepening our own faith. It is not an easy journey, but, like centering prayer, it helps us see God "eye to eye" as well.
The Rev. Paul W. Buckwalter
Tucson, Arizona
Improve communication
Re: "House of Bishops issues pastoral letter" (Episcopal Life Online). Very nice letter, insightful. I really do agree with it, but I find it very sad that after all the work put into it, this letter won't matter. I say that for two reasons:
1) Although the bishops repent for being a church consumed with internal issues, that situation will not change. In fact, with General Convention coming, we will be even more consumed with ourselves and our issues. Can't anyone do something about this self-absorption except lament it?
2) This letter, so seriously written, requires serious attention to understand and probably a college education to read. If we want to communicate with the rest of our society, then we have to quit sounding like university professors and talk like regular people.
Look at Rick Warren: It's not that he says anything new or insightful, and I'm not saying I always agree with him, but people read him because he's clear, uses stories and always has a way for people to respond to what he says. The bishops have no way for response, and their theology, while good, is all theoretical. It's going to be ignored. We live in the era of the sound bite and YouTube. Let's try to communicate with that world.
Meg Decker
Escondido, California
A question of identity
It seems that those outside these unfortunate church breakups are trying to judge what is best for those of us who are in the midst of them. In Fort Worth, we are just beginning to take a stand on property issues and take action.
If you lived in a town where a group that was not in the Episcopal Church was calling itself "The Episcopal Church," using its "The Episcopal Church Welcomes you" signs, its diocesan shield (which was created and established by and for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth – the Episcopal one, no matter what the other group says), its name (the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth) and the majority of its buildings, and confusing the general public to no end by creating a confusion as to which church is in the Episcopal Church and which is in ACNA, Network, Common Cause, Southern Cone or whatever, you probably would feel differently about the whole thing.
It's not just about the buildings, it's about the identity of a church. A group of people is trying to steal our religious identity. They are saying we are bad, and they are telling the whole community about it.
Lots of people opted to leave and join other churches because it was just too painful for them to duke it out. Some of us decided that it was worth it to try to preserve the Episcopal Church in Fort Worth for those who are not even born yet. That is what we are trying to do, not "steal," "cheat" or litigate our way into property possession. We just want to be Episcopalians here.
Sarah Walker
Fort Worth, Texas
Is judge still a priest?
Concerning Emily Hewitt ("Episcopal priest named chief federal claims court judge"), I want to ask, is she still an Episcopal priest? In being a judge in a court, is she also functioning as a Christian priest? It seems, really, her becoming an ordained priest was a stage in the development of her career, something she has moved on from and into something else. She went into law and has risen in her career.
In the Catholic Church, there was a dispute about whether Catholic clergy also could become government ministers. The Vatican wants such clergy to resign their priesthood, so as not to confuse priestly functions with political governing.
So, with Judge Hewitt, doesn't her career somehow prove her ordination was somehow meaningless in terms of Christian vocation? Was it just ambition and the desire for recognition that was behind her desire for ordination?
So, without demeaning her, and accepting that sometimes good people seek ordination for the wrong reasons, isn't it still the responsibility of the church to discern and support genuine vocations? Also, is it not true genuine vocations are unique and special?
D. Kellett
Vancouver, British Columbia
Statistics questioned
How are the numbers in the Episcopal Church calculated ("Blue Book's reports posted on General Convention's website")? How can we have well over 2 million members of which well over 1 million are members in good standing and still only have 700,000 attending church on Sunday? If I only go to church twice a year, am I considered a member in good standing?
These numbers are shocking, and we are reduced to a level of participation equal to that of a fringe group.
David Crawford
Portland, Oregon
Pleased by microsite
It was many years ago that my wife, Beth, and I proposed doing such a series on Episcopalians all over the country doing their ministries ("'I am Episcopalian' – new microsite").
We projected doing this as a monthly subscription magazine at no cost to the church but could not achieve the needed endorsement of the then-presiding bishop and his participation in a monthly editorial conference.
I am thrilled that something similar is finally happening.
Jon Paul Davidson
Incline Village, Nevada
Message missing Jesus
The April Issue of Episcopal Life arrived. I turned to Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori's monthly piece to read thoughts and reflections on this most central event in world history – the betrayal, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah.
In her April article, the occasion of Passiontide or Holy Week, the message of the cross, the hope of resurrection, even the name of Jesus is never mentioned. Instead, we have another offering revolving around raising our social consciousness, a worthy endeavor for all and certainly a part of every Christian's life.
Of course, social action is not a unique purview for Christians alone, but many a softened heart and many world faiths promote care and concern for others. It is the uniqueness of the revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ as the suffering servant, his "perfect offering for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world" (I John 2.2) and his promised gift of his Holy Spirit that are some of the elements distinctive to Christianity.
As John's Gospel from the Fifth Sunday of Lent says with understated richness, "some Greeks ... came to Philip ... with a request. 'Sir,' they said, 'we would like to see Jesus.'" I join with those Greeks and ask of our church's highest leaders, "Sir/Madam, we would like to see Jesus."
The Rev. Mike Lumpkin
Summerville, South Carolina
Unfounded fears
Regarding Bishop-elect [Kevin Thew] Forrester's meditation practice, I did some reading on Buddhism. As Episcopalians, I believe part of our charge is to be informed. Buddhist teachings are: first, to do no harm to any living beings; second, to do good; and third, to purify the mind from impurity.
The way is the "Eightfold Path." The Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right endeavor, right mindfulness, right meditation.
The founder of Buddhism is said to be a "teacher." The aim of Buddhism is compassion and wisdom. If we are rooted as Episcopalians, is there something to fear from meditation?
In a similar light, I read recently that the imam in Indonesia forbade Muslims to study yoga, as he considers it to be subversive to the teachings of Islam. I have taken yoga for years, and no religion is practiced or ever mentioned.
Susan Lenz
Chicago
Tackling climate crisis
Thank you for the fine survey of Episcopal and Anglican participation in Earth Hour ("Anglican and Episcopal churches around the world mark Earth Hour").
The climate crisis is urgent. Scientists now tell us that the climate models are wrong, having underestimated the pace of climate change's effects. The Arctic Ocean is now expected to be ice-free in 30 years, not 90, as previously estimated.
I can think of no better way to bear witness to the crucified and risen Christ who came to give us life abundant than to throw ourselves into the work of slowing carbon emissions.
Margaret Bullitt-Jonas
Northampton, Massachusetts
2007
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