Yes, pecusa has made an idol out of homosexuality. To destroy pecusa because of homosexuality is the height of idiocy, but that is what has happened. Schori continues her lies about trying to negotiate. ed.
by Sylvia A. Smith, Washington editor
The Journal Gazette
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812200306
December 20, 2008
Sexuality is part of the Episcopal Church's mission, but it's not the main focus, the head of the denomination in the U.S. said.
In fact, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said, "when we turn it into the whole of our mission, we've created an idol. And some parts of the Anglican communion have responded to it like an idol."
Some members of the Episcopal Church have announced they want to start a second branch of the denomination in the U.S., largely because of the church's ordination of a gay bishop and some bishops' approval of same-sex unions.
Asked at a National Press Club speech whether the biblical institutions for marriage apply to same-sex couples, Jefferts Schori replied with some sarcasm:
"Oh, which biblical institutions for marriage? Solomon's many, many, many wives? The concubines? The slaves who bore children for their male masters? There are some very odd images of family life in the Bible. And when people talk about family values, I want to know which ones."
She said the Episcopal Church as a whole hasn't reached a conclusion about same-sex unions, but "we're at least asking hard questions," she said.
Jefferts Schori said there are many more urgent social sore spots her church is focused on, including poverty, disease and hunger. Yet recent headlines focus on the breakaway congregations - and the connected lawsuits - because of people "who are consumed by" the issue of homosexuality.
But when Jefferts Schori prays, she includes those critics in her heavenly entreaties.
"I pray for people who consider me their enemy," she said. "I think God gives us difficult people for a reason. They seem exceedingly challenging to us because of something within us that responds. And praying for those people is a necessary part of the spiritual journey."
Since 2006, when Jefferts Schori was elected to a nine-year term as the Episcopalians' presiding bishop in the U.S. and 16 other countries, she has led a denomination embroiled in controversy. In 2003, the Episcopal convention elected a gay bishop. Some Episcopal bishops allow same-sex unions. That's led to a rift in the church, and two weeks ago a group of Episcopal conservatives claiming 100,000 followers announced the formation of a rival Anglican Church in North America.
It's not possible for there to be two Episcopal churches in the U.S., Jefferts Schori said, because "when one body says they're not in communion with you, then they're functionally not a part of the same system. It's a disparity that doesn't make sense in our theological tradition.
"We've said for hundreds of years that bishops are responsible for certain areas of geography, and that the people in that area, together with the bishop, are evidence of the church. If there are some people in the same area that claim they're of the same tradition, but aren't willing to be in relationship, that's an oxymoron to us."
Some of the breakaway congregations have tried to take the church property with them, leading to lawsuits in several states.
"We tried for a very long time to negotiate and came to a place where there was no willingness to negotiation," Jefferts Schori said. "So at that point, you ask the courts to enforce the law of the land."
Asked how destructive the lawsuits are to the denomination, Jefferts Schori said:
"I actually think we're past the worst of it. We've had positive results in a number of cases. The large ones hanging fire at the moment are the ones in California - and a decision from the Supreme Court is expected within a couple of weeks - and the one in Virginia. And that will undoubtedly be appealed to the Supreme Court in Virginia."
She noted that the Virginia case is based on a state law "that was passed during the Civil War to permit bodies to divide on the basis of attitudes towards slavery."
Jefferts Schori struck a philosophical tone over the controversies.
"Every significant change in the church's history has produced some departure," she said, citing disagreements in the 1870s over baptism, in the 1970s over a new prayer book and over the ordination of women.
"There were, you know, some people who left this church when we began to provide a more equal place for people of African-American heritage in this church," Jefferts Schori said.
With each change, she said, "some people decide that their spiritual journey needs to take them in another direction. And our job at that point is to bless their journey and remind them that the door's open and the light's on."
END
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