Oops, I did it again…
Just had a look at The Rev. Gay Jenning’s sermon from the April 20th closing ceremonies of the Episcopal Church Executive Council meeting.
Amid the opening refusal to invoke the Trinity, the compulsory Biblical minimalism, copious quotes from poetry, a sideswipe at the evil of zoos and a concluding hint of individual salvation that must have enraged the Presiding Bishop, Jennings said this:
“Well, we were wrong about liturgical renewal and revision reaching or retaining upcoming generations, but it was consistent with the finest seminary publications on the subject.”
“Well, we were wrong about LGBT bishops bringing all the young, interesting and secular people rushing to church, but it was the prophetic thing to do.”
“Well, we were wrong about cutting our mission budget, staff and just about everything we could to hand out blank checks for litigation against fellow Christians, but it was… uh… it was…why did we do that?”
The title, fwiw.
Amid the opening refusal to invoke the Trinity, the compulsory Biblical minimalism, copious quotes from poetry, a sideswipe at the evil of zoos and a concluding hint of individual salvation that must have enraged the Presiding Bishop, Jennings said this:
As the Church engages in surprisingly passionate conversations about structure, governance, roles, responsibilities, canonical and constitutional amendments, rules of order, CCABs, budgets, staff, and General Convention, we need to remember that we are about the business of the restoration, together.
No more false choices between mission and governance. No more false wars between individuals or groups. No more jockeying for turf or control. Rather, we have to find ways to move forward together, and envision and incarnate the future God calls us to embrace – and I pray that we will throw ourselves into it with wholehearted abandon.Add to this a surprisingly reflective paragraph in the Council’s public message at the end of the meeting (emphasis mine)...
It has been a time of reflection on what we have done, and what we have left undone. It has been a time to ask whether we have loved our neighbors – Council members and Church Center staff; bishops, clergy and laity of The Episcopal Church; our sisters and brothers of the Anglican Communion; sisters and brothers who chose to leave The Episcopal Church; the poor, the needy and the oppressed – as ourselves....and you might just hear that familiar tune,
“Well, we were wrong about liturgical renewal and revision reaching or retaining upcoming generations, but it was consistent with the finest seminary publications on the subject.”
“Well, we were wrong about LGBT bishops bringing all the young, interesting and secular people rushing to church, but it was the prophetic thing to do.”
“Well, we were wrong about cutting our mission budget, staff and just about everything we could to hand out blank checks for litigation against fellow Christians, but it was… uh… it was…why did we do that?”
The title, fwiw.
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