RAISING THE STANDARD

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

Colin Slee, Egregious Dean of Southwark Cathedral, on Mrs. Schori’s recent visit there:

"Some of you will already be aware, and others will be completely unaware, that we had the Presiding Bishop of the USA here to celebrate the Eucharist and preach this morning. Being an egalitarian culture, in social ranking if not in economic assessment, the Church in the United States does not have an archbishop. So, in English terms, we had the Archbishop of the USA here this morning."

No you didn’t. The only Anglican archbishop in the United States is Bob Duncan.

"On evangelical and ecclesiastically conservative websites I have been denounced this week for being ‘provocative’ and ‘discourteous to the Archbishop of Canterbury’ for extending this invitation. Well, I haven’t been denounced on these various websites for many months and I was beginning to feel neglected and unwanted so I am glad of the reassurance and attention."

Three words, Egregious Dean. Get over yourself.

"The facts are simple; we have had a steady stream of archbishops"

Which Mrs. Schori isn’t one of.

"here to preach during the time I have been Dean, and I expect well before that. The archbishops of Brazil, South Africa, Canada, and of course York and Canterbury, come to mind. Bishops from Zimbabwe, Norway, a woman bishop from the USA, and many others have held this pulpit. The invitation to the Presiding Bishop is not at all a novelty for us, and the date was fixed in July 2008 after we had failed to find a suitable date around the Lambeth Conference when first I invited her in the spring of 2008."

Even though a female pointy-hat has preached here before without controversy, the only reason people were mad about Kate was because the C of E hates women.

"There are several reasons for the fury. The Presiding Bishop is a woman and some people hate the idea of women as bishops. The General Synod of the Church of England is about to debate the admission of women as bishops within the Church of England."

And homosexuals.

"The church in the United States has just consecrated an openly lesbian woman as a suffragan bishop in Los Angeles and so they are accused of breaking an embargo on such consecrations."

Then the Egregious Dean throws down the gauntlet. Run the Episcopal Organization, Your Grace, and we’re going with New York.

"It may be that some Anglicans will decide to walk a separate path. I believe the Chapter and congregation of this church will walk the same path as the Episcopal Church of America, the links are deep in our history, especially here. Their actions in recent months have been entirely in accord with the Anglican ways of generosity and breadth. They have tried to ensure everyone is recognised as a child of God. They have behaved entirely in accord with their canon laws and their freedom as an independent Province of the Church, not imposing or interfering with others with whom they disagree but proceeding steadily and openly themselves."

It’s coming, Dr. Williams, in months and not all that many of them. You’re rapidly running out of places to kick that can.