Keeping Posted from South Carolina: A Perspective
Keeping Posted from South Carolina: A Perspective
"In the name of Christian Charity this insanity must cease. Decent people have endured quite enough"
By Ladson Mills
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
October 31, 2011
Having retired to my home Diocese of South Carolina I find myself receiving numerous inquiries from friends and acquaintances throughout the wider Anglican Communion. Having served half my ministry outside the diocese most want to know my impressions concerning the climate of things within the diocese and where I think it may be heading.
In the interest of full disclosure the clergy gathering on October 11th was the first meeting I have attended within the Diocese of South Carolina in almost fifteen years. Many faces are familiar but just as many have changed. I am no longer an "insider" and am retired which might lead some to question what possible value my perspective could hold. A fair question with perhaps a surprising answer.
Having served in three dioceses I can attest each is different and some vastly so. Two dioceses I served were revisionist although one was more tolerant and welcoming to conservatives. The extreme revisionist in those dioceses were suspect of my conservative South Carolina association. Some elements in South Carolina are suspect of the outside influences I brought home with me during my years away. One lesson that I have learned is that honesty if, it is to have validity, must be honest across the board. I find these concerns to be a good thing. Constructive engagement among those who disagree is never a bad thing.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
"In the name of Christian Charity this insanity must cease. Decent people have endured quite enough"
By Ladson Mills
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
October 31, 2011
Having retired to my home Diocese of South Carolina I find myself receiving numerous inquiries from friends and acquaintances throughout the wider Anglican Communion. Having served half my ministry outside the diocese most want to know my impressions concerning the climate of things within the diocese and where I think it may be heading.In the interest of full disclosure the clergy gathering on October 11th was the first meeting I have attended within the Diocese of South Carolina in almost fifteen years. Many faces are familiar but just as many have changed. I am no longer an "insider" and am retired which might lead some to question what possible value my perspective could hold. A fair question with perhaps a surprising answer.
Having served in three dioceses I can attest each is different and some vastly so. Two dioceses I served were revisionist although one was more tolerant and welcoming to conservatives. The extreme revisionist in those dioceses were suspect of my conservative South Carolina association. Some elements in South Carolina are suspect of the outside influences I brought home with me during my years away. One lesson that I have learned is that honesty if, it is to have validity, must be honest across the board. I find these concerns to be a good thing. Constructive engagement among those who disagree is never a bad thing.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
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