Right-Wing Conspiracy or Scapegoat for Left-Wing Decine?
http://www.americananglican.org/News/News.cfm?ID=289&c=21
This article is an oldie, but goodie (ok, not so oldie!). At any rate it seems certain people in ECUSA are rather worried that "right-wing" renewal groups are going to take over the Episcopal Church. [excursus: These folks must not know the real meaning of "right-wing" too well if Anglicans are right-wing!] Oh yeah, these renewal groups threaten to take over other mainline Churches too. The group, Institute for Democracy Studies, titles its paper, "A Church at Risk: The Episcopal Renewal Movement."
Perhaps what is really at stake here is that conservative churches actually grow, thrive, and multiply. Yes, despite harping for years that "making Christianity 'progressive'" would swell the membership ranks of mainlines, they have declined at rapid rates, ECUSA included. Some conservative parishes have stayed, and typically in the mainlines, these parishes grow. I know of a small-town PCUSA (Presbyterian) Church that has more regular attendees than a suburban PCUSA parish, despite the fact that the small town has 1200 people, and the suburban area is one of the fastest growing areas in the state. The small town Church makes no bones that they stand for more traditional values, and while welcoming all, has ideals above and beyond what contemporary culture offers.
Recently in the United Methodist Church, many liberals have complained that the conservatives have gotten more power. Well, yes they have. This is not the result of a vast conspiracy, but because the conservative jurisdictions and churches have been growing far faster than "progressive" jurisdictions and churches. Study after study shows that while our culture is becoming more permissive, when people join churches, they join conservative ones. While we can ascribe this to some conspiracy, or the "psychological need for sure answers that conservative Churches offer (but remember many liberal parishes are rather "sure" that we must be "unsure" about faith matters!)," the bottom line is liberal mainline churches are in trouble.
We must remember too that Anglican conservatives are not Baptist conservatives, nor Wesleyan conservatives. In the spectrum of Christianity in America, ECUSA liberals are far more left-leaning than most Christians in our culture, while ECUSA conservatives are rather moderate when compared to the entire spectrum of Christian belief in the US. The American Anglican Council is usually derided as being "fundamentalist" which proves that most of those who make such accusations have yet to run across a true fundamentalist.
Finally, the article says ECUSA conservatives are using international bishops and church leaders to get their way, circumventing canon law. My first thought is that, while two wrongs don't make a right, the election of Gene Robinson skirted canon law. Anyway, my response is, "if international leaders get involved, what's the issue?" If we are truly catholic, then we are indeed responsible and accountableto the larger church around us, and just because we are western, rich, and liberally educated, does not mean we can do our own thing [excursus: the African bishops have more PhD's than ECUSA bishops anyway]. The wider communion does matter, at least in the catholic tradition it should. Perhaps to a highly individualistic and ahistorical culture it seems the height of absurdity, but we are catholics.
Is "right-wing" a danger to ECUSA? Nah. The real danger is that the Church has remained in a state of decline for over 30 years, and has yet to even recognize it as it hemorrhages members right before its eyes.
http://www.americananglican.org/News/News.cfm?ID=289&c=21
This article is an oldie, but goodie (ok, not so oldie!). At any rate it seems certain people in ECUSA are rather worried that "right-wing" renewal groups are going to take over the Episcopal Church. [excursus: These folks must not know the real meaning of "right-wing" too well if Anglicans are right-wing!] Oh yeah, these renewal groups threaten to take over other mainline Churches too. The group, Institute for Democracy Studies, titles its paper, "A Church at Risk: The Episcopal Renewal Movement."
Perhaps what is really at stake here is that conservative churches actually grow, thrive, and multiply. Yes, despite harping for years that "making Christianity 'progressive'" would swell the membership ranks of mainlines, they have declined at rapid rates, ECUSA included. Some conservative parishes have stayed, and typically in the mainlines, these parishes grow. I know of a small-town PCUSA (Presbyterian) Church that has more regular attendees than a suburban PCUSA parish, despite the fact that the small town has 1200 people, and the suburban area is one of the fastest growing areas in the state. The small town Church makes no bones that they stand for more traditional values, and while welcoming all, has ideals above and beyond what contemporary culture offers.
Recently in the United Methodist Church, many liberals have complained that the conservatives have gotten more power. Well, yes they have. This is not the result of a vast conspiracy, but because the conservative jurisdictions and churches have been growing far faster than "progressive" jurisdictions and churches. Study after study shows that while our culture is becoming more permissive, when people join churches, they join conservative ones. While we can ascribe this to some conspiracy, or the "psychological need for sure answers that conservative Churches offer (but remember many liberal parishes are rather "sure" that we must be "unsure" about faith matters!)," the bottom line is liberal mainline churches are in trouble.
We must remember too that Anglican conservatives are not Baptist conservatives, nor Wesleyan conservatives. In the spectrum of Christianity in America, ECUSA liberals are far more left-leaning than most Christians in our culture, while ECUSA conservatives are rather moderate when compared to the entire spectrum of Christian belief in the US. The American Anglican Council is usually derided as being "fundamentalist" which proves that most of those who make such accusations have yet to run across a true fundamentalist.
Finally, the article says ECUSA conservatives are using international bishops and church leaders to get their way, circumventing canon law. My first thought is that, while two wrongs don't make a right, the election of Gene Robinson skirted canon law. Anyway, my response is, "if international leaders get involved, what's the issue?" If we are truly catholic, then we are indeed responsible and accountableto the larger church around us, and just because we are western, rich, and liberally educated, does not mean we can do our own thing [excursus: the African bishops have more PhD's than ECUSA bishops anyway]. The wider communion does matter, at least in the catholic tradition it should. Perhaps to a highly individualistic and ahistorical culture it seems the height of absurdity, but we are catholics.
Is "right-wing" a danger to ECUSA? Nah. The real danger is that the Church has remained in a state of decline for over 30 years, and has yet to even recognize it as it hemorrhages members right before its eyes.
