Cradle

When one is born into the Episcopal Church, one is known as a "Cradle Episcopalian", a tag which I have borne since being born. While I have 'experimented' by attending other churches, I have always come back 'home'. The why is hard to explain... perhaps it has to do with the ways of the Church.

In some ways, we Episcopalians are a funny lot. We are seen as being oh, so proper (Episcopalians in Heaven weeping, wailing and gnashing their teeth for the sin of using a dinner fork for eating their salad), way too traditional (One to call the Sexton and another to state that the old light worked well enough, thank-you), and perhaps a bit too eager to have a drink (Whenever four Episcopalians are gathered, there is always a Fifth).

Some of the charges are true. Painfully. I've been to Episcopalian gatherings where booze has been a relative Niagra, I've heard the complaints from within about why this or that have changed and I have known of people in the Church who see the Church as being nothing more than an extension of the local Country Club. But I've also seen some very committed Christians in the Church who have displayed the sort of fervor I've seen in some of the Baptist Churches I have attended from time to time.

Last Sunday, I attended Christ Episcopal in San Antonio on the suggestion of a friend. This friend is one of several who, in earlier days, had been part of Tabernacle Baptist in Chillicothe, a relatively benign Church with very deep roots. Anyhoo, this friend is now living in San Antonio and is part of the music ministry of Christ Episcopal. We met for a short time after the service and discussed (briefly) the trials and tribulations which Christ Episcopal is experiencing at the moment.

For the past several years, the Episcopal Church has been in a bit of turmoil about the ordination of gays into the priesthood. As a result, splinter groups have popped up here and there, seperating from the Episcopal Church to re-form and call themselves Anglican. Christ Episcopal in San Antonio had had a splinter group break off within the past month, leaving them without a Rector and less roughly 10% of their membership. The same thing has been happening to a fair number of Episcopal Churches - some even leaving as a whole Parish as had happened at Christ Episcopal in Plano.

It seems to be epidemic, but for the Episcopal Church, it's business as usual. There always seems to have been some sort of splinter group objecting to something and drawing people away from the Church. Since the early '70s when I 'gravitated' from High School, there have been protests about 'changes in the prayer book' and huge differences concerning whether or not to ordain women. Other sinterings have concerned allowing persons of African descent into the Church (the arguement being that they have no souls) back in the 1800s and there have been others, doubtless, of the same importance.

As far as this pilgrim is concerned, the current situation is just on the edge of being silly. We as Episcopalians seem to forget that much of the pomp and circuimstance connected to the Episcopal Church is theatrical in nature and will tend to attract people with a theatrical bent. If they happen to join the Church and "get" the message, a few of them may be inclined to become Deacons, Priests and Bishops... and it would seem (at least in my mind) to be better that one would be open about one's sexuality before entering the Priesthood than to hide it until being discovered by way of a lawsuit.

Too, part of the deal of "getting" the overriding message has to do with a Rabbi named Jesus who had broken tradition by ministering to Samaritans and Lepers. There are those who have cast gays into a "Social Leprosy"... where it's okay to have them around as waiters, entertainers and objects of ridicule, but "By God, keep them out of my Church"!!! Jesus would be turning over in his grave (if he had one) because of that attitude. He would be first in line to minister to those who had been tainted with that "Social Leprosy". Guaranteed.

To the people who have decided to stick with Christ Church in San Antonio (and with Saint Paul's in Chillicothe for much the same reason), know that there are those who stand with you... not necessarily because we are Cradle Episcopalians, but because we "Get it", too. We've seen the turmoil before and will undoubtably be seeing the turmoil again.

There are better times coming.

Be Seeing You!