Bucks County Herald – July 13, 2006

Episcopal Split Anglicans

Dear Friends,

Good morning. As many of you know, religion fascinates me. When I read that the Anglican Church might split with its American counter part, the Episcopal Church, I wondered how local Bucks County parishes would react? I called Emanuel Episcopal in Quakertown; Trinity Episcopal, Solebury; St. Phillips, New Hope; Good Shepherd, Hilltown; and St. Paul’s, Doylestown for their comments. Three responded.

“Anglican Plan Threatens split On Gay Issues” was the front-page headline in the New York Times (June 28). Several days later (July 2) the Times wrote about the Reverend David Anderson’s parish in Darien, Connecticut. Anderson was the previous Pastor at Trinity Episcopal. What has divided the Anglican Church is its liberal wing, which ordains women and openly homosexuals into the priesthood. Six of the 110 American dioceses (Pittsburgh included) intend to break away.

The two key paragraphs in the Anderson story were these: “Everyone in the room (Anderson’s parish) was white, many white haired- a group atypical in the context of the global Anglican Communion, in which the typical member is now black, young, and living in Africa,” Laurie Goodstein wrote. The reporter quoted one of Anderson’s parishioners who said, “So in other words, the conservatives could literally take over our rightful spot in the Communion and the majority of the American church would be on the outs.”

At the moment, American Episcopal churches have a liberal reputation. At the recent meeting of the 110 dioceses, it named a woman to lead the church. Several years ago, it ratified an openly homosexual to be the Bishop of New Hampshire. Conservatives objected vehemently.

So I wasn’t surprised to learn that the Reverend Donald Sehulster had left the Good Shepherd Church in Hilltown to become the pastor of the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli. The Paoli parish is very conservative. Bobbie Livesey is the Accounting Warden at the Good Shepherd, now searching for a new pastor.

I asked her whether her church would rebel and join up with the conservative Anglicans, now ruling the church worldwide? Several Episcopal churches threaten to leave the Philadelphia Diocese. Would they follow Sehulster, their former pastor? “No she responded. “We’re staying.”

Peter Pearson is the pastor at St. Phillips. “My parish is left leaning,” he began. Chuckling, he added, “It is New Hope after all.” He’s happy that the Episcopal Diocese chose a woman to lead the American church. “Yes, it’s controversial, but Episcopalians have always challenged the status quo. We were against slavery. We supported women’s suffrage, gay rights and women in the priesthood.

“The Episcopal Church is not arrogant,” Pearson said, “It’s all about doing the right thing.”

Marshall Shelly is the pastor of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Solebury. He also is pleased that the Episcopalians chose a woman to lead the church. Shelly attended the national Episcopal convention last month in Ohio. It convenes every three years.

“It’s the first time that I heard my church talk so passionately about outreach, social and economic justice, mission, growth and evangelism…over and against arguments about sexuality, power, and governance,” Shelly told me.

He writes and publishes a weekly journal on the Internet. Judging by the 13-page report, which I read, Shelly is a very busy priest. You can access Trinity Episcopal at www.newministrysolebury.blogspot.com.

I thought of other denominations, which are wrestling with issues about inclusion. Churches like the Episcopalian, United Church of Christ, and Unitarians permit women and homosexuals as pastors. Others have a policy like the U. S. military…don’t ask, don’t tell.

For example, the Methodist Church defrocked Beth Stroud because she told her parish that she was a lesbian. Stroud was the assistant pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Germantown until her public church trial ended her ministry. Presbyterians don’t allow openly gay clergy either.

I have concluded that the majority of Christian churches encourage their pastors to remain in the closet. If a pastor is gay and wants to be honest with his congregation, he does so at his own peril.

I wonder what Jesus Christ, mankind’s most tolerant person ever, must be thinking about this? We’ll just have to stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith