As many of you know, I am serving this year as the President of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Eau Claire. This position has proven to be very challenging due to the present state of our diocese being without a bishop. Many questions which lay people and clergy would normally ask their bishop are finding their way to me. Please pray for me as I do my very best to lead our people at this time of great change.
One of the questions that seems to arise frequently is that of whether I think that we should stay or go. What they are referring to, of course, is whether we (as individuals, as congregations, as a diocese) should remain within TEC (The Episcopal Church) given its current inclination to push the envelope with regard to our stance on issues of human sexuality. My short answer to those who ask my opinion is “yes.” For those who have patience for the longer answer, I have followed up with an explanation of how I think that God hates both heresy and schism, but if I were pressed on which I think that he hates more, it would be schism. So, unless I am absolutely morally pushed to do so, I, as a priest, intend to remain within The Episcopal Church. Further, I have every intention to continue to counsel those who care to listen to do the same.
Recently, Father Russell Levenson Jr., who is rector of the largest Episcopal congregation in the United States, was asked basically the same question that I am being asked. Now his congregation is not only very large, but also theologically very conservative and evangelical. He cites a number of excellent Biblical examples of those who chose to stay despite trying circumstances. Levenson says, “…I do not think leaving is the answer. Daniel had to stay in Babylon, but did not abandon his faith. Jeremiah was not given another Israel. Ezekiel had to preach to dry bones. When Jesus and his message were completely rejected, he did not leave. He wept. He stayed. He did not move on to Egypt. He stayed and faithfully preached when they believed and when they did not believe.”
I am very fortunate at Ascension to be among a people who seem to be able, for the most part, to set first things first. While the Church at large seems to be twisting and swirling and groaning and straining with these issues, the people of Ascension really seem concerned with simply hearing the Word of God and responding to it in profoundly simple but genuine ways. Its not that we are ignoring what’s going on in the rest of the Church, its just that we’ve already got our hands full with following Jesus! And so, to my brothers and sisters at Ascension… thank you for allowing me to be a minister of the majors rather than the minors.
And to those of you whose hearts are heavy as you soulfully contemplate the state of the Church… my advice would be to hang around awhile. It’ll be alright. The God of our Lord Jesus Christ is a whole, whole lot bigger than these present issues. Hang around with those of us who are striving to be faithful from within. Art+
Amen. I, for one, have not even considered the possibility of leaving, and have not heard any talk by parishioners of preferring to leave.