You may have noticed by now that I have a bit of an interest in the debate currently engulfing the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. The short version — the mainstream Episcopal Church is being deemed too liberal, particularly when it comes to homosexuality, and some folks within the Anglican Community domestically and abroad are seeking to sever ties.
This editorial which appeared in the Courant a couple of days ago does a pretty good job highlighting how the debate seems to be degenerating into a mess by folks who are missing a bigger point:
Further, the Tanzanian bishops declared that “the Anglican Church of Tanzania shall not knowingly accept financial and material aid from dioceses, parishes, bishops, priests, individuals and institutions in the Episcopal Church that condone homosexual practice or bless same-sex unions.”
For our congregation - and our family - the partnership was more than a feel-good exercise. Twenty Tanzanian teenagers who expected to start school in January did not, because the scholarship money we sent for them was not accepted.
A big issue I have with organized religion today is that so much energy is spent in posturing and politicing on issues that, in the grand scheme of things, really shouldn’t matter.
It’s one thing to alter affiliations based on theological differences. However, when it comes to helping others…shouldn’t that transcend other issues?