Saturday, November 03, 2007

Quittsburgh Round-up

Not sure who coined the phrase "Diocese of Quittsburgh" -- email me if it was you and I'll give you credit -- but it seems an apt description indeed this "morning after" Bishop Bob Duncan [pictured at left] finally got the votes he needed to OFFICIALLY abandon the Constitution and Canons he vowed to obey as a bishop.

In spite of the clear warning from the Presiding Bishop that we -- the Episcopal Church -- have really had quite enough of this foolishness -- the Diocese of Quittsburgh ... sorry "Pittsburgh" ... opted for schism over reconciliation and on it goes.

Here's a round-up of commentary:
Pittsburgh Chooses Anglican Limbo -- Father Jake
Pittsburgh Convention Approves ... -- Episcopal Life
Bishop Duncan takes his stand -- PRELUDIUM (Mark Harris)
The Episcopal Church is not divisible -- Episcopal Cafe
.
And yes, I know there are neo-con blogs commenting as well. Go ahead and link them to YOUR blogs if you want to.


The New York Times is reporting:
Pittsburgh Episcopal Diocese Votes to Leave the Church
.
And GOOGLE elicited these local press stories:
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Johnstown Tribune Democrat

And now, let's everybody sing together our Hymn of the Day:

Come, Thou long expected Schism
Born to set Thy people free
From our fears of queers release us
As we quest for Purity.

CANA’s strength and consolation
Hope of homophobes thou art
Dear Desire of “Network” nations
Joy of every “Windsor” heart.

Reasserters you’ll deliver
As you split the church apart.
Come thou long expected schism
Let the glorious rupture start!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reconciliation?

Please. You mean CAPITULATION to SSBs in the new Prayer Book, nihilistic teaching on the essentials of the faith, and placing Jesus in a pantheon of equals with other gods.

The whole Communion has told you that you are wrong. Pittsburgh is as well. But...you will not admit it even when the Episcopal Youth group comes to be made up of octogenerians swapping stories of their first rebellions and illicit affairs.

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

allen ... come visit All Saints Church -- listen to what we say, not what you think we mean, watch our youth groups and children's choirs in action, confess the faith of Christ crucified and join with us in his eternal priesthood (yes, we say that and mean it!) ... and THEN tell me how "wrong" we are.

Jan said...

Thanks for getting all the links and articles together. I feel like I'm out of it way down in south TX, so I will be reading all these. (And I go to All Saints Church in Corpus Christi, TX)

Anonymous said...

The schismatic act was consectrating VGR and, truthfully, we where warned that to do so would 'tear the sacrmental unity' at a fundamental level.We have done that.

And BTW no matter how many times Bishop Duncan is assaulted and mischaracterized he has said for YEARS that it is NOT about property and trust funds, etc.., Everything he has said has been in a spirit of humility, if firm in his convictions. There is no question who is walking apart in my mind and one only has to be honest about the misuse of the charge 'abandoning the communion' by our leaders, KJS and Smith of CT, to see how far afield they are from the word 'justice' which they regularly intone.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Susan. You're so right, these people who seem to "think" they know what our churches are like - could not be more wrong. My own parish is full of all types of people (skin colors, sexuality, height, age, etc). We're a thriving, happy, healthy parish actively serving our Lord! Apparently Pittsburgh is threatened by this?! Thoughts and prayers go out to those in the diocese who didn't want this outcome.

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

anonymous 11:50AM Yep ... we were "warned" about the ordination of women, too -- in many ways this is the schism they couldn't pull off over women in the '70's and are now determined to make happen. As for "spirit of humility" how about the humility to admit he might be wrong ... that other positions might have value ... that we are enriched by our differences if we don't exploit them into divisions???

DanFarrell said...

Phooey about canons and polity and all that. What about truth and tradition?

Another consideration: When it comes to the inner city and minorities, nothing has been more damaging than the lack of cultural support for the mother-and-father family. Nothing! There's no policy or program that makes up for it, and this support for homosexuality is all part of the problem, not part of the solution. Coming generations will see justice is this clearer light.

Anonymous said...

susan

i'm glad to hear you are confessing the faith of Christ crucified

Matthew 8:17 shows that this sets us free from both sin and sickness.
Homosexuality is both, and so by the faith of Christ crucified -- be set free!

Sure love is of critical importance, but as CS Lewis says we must love others "with a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner -- no mere tolerance or indulgence which paodies love as flippancy parodies merriment." Has anyone ever said it better? -- jaaaw

Anonymous said...

ibhsThe emphasis Mrs Russell is not on 'warning' but on 'tearing' the sacramental unity of the Church. You can labor for your cause but, it seems to me, you may not call others schismatic when the tear made by revisionists in ECUSA is what precipitated and provoked traditionalists in our church.

Try something new. Be humble and strive for fair, even-handed descriptions.

Suzer said...

Oh dear. Let me get out my tiny violin.

Perry Lee said...

Susan said . . . .

" As for "spirit of humility" how about the humility to admit he might be wrong ..."

And how about you, Susan? Are you willing to admit that your - and Integrity's - position might be wrong?

The appellation "Quittsburgh" is uncalled for. A person who tolerates forty years of waywardness and sin from an unrepentant spouse, and finally walks out after fruitless dialogue and attempts at reconciliation is NOT a quitter.

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

pilgrim ... have done, my dear, multiple times. quoted verna dozier til i'm quite blue in the face. evidently to deaf ears. so now i'm going back to practicing my "solemn chant" for tomorrow ... we only sing Rite I once a year (on All Saints Day) so tho 'tis rather like riding a bike one doesn't like to wobble too much in front of the congregation one's patronal festival, does one?

Anonymous said...

Susan: love you, but...

...the outrageous cr*p one gets inflicted upon one, to just read your comment threads.

It's one thing to hear alternative points-of-view---it's another to allow blasphemous Father-of-Lies-followers (See re xBob Quittsburgh!) free reign to spew their hatred. In other words...

...thread moderation? Please???

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

jcf ... you should see the ones I DELETED!

RonF said...

I presume you mean that +Bob is violating this oath:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, I, NN, chosen Bishop of the Church in N, solemnly declare that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all
things necessary to salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church.


The problem is that TEC has put the man in an impossible position: he cannot both believe the Holy Scriptures to be the Word of God and conform to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church. Given the actions of TEC in the recent past, he can only do one or the other?

So, you accuse him of being an oathbreaker? Which oath would have have him break? The one regarding the Scriptures, or the one about conforming to TEC's canons? Because to his mind, and I would suggest apparently to the mind of 2/3 of the Diocese he serves, just such a conflict exists.

BTW, who's Verna Dozier?

RonF said...

jcf, I have been told numerous times that it is my duty to listen to the stories and beliefs of those who have viewpoints that are not in agreement with mine. I fully agree with this, and it's one reason why I'm here. If you think that the posts in this thread that Susan has chosen to publish (I don't doubt that she has received many other posts that deserved to be deleted) are "outrageous crap" and "hatred", then I suggest that you might consider the fact that one reason we have such a split is that you and others are not willing to do the same.

Anonymous said...

I'm a cradle Episcopalian from the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Believe me, we don't all agree with Bishop Duncan! I find his statement, "nor will I abandon the sheep who elected me to protect them.", quite ironic. I'm one of his flock also, and he abandoned me and many others!

Oh and if it's not about property, I dare Bishop Duncan to take "his" flock and just walk away! All those saints who faithfully served Christ so many years ago,worked hard to endow their parishes. They never expected their diocesan shepherd to break his vows to the national church and scatter HIS (Christ's) sheep!