Comments for The Living Church

Comment on Are We an LGBT-Affirming Parish? by John Hudson

John Hudson — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 15:15:23 +0000

I am surprised, and pleasantly so, that I am, even as a “conservative,” pretty much in line with, and can “live with,” this statement. (“Live with,” as if it were up to the church to meet with my approval.) Anyway, I nearly passed the statement by. I am now 70 and Lutheran. In the late ’80s, though, when I was testing a call to ordained Episcopal ministry, I visited Va. Seminary a couple of times and on three occasions worshiped at Ascenscion and St. Agnes; I was very taken with it then, and not just for its churchmanship, but for its kindness to visitors and its obvious concern for living a full-orbed Catholic faith. The rector’s letter indicates that the same values are intact. Moreover, it appears that in a fractured church where many “people like me” no longer feel welcome, I still might be able to find a home there. If I still were Anglican, and if I found myself living in the D.C. area, I’d be wrong if I did not try it out again.

Comment on God Is Not on the Ballot by Mary Barrett

Mary Barrett — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 13:46:50 +0000

In reply to Dale Coleman, retired.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (sic) to do nothing”.

I will remember this on Election Day as I vote.

Thank you.

Comment on God Is Not on the Ballot by Dale Coleman, retired

Dale Coleman, retired — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 18:06:41 +0000

Who among the educated in our country believes God is on the ballot? My longtime friend and former Bishop, Dan Martins, begins with this as an axiom; as an answer to folks right or left who may be asking who is on God’s side? My own views are different from my friend’s. When our Lord stated: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”, did not mean Caesar’s political reach was equal to God’s. And Caesar put the Lord to death, i.e. became as God. Caesar’s proper place is to do justice, work for peace, take care of the vulnerable in our society; take a place working under God’s authority. This is spelled out in the various places in the New Testament, and then the various controversies causing devout Bishops, Priests, Laywomen and men, to oppose the frequent unjust, malicious, vicious rulers, and put their lives at stake. These are called “martyrs”. We celebrate their lives plenty of times through the Church year. I find the courage of St. Ambrose standing and speaking against Theodosius II, for the latter’s horrific killing a stadium full of people heroic. Or better, saintly. He shamed the Christian emperor to repent for this. Acts of evil ought to be noticed by Christians. Or consider the courage of Seminarian Jonathon Daniels, 26, laying down his life for 17-year-old Ruby Sales, shot dead by Tom Coleman in Hayneville, Alabama, while attempting to shield her in 1965. I do think it mattered to God for Christians how they voted either to support racist politicians or Abraham Lincoln, and same with those working their utmost to uphold Jim Crow, or those majorities of Senators and Congressmen voting in favor of the two great Civil Rights and Voting Rights bills in 1964 or 1965. (Both incidentally had higher percentages of Republicans voting in favor than Democrats.) I believe God was on the ballot. The amazingly faithful Dorothy Day was supported by a wide array of elected officials. She carried out the witness she knew following her crucified Lord. Evil is hard to wrap our minds around but when we see it, we must stand and decide, including by our citizenship responsibility to vote. And speak. At the risk of sounding naive, I am taken by Edmund Burke’s dictum, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (sic) to do nothing”.

Comment on A Catena on the Cross by Daniel H Martins

Daniel H Martins — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:40:41 +0000

At the parish I served in 2001, we kept Holy Cross Day on the Sunday following, recognizing another congregation, under that dedication, that we had recently absorbed into our own. My homily for the occasion was already written before the horrific events of the previous Tuesday, but I took an organic opportunity to make a connection:

“The unbelievably tragic events of this past Tuesday speak volumes about alienation, particularly as we were treated to images of jubilant Palestinians dancing in the streets of the Gaza Strip—children that looked to be about ten years of age bouncing around with joy at what had been done to the American devils. That they could have such an attitude is testimony to their alienation from us, and the reaction that most of us have when we see those pictures is testimony to our alienation from them. The holy cross, however, the cross on which Christ died, is about the defeat of alienation. It’s about God’s gift of forgiveness and reconciliation and community.”

Comment on God Is Not on the Ballot by Russ Levensom

Russ Levensom — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 12:34:18 +0000

Great and insightful words—and perhaps something which needs to be printed in Worship Bulletins across the Church!