Difficult But Necessary Work: A Lay Leader’s #metoo Reflection

From The House of Deputies-

My #metoo Lenten reflection begins before I became Episcopalian. My father is from Mexico and my mother is European-American. I was raised by my mother’s family, a large working class Catholic family, in the Archdiocese of Chicago in the 1980’s. My home parish was affected by the sexual abuse of priests as well as the school principal. Perhaps because of this context, from a very young age while I deeply loved the church, I also knew that it was not always a safe place. Regardless, I was committed to my church and as involved as they would allow me to be. I was an altar girl, pre-school Sunday school teacher, and I took my first paid job working in the parish office. At the age of 15, I gave birth to a baby that I placed for adoption, an open adoption that continues to this day. At the very moment he took his first breath and stretched out his tiny newborn hand, I was stuck with a powerful spiritual experience that I can only liken to Saul on the road to Damascus. Over the next several decades, until the writing of this very reflection, I would begin to hide the nature of this event by simply calling it a “spiritual awakening.”

This event, or spiritual awakening, led me to look for Jesus outside of my home church. I spent a brief few years as a born-again Evangelical Christian with a strong testimony in my pregnancy and birth story. During this time I was accepted into a prestigious Christian faith-based college where I just knew that God had amazing things planned for me. Through my unbridled excitement, I allowed myself to become naive enough to believe that I would be safe among my peers.

More here-

https://houseofdeputies.org/2018/02/15/difficult-necessary-work-lay-leaders-metoo-reflection/

The Almy Catalog, The Episcopal Church, and the Smurfette Problem

From The Crusty Old Dean-

Crusty flopped down on the couch after lunch on Sunday, ready for The Clergy Nap.  In preparation for this weekly event, Crusty likes to do something that stops his mind from racing from the events of the morning and allows him to settle down.  Since COD is easily whipped into a self-righteous fury, he was not looking for something to stoke his readily induced indignant rage. This Sunday, he noticed the fall C.M Almy catalog: sure to induce napdom.   What can be offensive about moderately priced ecclesiastical garb of moderate quality that never changes?  What's new in Guatemalan stoles?  Is it finally time to buy those preaching tabs?  What's the ugliest chasuble I can find?  Instead, he saw this advertisement while flipping through the clergy shirt section, and presents it for once without a snarky caption, in its fullness, without comment:

More here-

https://crustyoldean.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-almy-catalog-episcopal-church-and.html?m=1

Is Your Pastor Sexist?

From The New York Times-

The fight among Christians over the status and role of women is usually buried out of view. Anger at continuing inequality is not deemed pious or pretty by the faithful. Disputes usually stay private.

But this pattern was broken recently by a very public uproar when a prominent theological college announced its award of a prestigious prize to a high-profile preacher who does not believe that women or L.G.B.T. people should be ordained.

On most grounds, Princeton Theological Seminary’s decision to give the Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness to the Rev. Tim Keller would seem a safe one. Dr. Keller is the founding pastor of the flourishing Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, a gifted preacher and a best-selling author of theological works. I attended his church for some years when I lived in New York, largely because of the high caliber of his sermons.

More here-

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/opinion/is-your-pastor-sexist.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0

The religious reasons Mike Pence won’t eat alone with women don’t add up

From The Washington Post-

A story about Billy Graham goes something like this: In 1949 or 1950, after one of his famous evangelistic meetings, Graham returned to his hotel room to find a naked woman lying on his bed, ready to seduce him in an attempt to destroy his ministry. Graham, cautious and humble as usual, fled the hotel room and immediately implemented a rule that would come to bear his name: From that day forward, Graham would not travel (including by car), eat or meet alone with a woman other than his wife, Ruth.

The Billy Graham Rule was soon adopted by evangelical pastors and business executives. Men in positions of influence wanted to “flee from sexual immorality” and be “above reproach” (both biblical commands), as well as abstain from “every appearance of evil.” Aware of how many Christian leaders have been felled by sexual immorality, many of these men were taking sincere steps to guard their marriages from infidelity and their hearts from lust.

More here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/03/30/the-religious-reasons-mike-pence-wont-eat-alone-with-women-dont-add-up/?tid=ss_fb&utm_term=.04d174ca4710

No fairer sex please, we’re Anglican: Wallington church cites ‘biblical reasons’ for male-only advert

From The UK-

Wallington’s Holy Trinity Church explained it will only seek men to fill a vacancy after a church council decided the next leader should be male for ‘biblical reasons’ in a newsletter given out to church-goers.

The newsletter handed out to the congregation, on Sunday, November 20, outlines the church’s reasons to appoint a man to the position of vicar in its ‘leadership and gender roles in Christ’s church’ section of information and events page.

It reads: “At our recent open evening we explained the parish church council’s view that the position of the overall leader (vicar) should be male for biblical reasons. Thank you to all those who shared their questions, views and points.

“We have now produced a summary sheet setting out the principle reasons from scripture for maintaining the historic position of this church on this matter.”

The same newsletter also asked its members to “pray for an urgent visit by a boiler specialist”.

More here-

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/14980754.No_fairer_sex_please__we___re_Anglican__Wallington_church_cites____biblical_reasons____for_male_only_advert/