Introducing the Reverend Canon Mary D. Glasspool, Bishop Suffragan-elect in the Diocese of Los Angeles and the latest "threat" to the Anglican Communion.
Once you have watched this video, please take a moment to pray for those who struggle against the tide of God's inclusive love.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Are You on Facebook?
This may sound like a light-hearted question, but I have a reason for asking. Rev. Susan Russell of Los Angeles, the immediate past President of Integrity, posted an entry on her blog that was a re-write of the Archbishop's terse statement on the election of Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool. The revised ABC statement would substitute "Church of Uganda" for "Diocese of Los Angeles", and otherwise switch ++Rowan's language to reflect the statement many of us here in the west would like to see: namely, why not condemn actions that actually threaten the lives of a minority group as opposed to the votes that might make conservatives in the Church uncomfortable?! There's a huge difference between death and feeling a little "itchy"!
Here's the LINK to the Facebook group. Make sure you also find the address to send a message directly to Lambeth Palace. Let the Archbishop know that he must repent of his deeds done and left undone on the matter of Uganda vs. the Diocese of Los Angeles. That is, if he still values an Anglican "Communion".
Monday, December 7, 2009
Advent Lessons In Carols and Such
OK, I know: the service is called, "Advent Lessons and Carols", but bear with me on this, and enjoy the trippy ride of my thought process.
St. John's Episcopal Church does one thing extremely well: pomp and circumstance through music. Our choir is just that good, and when the music is good, it aids me in moving into a ritual headspace that allows the Word of God to richochet around and around, and can take my thinking to a new level.
And so, back to my argument with myself that this entry is called "Advent Lessons IN Carols and Such".
The processional and recessional anthems were two of the Advent standards: O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending. I love both hymns, but I was reminded last night how O Come, O Come Emmanuel had made an early appearance a few years ago as my poor brain was stuck with the never-ending jukebox of Episcopal hymns. Last night, as we were singing and processing up the aisle, I became aware of why THAT hymn, of all the Advent ones, had been in the playlist:
O Come, O Come Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Israel, or the ones drifting after destruction of their Temple and scattering of their people and assimilating into other cultures and being dogged by opponents: feelings anyone who has ever felt scorned or set aside or put upon can say, "Oh, baby, I know that feeling!" Certainly, as a lesbian in Tallahassee, I had that "special" feeling of exile from the Episcopal Church that had been my spiritual grounding, and it was a very lonely exile and I did mourn. And so, as God commanded me to "Show up!", my understanding was that I, like Israel, am to be ransomed by the coming Emmanuel. Now, this old familiar tune becomes a song of freedom and liberation.
O Come, Desire of nations,
bind in one the hearts of all mankind;
bid thou our sad divisions cease,
and by thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
In this time of Advent, as we who profess to be Christian are awaiting the entry of God into our realm, we are again at each others throats over matters of mankind. If it's not our uneasiness and disturbance with the economy, it's the latest efforts to rob joy from this season of celebration by raising the spectre of possible ex-commuication from the Anglican Communion if our Church allows God to call LGBT people to the episcopate. This morning, I included the Collect for the Unity of the Church in my morning daily office. This evening, I offered a silent prayer for the Archbishop of Canterbury as a classmate read from one of Rowan Williams' essays on icons. Clearly, ++Rowan is not stupid. But his actions on Bishop Suffragan-elect Glasspool, and INactions on the Anti-Homosexuality legislation in Uganda, are making him increasingly irrelevant for many of us. I am deeply saddened that such divisions have arisen now. But then, there may be something for all of us who are in this struggle to consider as we sing these words, and come to the Lord's Table while bickering with each other in the world.
And so we recess out of the Church on another old familiar tune which concludes:
Yea, amen! let all adore thee,
high on thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory;
claim the kingdom for thine own:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and thou alone.
Amen to that!
St. John's Episcopal Church does one thing extremely well: pomp and circumstance through music. Our choir is just that good, and when the music is good, it aids me in moving into a ritual headspace that allows the Word of God to richochet around and around, and can take my thinking to a new level.
And so, back to my argument with myself that this entry is called "Advent Lessons IN Carols and Such".
The processional and recessional anthems were two of the Advent standards: O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending. I love both hymns, but I was reminded last night how O Come, O Come Emmanuel had made an early appearance a few years ago as my poor brain was stuck with the never-ending jukebox of Episcopal hymns. Last night, as we were singing and processing up the aisle, I became aware of why THAT hymn, of all the Advent ones, had been in the playlist:
O Come, O Come Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Israel, or the ones drifting after destruction of their Temple and scattering of their people and assimilating into other cultures and being dogged by opponents: feelings anyone who has ever felt scorned or set aside or put upon can say, "Oh, baby, I know that feeling!" Certainly, as a lesbian in Tallahassee, I had that "special" feeling of exile from the Episcopal Church that had been my spiritual grounding, and it was a very lonely exile and I did mourn. And so, as God commanded me to "Show up!", my understanding was that I, like Israel, am to be ransomed by the coming Emmanuel. Now, this old familiar tune becomes a song of freedom and liberation.
O Come, Desire of nations,
bind in one the hearts of all mankind;
bid thou our sad divisions cease,
and by thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
In this time of Advent, as we who profess to be Christian are awaiting the entry of God into our realm, we are again at each others throats over matters of mankind. If it's not our uneasiness and disturbance with the economy, it's the latest efforts to rob joy from this season of celebration by raising the spectre of possible ex-commuication from the Anglican Communion if our Church allows God to call LGBT people to the episcopate. This morning, I included the Collect for the Unity of the Church in my morning daily office. This evening, I offered a silent prayer for the Archbishop of Canterbury as a classmate read from one of Rowan Williams' essays on icons. Clearly, ++Rowan is not stupid. But his actions on Bishop Suffragan-elect Glasspool, and INactions on the Anti-Homosexuality legislation in Uganda, are making him increasingly irrelevant for many of us. I am deeply saddened that such divisions have arisen now. But then, there may be something for all of us who are in this struggle to consider as we sing these words, and come to the Lord's Table while bickering with each other in the world.
And so we recess out of the Church on another old familiar tune which concludes:
Yea, amen! let all adore thee,
high on thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory;
claim the kingdom for thine own:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and thou alone.
Amen to that!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Challenge of Canterbury
Once more, I find myself dumbfounded by what the Archbishop of Canterbury does and does not do. He does NOT feel the need to speak out in opposition to the horrendous Anti-Homosexuality legislation in Uganda, legislation which undermines all Christian values of respecting the dignity of every human being and basically thumbs its nose at the very meager offering made by the Archbishop that we Anglicans should "listen" to the experiences of homosexuals.But, the election of a partnered lesbian as a Bishop Suffragan in Los Angeles? My goodness, the ink probably wasn't yet dried on the pages of the LA Times before the fuzzy-faced man in Lambeth Palace was firing off his "concerns" about the actions in California!!
In a short set of remarks, Archbishop Rowan Williams says her election raises very serious questions for the Episcopal Church, and its place in the Anglican Communion, as well as the Communion as a whole. And his statement is clearly a clarion call to all his Purple-Shirted Posse in the United States to try to block Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool's consecration:
"The process of selection however is only part complete. The election has to be confirmed, or could be rejected, by diocesan bishops and diocesan standing committees. That decision will have very important implications."
How much meddling the ABC does in our Church and our decisions will also have very important implications as well! But I digress: the ABC concludes:
"The bishops of the Communion have acknowledged that a period of gracious restraint in respect of actions which are contrary to the mind of the Communion is necessary if our bonds of mutual affection are to hold."
Again, what amazes me is that a decision that came after SEVEN ballots ending in the election of a woman noted first and foremost for her social justice commitment and pastoral care abilities is far more threatening to the figurehead of the Anglican Communion than a piece of legislation being egged on by Ugandan Church leaders that proposes death and imprisonment for LGBT people. Which part of the Gospel is ++Rowan reading? Which God is he following? Does his Bible not contain the message that God arrived in the world to reconcile us and redeem us and to bring as many of us into eternal life as would be willing to receive the Word?
Has he grown deaf to the voice in the wilderness that notes that every valley will be lifted up and mountain will be made low?
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, ++Rowan. Repent and return to the God who is calling back those lost sheep who have hungered and been thirsting for the inclusive love promised through Jesus Christ.
And we are coming to the banquet whether the Anglican Communion is "mutually affectionate" or not!!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
You Go, Los Angeles!
Congratulations to the Bishop-elect Reverend Canon Mary D. Glasspool, who prevailed in the vote as the second Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Los Angeles. It took seven ballots (a Biblical perfect number, eh?) to arrive at the election of the second partnered and out gay person to be elevated to the episcopate. Glasspool, in accepting the news of her election, issued a statement that started with acknowledging that there were others in the "other" category also being considered for the post:
"Gracias con todo mi corazon. I am not unaware of the many complicated dynamics that have been part of the election--and I want to acknowledge them. Any group of people who have been oppressed because of any one, isolated aspect yearns for justice and equal rights. My own heart has been stressed deeply today. To Martir (Vasquez of Hawthorne, CA), I honor you and pledge you my ongoing love and support. To my Latino and Hispanic brothers and sisters, I say we're all in this together. We are all working to bring forward the reign of God on earth. So thank you with all my heart."
Glasspool has been the Canon to the Ordinary in Maryland, and has served in rich and poor parishes throughout her career in the priesthood. Her election makes her the first openly-gay person to be selected for the episcopate since New Hampshire elected Bishop Gene Robinson in 2003. The Episcopal Church, and the Anglican Communion, have been fumbling and bumbling their way toward acceptance of the simple fact that God will ALWAYS call whomever God wants to the ministry in the Church... and that means LGBT people, too. Some refuse to believe this... and thus, we've endured years and years of struggle with issues of human sexuality. The Diocese of Los Angeles, considered by some to be the most liberal, doesn't seem to be wrestling as much as others. And so it is no surprise to see them arrive at this decision.
The Los Angeles Times is already framing this vote as the first TEST since our General Convention this summer of the newly-adopted D025, the resolution which has allowed dioceses to once more consider LGBT candidates for the episcopate (there had been a moratorium since 2006). In fact, Minnesota did have an openly-gay candidate in the pool. So while LA is the first to act, others have been willing to at least consider gay candidates. Still, the media frenzy that is likely to begin will center solely on her sexual orientation. May God grant her grace and patience as she fields their questions, some designed to provoke her into a fight.
She still must gain the consent of Standing Committees and Bishops. One hopes they will not stand in the way of this election. Seven ballots, again that perfect number, tell you how carefully the lay and clergy electors were considering all kinds of factors in picking this woman. She seems to bring skills of pastoral care and a heart for social justice that will make her a valuable contributor to the loyal order of Purple Shirts.
Let her in, let her in, let her in.
Huzzah, ++Katherine!!
Lo, it comes with clouds descending!! The letter from our Presiding Bishop, published on Thursday as I traversed the mountain roads of Alabama, was a measured and forceful statement of condemnation of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda. As you who visit this blog know, I have been shaking my head in disbelief that our church leaders have been so slow to speak out against a proposal that has dangerous and deadly consequences for the LGBT people of Uganda, as well as any group that attempts to serve this small population. Finally, the head of our Church has spoken!
As always, our Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori exercises amazing graciousness in her response. She has been a target for scorn and derision from the "boys" in purple shirts worldwide who are having a bit of a problem with a skirt being in their company. And so each statement she makes must be "that much more". Read the full text of her statement HERE. The highlights, from my perspective:
As always, our Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori exercises amazing graciousness in her response. She has been a target for scorn and derision from the "boys" in purple shirts worldwide who are having a bit of a problem with a skirt being in their company. And so each statement she makes must be "that much more". Read the full text of her statement HERE. The highlights, from my perspective:
- Citing past actions of both General Convention 2006 and Lambeth Conferences to support why this legislation is WRONG!
- Carefully framing her response as being one that is representative of the laws and understanding in the United States which, while it may not be Africa, is still part of this fragile earth, our island home.
- Noting the sin of exporting our culture wars over homosexuality to Africa as a painful and hurtful form of colonialism
- Her continued persist call on all of us to never forget that Christ is in each of us, no matter our sexual orientation, race, creed or theological perspective and to always strive toward living the Gospel of Jesus Christ and returning to the table of God, especially if we are to continue any kind of real listening process as laid out by the Anglican Communion.
So, a great big thank you to our Presiding Bishop for speaking out and encouraging our political leaders to make provisions for people who are trying to escape a worsening situation.
She has placed her cards on the table. Will the Archbishop of Canterbury trump her, or choose to fold?
Friday, December 4, 2009
Lessons Learned From the Road
It was amazing! The Celebration of New Ministry of Mtr. Lee Franklin Shafer was a wonderful event with incense, and bells, and paper doves, gorgeous chanting of the Gospel of John, and a sermon by Rev. Dr. Christopher Bryan that needs to be packaged and delivered and played for every single Episcopal congregation and priest. Bryan highlighted not only the awesome responsibility that a rector takes on, but the importance of the congregation doing its part to support the ministry of their new rector by rising to the occasion and taking part in that ministry. The two-way street... and the give-and-take... is what grows a parish; not just "Super Priest" who magically makes everything run like clockwork... and grows money on trees... and plants bushes full of new young families. One person is still just one person... even with a title. Amen and Amen!
And, much like my first trip to Grace Episcopal in Anniston, the people out-did themselves in hospitality. They remembered me from a year ago! I attended their church one Sunday, almost 365 days ago, and I was getting intercepted left and right in the reception hall with folks greeting me, hugging me, offering to put me up in their homes WHEN I come back (IF I come back is not allowed!). And I heard again, and again, and again how blessed they felt, how happy they were to have this woman in charge. I even saw the joy of this congregation in their young acolytes ringing the bells: two boys gripping the ropes and riding them up off the floor, letting their legs swing as the bells pealed out across the city. I couldn't help it: the kid in me chuckled and egged them on with a, "Yeah! Yeah!!"
My gift to my friend and mentor was to take away the burden of recording this service, so the church can post the sound on its website. Sometimes it's useful to have a technical talent!
So, Anniston proved itself to be a welcoming venue to the stranger, the obvious stranger, in their midst. This is in stark contrast to what I got when I arrived at a McDonald's in Opelika, AL. McDonald's is not my favorite food fare, but the coffee is passable, and more importantly, the restrooms tend to be clean. So, I left my traveling companion... the famous Peggins or Hurricane Peg... to attend to the call of nature.
Unfortunately for me, a McDonald's worker saw me entering the women's bathroom. And this is where things start to fall apart. As I'm in the stall, the worker, a middle-aged African-American woman, yelled out, "Sir, you're in the wrong bathroom!" I knew this was directed at me. I am used to the gender confusion when I'm in line at a check out counter and increasingly public restrooms are becoming a problem, too. I ignored her, but she persisted.
"Sir, you are IN the WRONG bathroom!!"
My anger overcame me.
"I am a WOMAN!!!" The worker started to stammer and try to explain that my short-hair had been confusing, but I would hear none of it. "I know what you thought!! Now please: LEAVE!!" She did, but nature's call had now been emptied through my anger and shouting over a bathroom stall. Upon exiting, I found this worker talking to the Hurricane who was at mere Tropical Storm strength as she was explaining to this woman that my flattop hair cut was akin to the actress Grace Jones. The worker looked at me.
"I am sorry. Please, forgive me."
I glared into her eyes. "You are forgiven." I noticed the crucifix lapel pin on her McDonald's uniform. "May God bless you!"
"Bless you, too," she said, as she started to sweep the floor.
You'd think that would be it, right? I had forgiven, and even asked for God's blessing on her. But I was bothered, deeply bothered, for next 30 or so minutes of the trip. Not so much about the incident any more, but about the fact that, in my heart, I really had NOT forgiven this person for her error. She represented for me the culmination of hundreds of times when I have been mistaken for a man. I sometimes joke about it, saying that if I'm going to be called, "Sir" then somebody better start paying me like I am a sir! I felt awful. And I reflected on this place of feeling like a fraud, a forgiveness fraud. In Matthew, Peter asks that question about, "If someone sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?" And then Jesus answers, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." So, here I am... still enraged, even after having said, "You are forgiven." And realizing that while I used the second-person forgiveness, I had not forgiven her. And I was still bothered, and angry... and at least seventy-six steps away from having done the forgiveness I could have done at one time... if I'd been sincere. That's a sobering thought while traveling toward Columbus, GA! But a good one. A teaching one.
Perhaps, she reflected on the situation and will be more careful about her gender assumptions. But I would not be surprised if she does not amend her ways because she may have felt the coldness and insincerity of my forgiveness because I had not made it a first-person "I" forgive you. And in this way, I feel I have not done either of us a service. Still, I am sincere in hoping that through this, God has still blessed both of us in ways that are God's own. For me, it is the realization of what it takes to live up to that commandment from John's Gospel heard last night at the service: "To love one another as I have loved you." A hard, but good, lesson from the road.
And, much like my first trip to Grace Episcopal in Anniston, the people out-did themselves in hospitality. They remembered me from a year ago! I attended their church one Sunday, almost 365 days ago, and I was getting intercepted left and right in the reception hall with folks greeting me, hugging me, offering to put me up in their homes WHEN I come back (IF I come back is not allowed!). And I heard again, and again, and again how blessed they felt, how happy they were to have this woman in charge. I even saw the joy of this congregation in their young acolytes ringing the bells: two boys gripping the ropes and riding them up off the floor, letting their legs swing as the bells pealed out across the city. I couldn't help it: the kid in me chuckled and egged them on with a, "Yeah! Yeah!!"
My gift to my friend and mentor was to take away the burden of recording this service, so the church can post the sound on its website. Sometimes it's useful to have a technical talent!
So, Anniston proved itself to be a welcoming venue to the stranger, the obvious stranger, in their midst. This is in stark contrast to what I got when I arrived at a McDonald's in Opelika, AL. McDonald's is not my favorite food fare, but the coffee is passable, and more importantly, the restrooms tend to be clean. So, I left my traveling companion... the famous Peggins or Hurricane Peg... to attend to the call of nature.
Unfortunately for me, a McDonald's worker saw me entering the women's bathroom. And this is where things start to fall apart. As I'm in the stall, the worker, a middle-aged African-American woman, yelled out, "Sir, you're in the wrong bathroom!" I knew this was directed at me. I am used to the gender confusion when I'm in line at a check out counter and increasingly public restrooms are becoming a problem, too. I ignored her, but she persisted.
"Sir, you are IN the WRONG bathroom!!"
My anger overcame me.
"I am a WOMAN!!!" The worker started to stammer and try to explain that my short-hair had been confusing, but I would hear none of it. "I know what you thought!! Now please: LEAVE!!" She did, but nature's call had now been emptied through my anger and shouting over a bathroom stall. Upon exiting, I found this worker talking to the Hurricane who was at mere Tropical Storm strength as she was explaining to this woman that my flattop hair cut was akin to the actress Grace Jones. The worker looked at me.
"I am sorry. Please, forgive me."
I glared into her eyes. "You are forgiven." I noticed the crucifix lapel pin on her McDonald's uniform. "May God bless you!"
"Bless you, too," she said, as she started to sweep the floor.
You'd think that would be it, right? I had forgiven, and even asked for God's blessing on her. But I was bothered, deeply bothered, for next 30 or so minutes of the trip. Not so much about the incident any more, but about the fact that, in my heart, I really had NOT forgiven this person for her error. She represented for me the culmination of hundreds of times when I have been mistaken for a man. I sometimes joke about it, saying that if I'm going to be called, "Sir" then somebody better start paying me like I am a sir! I felt awful. And I reflected on this place of feeling like a fraud, a forgiveness fraud. In Matthew, Peter asks that question about, "If someone sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?" And then Jesus answers, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." So, here I am... still enraged, even after having said, "You are forgiven." And realizing that while I used the second-person forgiveness, I had not forgiven her. And I was still bothered, and angry... and at least seventy-six steps away from having done the forgiveness I could have done at one time... if I'd been sincere. That's a sobering thought while traveling toward Columbus, GA! But a good one. A teaching one.
Perhaps, she reflected on the situation and will be more careful about her gender assumptions. But I would not be surprised if she does not amend her ways because she may have felt the coldness and insincerity of my forgiveness because I had not made it a first-person "I" forgive you. And in this way, I feel I have not done either of us a service. Still, I am sincere in hoping that through this, God has still blessed both of us in ways that are God's own. For me, it is the realization of what it takes to live up to that commandment from John's Gospel heard last night at the service: "To love one another as I have loved you." A hard, but good, lesson from the road.
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