A Sound of Sheer Silence

Three summers ago, all of the news reports out of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church was "the Episcopal Church approves same sex marriage."  One might have thought that this would be the end of the matter, but, indeed, it is back on the agenda for the 2018 General Convention kicking off in Austin, Texas in a couple of weeks.  For those not following this matter closely, here is the primer.  The vehicle by which same sex marriage approval was accomplished was two-fold.  First, GC15 approved a change to the canons of the church that explicitly authorizes clergy to marry same sex couples.  This change retained the provision that a clergyperson has an essentially unconstrained right to refuse to marry any couple.  Thus, an Episcopal priest or bishop who does not support same-sex marriage can never be forced to marry a same sex couple, as they could always use the general opt-out provided for in the canons. Second, GC15 approved a group of liturg...

In the last few days, a bombshell story has dropped that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington, D.C., has been suspended from ministry as a result of a "credible allegation" of unwanted sexual contact with a minor when he was a priest of the Archdiocese of New York.  Here are some unorganized reactions. 1.  Don't Take Your Eye Off the Ball.   I have a prediction--not based on any secret evidence, just a hunch--that the victim who made a "credible accusation of abuse" is male, and was a teenager at the time the event occurred.  Fifteen, sixteen, maybe even seventeen, something like that.  [Edit:  turns out I was right ]   When that comes to light, and it will, there will be a segment of people who will say "see, this is what gay men do," and others who will say "well, jeeze, I mean, it's not really a kid, right?" Both of those takes are wrong and beside the point.  The relevant mental category fo...

I've been living to see you. Dying to see you, but it shouldn't be like this. This was unexpected, What do I do now? Could we start again please? I've been very hopeful, so far. Now for the first time, I think we're going wrong. Hurry up and tell me, This is just a dream. Oh could we start again please? "Could We Start Again, Please?"  Jesus Christ Superstar. I’ve had folks tell me they get tired of me talking like I do now. That’s more than fair, cause I’m tired of talking about the things I talk about too, & even more tired of thinking about the things I think about. Frankly, I want to crawl back under the covers & go back to sleep. — Jonathan Martin (@theboyonthebike) June 18, 2018 Look man, I try to be nice. But some of y’all make me bang my head against the wall, acting like it’s business as usual, like we aren’t riding shotgun on the titanic. What do you have to lose with your “platform”? Afraid you’ll not get to be a footn...

I remember what a beautiful day it was.  It was late October, by far the best time of year in most places but especially in the Midwest.  It was probably in the low 50s, with the wind blowing the fallen leaves around, making that distinctive crackling/shuffling sound that will always be associated in my mind with autumn.  The sun was shining in that low, pre-winter angle that gives everything a glow.  It was like something out of a picture book. The night before we had a storm.  I remember that because I was up most of the night, lying in my bed, listening to the wind.  I love listening to the sound of storms normally--I usually find it very soothing, relaxing.  But not that night.  That night, I remember very clearly having this fantasy of the wind blowing down the tree outside my window, driving it through my bedroom, and killing me.  It seemed so real, so plausible.  And, on that night, there was a very real part of me that wanted i...

There is a conservative line of argument that goes something like this: "Sure, I get it, you hate religion and think it is bad and retrograde.  But, you haven't thought about what will replace it--that's going to be much worse!"  Now, I happen to think there is merit to this line of inquiry.  I think that people are religious on a fundamental level, and so will find some sort of religious cause or content, no matter what label that content is given. The problem, and this is where the conservatives get sideways, is in the examples of what that would look like.  In the conservative narrative, the nightmare scenario is something like gay couples living in the suburbs and going to the PTA meetings of their adopted kids, or women flying airliners and having economic autonomy.  Oh, the humanity!  No, the real danger is replacing the (flawed and often not consistent with their own principles though they may be) account of human dignity and the inalienable rights...

Come, my friends,  'T is not too late to seek a newer world.  Push off, and sitting well in order smite  The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds  To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths  Of all the western stars, until I die.  It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:  It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,  And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.  Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'  We are not now that strength which in old days  Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;  One equal temper of heroic hearts,  Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will  To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. Ulysses, Alfred, Lord Tennyson I have always loved this poem, and in particular this last part, ever since the legendary Frank Smyth taught it to us in Junior Year Honors English.  There have been times in my life when I have been looking for the courage to step out and d...