Arkansas Presbyterian congregation elects openly gay deacon

Our brother blogger, Arkansas Hillbilly, pointed me to a story in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette about the first openly gay deacon in the Arkansas Presbyterian Church USA (possibly the first openly gay deacon in the denomination).

According to reporter Frank Lockwood,

Little Rock's Second Presbyterian Church, which has 1,700 members, elected a slate of a dozen adult deacons, including openly gay member Michael Upson.

The candidates ran unopposed and the slate was approved by voice vote. Only a smattering of "no" votes was heard, and the outcome was greeted with some applause.

The vote was the first of any church in the Arkansas Presbytery since it voted to remove restrictions on homosexuality from the denominations book of order.

Upson has been in a committed relationship for the past twenty-two years. He is also a bell choir member, sunday school teacher, Vacation Bible School teacher, and in charge of the church's acolyte programme.

Elder Cyril Hollingsworth said the election won't change Upson's role at Second Presbyterian dramatically.

"Frankly he'll be doing the same kind of work and service that he's been doing in the church. It'll just be in an officer capacity," Hollingsworth said.

In a Feb. 9 "Dear Fellow Members" letter, the nominating committee said that Upson "is a gay man and has been in a relationship with another man for some 22 years."

The letter said Upson will declare a "scruple" - essentially a conscientious objection - to the constitutional ban on homosexual ordination. If the church's governing officers, known as elders, decide he is fit to serve, he will be ordained to the diaconate.

The Presbyterian Church's constitution currently requires ordained deacons, elders and ministers "to live either in fidelity within the covenant marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." But the church's national governing body, known as the General Assembly, voted in June for a constitutional amendment deleting the language on sexuality.

Meeting in San Jose, Calif., the General Assembly also voted to nullify past church judicial rulings on the fidelity/chastity standard and to allow ministry candidates to raise "scruples" if they disagree with the church's constitution.

A majority of the denomination's presbyteries must approve the amendment before it takes effect. But the "scruple" provision is already on the books.

Now, even the Calvinists aren't Calvinist enough for some quasi-Anglicans.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is the nation's ninth-largest religious body.

Shrove Tuesday decisions

It seems that with each proceeding year, time seems to pass quicker. Here it is, Shrove Tuesday again.

For much of the Anglican world, that means pancakes. Throughout the UK and the United States, the large majority of parishes/missions will be having a pancake supper at the church this evening.

When I was a kid, at our parish that meant pancake races, waiters in costumes and a really good time. It wasn't a carnival, but it certain had a festive atmosphere.

While much of this festive supper was taking place, our priest would be in the church, sitting in the Sanctuary, back to the altar rail waiting for the flood of parishioners wishing to be shriven. That's where the term "Shrove Tuesday" originated. It comes from shrive which means 1) to hear confessions and pronounce absolution and 2) to receive absolution of one's sins.

Alas, the flood of penitents was never a deluge. It was something between a brook and a creek.

While we ate our pancakes, bacon, sausage, and drank gallons of tea (made with loose tea!), the conversations would always include the phrase "What are you giving up for Lent."

The answers given to that question were always fun to hear: chocolate, smoking, ice cream, spinach, smoking, math, TV, and the best one of all those years -- "my husband."

In the 1980s it became fashionable to "take something up" for Lent. An extra charitable activity, attending Evening Prayer during the week, using the Lenten "poor boxes" we each were given on Quinquagesima Sunday.

I prefer the old ways of giving something up. that's more a "suffering" than working at the local food bank or homeless shelter one day each week.

This year, I shall be giving up Pepsi (in all forms). That may sound very trivial, but for me it is a true sacrifice -- the last thing I want to drink before I transition from morality to immortality is Cherry Pepsi. I'll also be taking up something.

The Church of England has a new programme for Lent this year called Live Life, Live Lent. Unfortunately the programme is in booklet form only and not available for web views. However, there is a Sixteen Facts about Lent page (more for the younger crowd, and an About Lent page from the booklet for our edification.

What are you giving up for Lent? What ever it is, or is not, I wish you all a very holy Lent.

Remember that tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, is the Communion wide day of prayer for Zimbabwe.

The glory of these forty days
We celebrate with songs of praise;
For Christ, by Whom all things were made,
Himself has fasted and has prayed.

Alone and fasting Moses saw
The loving God Who gave the law;
And to Elijah, fasting, came
The steeds and chariots of flame.

So Daniel trained his mystic sight,
Delivered from the lions’ might;
And John, the Bridegroom’s friend, became
The herald of Messiah’s Name.

Then grant us, Lord, like them to be
Full oft in fast and prayer with Thee;
Our spirits strengthen with Thy grace,
And give us joy to see Thy face.

Akinola's silence is prophetic

I've been ruminating about the letter of rebuke sent by the Rt. Rev'd Mr. Peter Akinola, heiland of the episcopi vagrantes, to the Most Rev'd and Right Honourable Mr. Rowan Williams, Metropolitan Bishop, Primate of All England, and Spiritual Head of the Anglican Communion.

By now all of you will have read the letter found here. Also, many of you may have read the lengthy diatribe, The Episcopal Church: Tearing the Fabric of Communion to Shreds, prepared by Akinoa's henchmen. Notice that the attacks on the Most Rev'd Katharine Jefferts-Schori are authored by the Rev'd Matthew Kennedy, who was recently told by the court to vacate the TEC property he was attempting to steal.

One of the interesting darts they fling at TEC is "Accelerating Litigation." Apparently Akinola's US owners do not believe theft is worthy of legal intervention. We should not be surprised: criminals stick together. I believe part of the criminal code says, "assist other criminals by moral and material support."

For TTLS's new readers, some background is necessary. The quote above certainly describes the schismatics in TEC and their supporters, chief of whom has been Akinola. He is a man who has a history of immorality and unchristian virtue. For one thing, he promotes violence against Muslims.

The revenge killings came a day after the country's leading Anglican primate, Archbishop Peter Akinola, warned Muslims that they did not have a "monopoly on violence." He said churches "may no longer be able to contain our restive youths should this ugly trend continue".

When asked about his part in the massacre, he smugly said he was doing what the Holy Spirit had told him to do.

. . . When asked if those wearing name tags that read “Christian Association of Nigeria” had been sent to the Muslim part of Yelwa, the archbishop grinned. “No comment,” he said. “No Christian would pray for violence, but it would be utterly naive to sweep this issue of Islam under the carpet.”

He went on, “I’m not out to combat anybody. I’m only doing what the Holy Spirit tells me to do. I’m living my faith, practicing and preaching that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to God, and they respect me for it. They know where we stand. I’ve said before: let no Muslim think they have the monopoly on violence . . . [Emphasis added]

He has resisted repeated calls to explain his remarks and to repudiate the violence.

He is also famous for his attacks on GLBT people and has called for their murder.

Homosexuality and lesbianism are inhuman. Those who practice them are insane, satanic and are not fit to live because they are rebels to God’s purpose for man

He defended exceeding vicious laws in Nigeria with would send people to prison, or worse, for merely talking with someone who is suspected of being homosexual.

When the Nigerian government introduced legislation last year making not only same-sex relationships an offence, punishable by five years' imprisonment, but also those who support such relationships (potentially any parent, relations or friend of a gay person), the archbishop vigorously approved.

This hypocrite has the hubris to lecture Rowan Williams on who the "enemies" of the Communion are. This charlatan wants to lead that Communion.

This is the moral and religious leader to whom the fundamentalist wing of TEC have looked for their spirituality. What a very sad comment on the theology of the fundamentalists.

Perhaps we should let John Cardinal Newman speak to the subject:

If any part of the Church be proved to be antichristian, all of the Church is so, the Protestant branch inclusive.*

Jesus had this to say:

Those who do evil hate the light and do not come into the light lest their works should be reproved. John 3.20

All men will know that you are my disciples -- if you love one another." John 13.35

Paul and James continue the theme:

They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. Titus 1.15-16

What does it profit if a man says he has faith but does not have works? James 2.14

To most of the Seven Churches in Asia Minor, Jesus said, "I know your works . . ." He knows Akinola's works, too, and they do not survive the scrutiny of Jesus teachings and, therefore, are antichristian.

Fr. Jake (The Blog-father) wrote some excellent posts on Akinola (some linked above). You'll find them here, here, here, and here.)

Turning to the letter itself, there are three interesting observations to make.

First, Colin Coward of Changing Attitudes calls the authorship of this letter into question. What we know for sure is that it is not written in the precise style of any ghostwriter Akinola has used heretofore and it is certainly not the writing or speaking style of Akinola. My first guess was Minns but it doesn't sound convincingly like him. It could be Chris Sugden. It could be a combination of several of the usual suspects. We will probably never know for sure.

Second, Akinola has been uncharacteristically quiet since he was detained by the Jordanian government and barred from entering the kingdom. That decision had to come from someone in a very high government position who probably reads The Times. We shouldn't be surprised if Akinola is never allowed to enter a Muslim country again. Nor should we be surprised to read that he has been indicted for war crimes.

Third, according to sources, there was no show of bravado and arrogance from Akinola in Alexandria as has been his modus operandi. Quite the contrary, he was eerily quiet and, surprising all who attended, he agreed to the final communique. Then, a few days later he releases this letter. Why?

I believe it was an attempt to refocus the schismatic movement back to himself.

It appears that Archbishop Akinola is no longer the primary front person for the schismatic alliance within the Anglican Communion. Perhaps he has passed the baton on to Presiding Bishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone? More likely, the baton was passed for him.

ADDENDUM: According to the Lead this morning, more violence is happening in Nigeria and more deafening silence from Akinola.

* The Patristic Idea of Antichrist, No. 83 of Tracts for the Times, republished in Discussions and Arguments on Various Subjects (London, New York, and Bombay 1897)

Quinquagesima

The Last Sunday after the Epiphany
Quinquagesima

2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9

Introit: Be Thou unto me a God, a Protector, and a place of refuge, to save me: for Thou are my strength and my refuge: and for Thy Name's sake Thou wilt lead me, and nourish me. -- (Ps. 30. 2). In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in Thy justice, and save me.

The transfiguration of Jesus is perhaps the definitive mountaintop experience. Here on the top of a mountain, Peter, James, and John are left with no doubts as to Jesus’ credentials. In this account from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is filled with the radiance of the presence of God with his “clothes becoming dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.”

Then we read of the presence of Elijah and Moses, further confirmation that Jesus is indeed the long-awaited Messiah. And finally there is the voice of God booming through the clouds declaring, “This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him!”

Who could argue with the voice of God coming through a cloud?

In response to Jesus’ transfiguration, Peter wanted to preserve this Kodak moment for eternity; he wanted to capture this event by building three houses: one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Just as Mary Magdalene wanted to hold onto Jesus after his resurrection and never let him go, Peter wanted to keep hold of this moment and preserve it forever.

But this is not how God wanted the disciples to respond, God asked the disciples to “listen” to Jesus, not to preserve him like an archive in a museum.

Peter, James, and John were not just invited into the mystery of the person of Jesus; they were also called to listen. The voice of God from the clouds declared, “This is my Son, the beloved, with him I am well pleased, LISTEN TO HIM!”

At this point, it is important to note that at the end of the previous chapter in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus called to the crowd and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Immediately following this invitation by Jesus to become active participants in his ministry, we have the account of the transfiguration, with God telling the disciples to “listen to him!”

These are the same words that we heard at Jesus’ baptism with the addition of the phrase, “listen to him.” The phrase “listen to him” in this case carries the Old Testament connotation of “obey” as well as to pay attention and to listen. Through our own Baptismal Covenant we not only accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we also say that we will “listen to him.” We say that we will seek and serve Christ in all persons and strive for justice and peace amongst all people.

We are all called to seek out the transfigured Christ in the world, and as we do so, we are called not just to wonder and delight in that presence, but we are also called to “listen” and to respond with a servant’s heart and in humility. We are called to listen when our brothers and sisters are suffering, when they are in need, when they are disenfranchised and subject to injustices.

We are called to listen not only as individuals but also as a community, as part of the body of Christ. As a community, we raise up individuals on our behalf to be in relationship with and to listen alongside our sisters and brothers in other parts of the world. We lift up these people we call missionaries as our ambassadors, our representatives to be in an active relationship with those who experience the transfigured Christ through different lenses.

As we celebrate World Mission Sunday today, we especially remember the missionaries of the Episcopal Church; those individuals who are called by God and our communities to leave their homes and to encounter God in other parts of the world, to be in relationship with and to listen to people from a culture and a land that is different from their own.

For many years we have named these people “missionaries,” but perhaps they can be more accurately described as pilgrims, as people who travel outside of their own communities to encounter, to listen to, and to relate to the transfigured God present within our sisters and brothers throughout the world.

You can read about them on the many blogs and Web sites through which they record their journeys, their joys and sorrows, their successes, and their challenges. The Episcopal Church has over 70 missionaries working in 35 countries around the world. Our missionaries are young adults serving as part of the Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) program, they are young families serving together, and they are older adults who desire to share their faith and their skills and to listen to our partners around the world.

You are invited to support the ministry and work of our missionaries, to learn more about what they are doing on our behalf, and to learn about the culture and faith of the people they are traveling alongside. You can support these missionaries through your prayers, through corresponding with them, and through your financial support of these representatives of the Episcopal Church as they relate with other parts of the Body of Christ in the world.

The transfiguration reminds us that Jesus is the Son of God, but more importantly, the transfiguration reminds us to listen to Jesus. We listen as we seek out and relate to the transfigured Christ in the world, both as individuals and as a community through our relationships with other parts of the Body of Christ.

-- The Rev. David Copley is a seasoned missionary with experience in Africa and Latin America. He joined the Episcopal Church Center staff as Mission Personnel director in 2006. He is responsible for the recruitment and support of more than 70 persons serving as missionaries and Young Adult Service Corps members in approximately 30 countries worldwide. E-mail: dcopley@episcopalchurch.org.