Earlier today, the US Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari to loyalist factions seeking to maintain Episcopal control over church assets in the Ft. Worth area. As a result, dissident factions how have unquestioned control of formerly Episcopal assets, thanks to a Texas Supreme Court decision that grants property to the dissidents. While the outcome is painful for… Read More »
Earlier today, I was a participant in the Zoom meeting with +Budde and Randy Hollerith over the Max Lucado debacle. Here are my thoughts: Bishop Budde was far more convincing than Randy Hollerith. Specifically, +Budde opens up and becomes vulnerable as she discusses this mess. Randy seems very much the narcissist who has learned responses by rote, and… Read More »
One of the moves many churches, in all denominations, have made in response to the pandemic is the move to virtual services, either streamed live or pre-recorded. But there is reason to be wary, for some, myself included, believe that streaming services will, in the not-distant future, prove fatal for many parishes. Origin of the Parish Before we… Read More »
There have been some recent developments in the Max Lucado debacle at the National Cathedral, which I like to refer to as the Max Meltdown. And while those developments seem well-intended, they may prove to be too little, too late. These developments include apologies from Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith and Bishop Mariann Budde, as well as a listening… Read More »
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington (EDOW) recently published both its projected 2020 year-end budget numbers, as well as its approved budget for 2021. The numbers are a frightening illustration of just how hard COVID-19 is eroding income for many Episcopal entities. Background and Context EDOW is a study in contrasts. On the one hand, it is a relatively… Read More »
Over the past year, the Church of England has faced its own sexual abuse scandal that in many ways mirrors the horrific accusations swirling through the Roman Catholic church. And while most observers agree that there has been little accountability, and myriad instances of questionable veracity, extending all the way to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, there were… Read More »
While I am working on my next post, I thought you might enjoy this. Due to the technology of the time, masks were not effective in preventing transmission of the so-called Spanish Flu. But even in 1918 we understood the simple reality behind the transmission of viruses, which is that we can do a lot to prevent transmission.… Read More »
If we’re honest with ourselves, conflict is inevitable in all areas of life, and church is no exception. But my experience is that churches are particularly bad at conflict. Perhaps it’s because we hope that church will somehow be immune from strife. Or maybe we feel that we need to be all “churchy nice.” Possibly it’s that churchgoers… Read More »
One of the things that is interesting in watching the Episcopal Church over the years is how customs start out being progressive, then become normative, and finally become outdated. That is the case with funeral customs in the Episcopal Church, which at one time were greener than most, but today are increasingly outdated. Indeed, many today no longer… Read More »
Remember Pontius Pilate? He’s often perceived as the consummate bad guy. But a close reading of scripture makes clear that, if not a good guy, he came very close to being a good guy, failing only due to his equivocation. And so it is with Fr. David Nix, the reactionary conservative Catholic priest in Colorado, whose YouTube and… Read More »
