I’ve been waiting to say that for some time.
It will, of course, but we have to draw the line of irredeemable idiocy somewhere, so here it is. Most of us have not come to terms with the angst caused by our white privilege, and now we have that most heinous of all privileges to cope with: straight privilege.
Bishop Mariann Budde and Washington National Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith have apologised for letting Max Lucado speak at the cathedral. The devil didn’t make them do it, straight privilege did. Much the same thing, I suppose; at least they were not personally responsible, that’s the main thing.
The problem is, Max Lucado does not insist that homosexual acts and same sex marriage are in accord with Christian beliefs. This is not only unAnglican but it has caused pain. I know it has caused me pain: mostly from laughing too hard at the absurdity of it all.
From here:
Washington Bishop Mariann Budde and Washington National Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith issued parallel apologies late Feb. 10 for allowing popular evangelical pastor Max Lucado to preach during the cathedral’s Sunday service, despite facing outrage in advance over Lucado’s past statements against homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
Budde and Hollerith both spoke of the pain the decision had caused many members of the LGBTQ community. Budde, in her statement, quoted with permission from a dozen of the people who wrote to her in protest. Hollerith said people had reached out to him as well, and he acknowledged he had erred in not listening to their calls to rescind the invitation to Lucado.
“In my straight privilege I failed to see and fully understand the pain he has caused,” Hollerith said. “I failed to appreciate the depth of injury his words have had on many in the LGBTQ community. I failed to see the pain I was continuing. I was wrong and I am sorry.”
Adele Halliday still remembers conversations from a church she attended years ago. The congregation constantly associated whiteness with purity and goodness, and darkness with evil. They talked about people being “washed white” from the blackness of sin.
An international interfaith commission has called for an end to violence against and criminalization of LGBTQ+ people and a global ban on conversion therapy.
FOR SOME TIME now several diocesan bishops within the Anglican Church of Canada have been allowing – and even sometimes personally performing – same-sex marriages and have authorized liturgies for such rites. They have based their right to do so on a Memo issued in June 2016 by Chancellor David Jones Q.C., the top legal advisor to the Primate.
Bishop Susan Bell has authorized for use in the Diocese of Niagara an interim rite to enable clergy to better respond to the pastoral needs of transgender, non-binary, and gender expansive parishioners.
The Diocese of Toronto is embarking on a comprehensive plan to address racism and bias in the Church. The plan, which will be launched in January, will include listening sessions, antiracism and anti-bias training, the formation of a strategy group, and the raising up of volunteers to lead training workshops. Bishop Jenny Andison, the diocese’s Diversity Officer, says the plan will build up capacity in the Church so that it can begin to dismantle the barriers that are preventing it from reaching all people with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Bishop-elect Anna-Lee Greenwood said it was “wholly inappropriate” to present a passage of the Bible as divine support for their party.