Forty six years ago my parents brought me to church in a carrycot and I have been coming ever since. The Church of England has been the place that has nurtured my faith and formed me into the person that I am. It has always been my spiritual home. It has allowed me to experiment with different spiritualities and churchmanship, and although I had to wait until I was 30 for it to finally ordain women, mostly it has told me that it is OK to be me.
Today I am ashamed, because all this week the media will present the church as being sexist, homophobic, intolerant and irrelevant. And what’s worse they are right!
- I am praying that Jeffrey John is not hurt by the malicious reporting. It is intolerable that a good and saintly man is being kicked around as if he were not a human being. I am sick of hearing that he is not good enough to be a bishop.
- I am praying for all the women priests who will be hurt again as synod continues to debate whether they are good enough and tries to accommodate those who think they are not.
- I am praying for all those who feel that the church is saying to them that they are not OK.
GOD WOULD NOT DO THIS TO PEOPLE.
Everything I have experienced makes me believe in a God that affirms what is good, not in a God that condemns.
God is love and those that live in love live in God and God lives in them.
simples! It’s even in the Bible.
My dilemma is, do I preach about this on Sunday? These things are not on the radar of most rural congregations that I know and I don’t think they would understand why I feel like throwing in the towel at the moment.
For all you preachers out there the epistle this week is quite good.
3In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints. (Colossians1:3-4)
Wouldn’t it be great if we heard the media saying, ‘Look at the Church of England, it is a place where the people really love each other and care for each other. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is what matters to them’
It is about time that this church is known for the love its members have for each other regardless of their gender or sexuality. The Colossian reading goes on to say how to nurture that.
Votes please! Do I preach on Colossians or stick with the good Samaritan.
I always think that preaching about what we care about makes a good sermon..
With you all the way on this post – feel like I am shouting this into the ether but not sure anyone has heard it!