21 June, 2006 The Episcopal Church General Conference is Over

General Conference of The Episcopal Church (TEC), formerly commonly known as Episcopal Church (ECUSA) has finally ended and weary clergy, deputies and convention goers wind their way home grumpily to get to bed and get some much needed rest. They're grumpy only because they're tired. I want to express my appreciation to the great leaders of Integrity and those involved in social justice and helping to support TEC on it's path to being embracing, loving and respecting all Episcopalian Christians, not just the ones like them. Five attempts were made to post pictures of my hero's in The Episcopal Church: The Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton, The Rev. Susan Russell, Our Beloved Bishop Gene Robinson and Louie Crew. But alas, Blogspot is so overwhelmed the pictures never would upload. Much was accomplished during this convention. The legislation to be tackled was the one our Presiding Bishop called a Joint Session for this morning. It was designed to appease the Anglican Communion and with a purpose to of keeping TEC from getting thrown out of the Anglican Communion by promising not to consecrate any gay or lesbian bishops. But....this is funny....they ended with some cow pucky as follows: "Resolved, that this Convention therefore call upon Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion." I'm not sure if this piece of baloney is saying alcoholics, divorced folks, left handed people or those outrageously straight religious conservative types with a girlfriend on both coasts and a hooker in Chicago are eligible or not eligible for consecration as a bishop. Or maybe they are only referring to those clergy under investigation in the Jack Abramoff trial. Reading it one has to scratch his head to decide which sins the Anglican Communion find especially repulsive. Due to the fact that so many American clergy present a challenge to the wider church due to a challenging manner of life it could mean anything. But it looks like gay folk are off the hook for now. Praise Jesus! Everybody's excited about our Presiding Bishop Elect. She's A Girl! Seriously, I am happy to have a lady Presiding Bishop. I wonder if the men of the Anglican Communion will be nice. I doubt it. They're already judging her, throwing temper tantrums and acting like a bunch of bigots. The proper thing to do would be give Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori a chance; to talk to her and get to know her before passing judgment. The conservative male clergy of TEC and those in the Anglican Communion are being extremely harsh and prejudicial. Their blogs are totally disgusting, full of sarcasm and unchristian comments(I refer my readers to StandFirm,Titusonline, Virtueonline). Please remember these men in your prayers. I think they have serious penile size and vagina issues. Signing off for now, Gordon www.cafepress.com/fartotheleft