I was here yesterday. The celebrants of the union wore muted semi-formal attire and well-groomed white beards. There was a flower girl. The service began with the Shehechyenu, since one of the celebrants was born into a rabbinical family (several of whom were obviously present). The Psalm was 139 1:14, a psalm about the inexorable reach of God that in the middle has, "I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well." The Epistle was 1 John on the necessity of loving the brethren in order to love God. The Gospel was Matthew 5:13-16, which while appointed in the BCP for weddings, seems even more appropriate for adelphopoesis.
The Rector said in his sermon today that people e-mailed him from far-off places, telling him they had awoken in the watches of the night and gone to holy places (such as Canterbury Cathedral) to pray for the couple. Amazing.
4 comments:
Interesting. What were the vows like? I've been following their unfolding story ever since it got a wider hearing. I'm of two minds on that though, it sure puts a lot of extra pressure on what should be an event for the local Body.
I had a very good conversation with my priest about the realities of pastoral care in TEC for many not blessed to be in a few rare dioceses. My view from the pews push about pastoral care has not fallen on deaf ears. Working institutionally, we're looking at how we might cede some of our parish's pastoral care in priest and bishop to offer care for others elsewhere here and/or abroad.
Of course, subversively, I pointed out that our structures will not hamstring God and that when our institutions are so hampered as to be unable to proclaim the good news, God tends to find a way around us often to our later shame. For those of Integrity Uganda, when Bishop Senjenkyo dies, who will be without care otherwise, if needed and no one else will serve them the gospel in word and sacrament, they are free to set someone aside to do so--that God does these things after all, not us, and that our recent flirtations with Romanism in thinking the priest confects the sacrament needs a rethink in terms of our own best divines. That our orders of ministry are for the good of the Church, but they don't exist for themselves, and certainly not to proclaim ourselves rather than Jesus Christ. I pointed to the prophets in the Didache, whose primary work was to proclaim the Good News in word and sacrament, and indeed, the prophet is to do so when the orders would rather be about themselves. I think that's what's missing in much of this "prophet language", that it's not about justice or inclusion, it's about the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is who a prophet proclaims often through Law and Gospel.
The vows were sufficient and unmemorable as you would expect from a parish that has been doing these rites for more than fifteen years now. To the rest of the Communion, this may suddenly have seemed splendid or the exact opposite. But frankly, the rest of the world only heard about it because Bruno is known in the Anglosphere and invited the OCICBW crew and then Bishop Bruno probably misled the press and various other parties as well. Throw in Susan Russell and it's a new media circus. Thankfully, the old media was nowhere to be seen. If I had gone to my parish, one Saturday out of four, I would have participated in the same kind of event.
And I wouldn't worry about the lot of extra pressure on the local Body beyond the two members thrust into this scene. I swear that putting the rest of the world into convulsions is what gets much of the clergy up in the morning and the parish generally goes along with it for our sanity.
I think that's what's missing in much of this "prophet language", that it's not about justice or inclusion, it's about the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is who a prophet proclaims often through Law and Gospel.
For these prophets, there is no distinction.
"I swear that putting the rest of the world into convulsions is what gets much of the clergy up in the morning"
I think that's the only thing that bothers me about the current climate in TEC, at least from the liberal side of things.
Jon
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