I have never been very good at predicting the future except when I have been guided by scripture, tradition, and reason. So, I think I will take a crack at making a few predictions for Episcopalians in 2018. These should not be regarded as "prophesies" as I do not lay claim to any divine inspiration. Instead, they should be seen as a just a few words of wisdom from a veteran of the losing side of the recent Episcopal Wars whose crystal ball is about as reliable as the old Magic 8 Ball.
1. Look forward to new abominations coming from the Episcopal organization's 2018 General Convention in July. Surely, there will be an announcement that Prayer Book revision is making wonderful progress and there will be rumblings that the revisions do not go far enough. A draft of a new Prayer Book (if they dare call it that) will be brought to the next convention in 2021. The slow moving timeline will be a source of aggravation for the extreme revisionists who will ask for permission to hold a same-sex marriages and not just "blessings" in local parish sanctuaries.
2. Bathroom equality will be recommended for local parish halls organization wide.
3. Denunciations of Republican political policies will work their way into speeches delivered at the 2018 General Convention. Watch for terms such as "racism", "systematic", and "oppression" as trigger words to gain the approval of revisionists.
4. 2018 will be remarkable for an attempt by the Episcopal organization to seduce Hispanics away from Roman Catholicism through the use of Spanish language hymns, anthems, and signage. It won't work of course. One revisionist priest will make a show of using a tortilla for the Eucharistic meal and will be praised by some but called out by the more radical left as having committed an act of "cultural appropriation" or having made a "micro-aggression" toward Hispanics.
5. The "Episcopal Revivals" which Presiding Bishop Curry has been holding will be praised and called a great success and a sign that God is looking with favor upon the organization.
6. There will be no serious discussion about the declines in attendance and membership organization wide.
7. There will be no calls to stop support of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights.
8. There will be prayers and words of support for Planned Parenthood.
9. There will be no words of repentance coming from the Episcopal organization.
10. There will be calls for the ruling Republican Congress and Senate to repent of any number of imagined sins.
11. There will be more funerals than baptisms in the Episcopal organization.
12. Diversity will be showcased at GC 2018, but your parish buildings will remain as homogeneous and as non-diverse as your local country club.
Stay tuned to see how the crystal ball fares in 2018!
Posts
These all sound likely! And heavens, another General Convention? Huge sums of money expended, and not a dime on spreading the apostolic faith. Curry's "Jesus movement" is something else.
ReplyDeleteIt hasn't moved the things for TEo in the direction of Jesus that's for sure.
DeleteThe red line ("tipping point") for bishop Dan M. leaving TEC may mean he will retire before the new prayer book is approved.
ReplyDeleteI pity his successor.
DeleteTime for TEC to balance their check book.With all of their lawsuits, declining membership and reluctant membership, perhaps they need to examine their policy of revisionism. It's time for sane heads to intervene before RIP becomes their identity. I am out, with thousands of others, for the duration.
ReplyDeleteTEC may as well discard the bible and write a whole new set of rules by which they can justify revisionist commentary. Winston Churchill once described Communism as "an enigma wrapped in a mystery.". Apropos for today's Episcopal direction. 2,000 year old scripture is not relevant to TEC.
ReplyDelete