That Pesky "Our Father", the CofE, and the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado

The Lord himself Jesus addressed God as "Father" when Jesus taught us to pray, "Our Father, who art in Heaven...", so who are we to try to change the way we pray so that we avoid masculine references when speaking about God? Well, there has been a persistent push to emasculate the Episcopal organization in the USA as well as the Church of England and changing the language of worship is one pernicious method progressives use. 

Two recent stories illustrate the problem.

First we cross the pond for this,

"The Church of England should avoid only calling God 'he', a bishop has said, as a survey found that young Christians think God is male.
Research by YouGov found that almost half of 18-24 year-old Christians believed God to be male, with just one in three over-65s believing the same.
The Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, bishop of Gloucester, the Church of England's first female diocesan bishop, said: 'I don't want young girls or young boys to hear us constantly refer to God as he,' adding that it was important to be 'mindful of our language'".

"Be mindful of our language"? As if to refer to God the way Jesus did would be harmful to children.

Meanwhile in the United States, the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado chose for their new bishop a woman who sponsored a resolution supporting gender neutral language when referencing God.

Episcopal Pravda reports "[Episcopal Church in Colorado] The Rev. Kimberly (Kym) Lucas was chosen as the 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Colorado during its 131st Annual Convention held at Saint John’s Cathedral in Denver on Oct. 27."

Who is Kym Lucas? Jeffry Walton reported on her back in January 2018,

"Embracing progressive themes, delegates to The 123rd Diocesan Convention approved legislative proposals “On Becoming a Sanctuary Diocese: Offering Sacred Welcome to Immigrants,” “On Inclusion of Transgender People,” and “On the Gendered Language for God” at the Washington National Cathedral on Saturday, January 27.
Resolutions were passed in under one hour and were introduced by a small number of delegates. The Rev. Kimberly Lucas, Rector of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., and a graduate of liberal Union Theological Seminary in New York, sponsored all three resolutions.
According to statistics made available by the Episcopal Church, St. Margaret’s has declined precipitously in the past five years, from approximately 240 attendees in 2006 down to 130 (-46%)."
Gendered Language
Resolution #3, “On the Gendered Language for God,” related to Book of Common Prayer revisions that will potentially be considered by the national church at General Convention this summer:
“…eliminate, when possible, all gendered references to God and to replace them with gender neutral language, and if necessary, to alternate gendered titles when referring to God.”
The resolution was amended to read “…if revision of the Book of Common Prayer is authorized, to utilize expansive language for God from the rich sources of feminine, masculine, and non-binary imagery for God found in Scripture and tradition and, when possible, to avoid the use of gendered pronouns for God.”
“Over the centuries our language and our understanding of God has continued to change and adapt,” the resolution drafters asserted. “Our current gender roles shape and limit our understanding of God. By expanding our language for God, we will expand our image of God and the nature of God. Our new Book of Common Prayer needs to reflect the language of the people and our society … language should not be limited by gendered pronouns when avoidable.”

A crazy priest from a parish in decline becomes a bishop of a diocese in decline. Genius! What were they smoking?

Maybe, just maybe the progressive agenda might have something to do with the decline.

Most assuredly the progressive agenda is to blame for the choices of  Rachel Treweek as bishop of Gloucester and Kym Lucas as bishop of Colorado.

I am afraid the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado will be left singing "Rocky Mountain Low" a decade from now.