Will of Grace
Grace Episcopal Church and St. Stephen's Parish had its annual meeting at 10 a.m. Sunday. As The Gazette reported this morning, it was a rather tense affair -- tension fostered by the suspension of Grace's longtime pastor, the Rev. Donald Armstrong. Some parishioners have gravitated into factions: Those who think the Bishop was way out of line in removing Armstrong, and those who think that the church -- and Armstrong -- may well have been at fault.
But while the congregation may be factionalized, the two sides aren't as far apart as you'd think. Armstrong supporters acknowledge that perhaps there was some misapplication of funds -- akin to the mistakes many of us might make when filling out our own income tax forms. Some of those critical of Armstrong say the timing of the priest's removal is at least a little suspect. And there are likely lots of folks in the middle who aren't quite sure who to trust.
What most of these folks appear to REALLY want, though, is information.And the higher-ups who have the answers either can't talk or won't talk. That's a confusing and frustrating place to be.
As incoming vestry member Dr. Rip Hollister told me, it's as if the church has been told it has a "lump," but aren't told anything more. Go home, the doctors say. Don't worry about it and don't talk about it.
"We've even had the biopsy," Hollister said. "It's just taking too darn long to get the results."
But while the congregation may be factionalized, the two sides aren't as far apart as you'd think. Armstrong supporters acknowledge that perhaps there was some misapplication of funds -- akin to the mistakes many of us might make when filling out our own income tax forms. Some of those critical of Armstrong say the timing of the priest's removal is at least a little suspect. And there are likely lots of folks in the middle who aren't quite sure who to trust.
What most of these folks appear to REALLY want, though, is information.And the higher-ups who have the answers either can't talk or won't talk. That's a confusing and frustrating place to be.
As incoming vestry member Dr. Rip Hollister told me, it's as if the church has been told it has a "lump," but aren't told anything more. Go home, the doctors say. Don't worry about it and don't talk about it.
"We've even had the biopsy," Hollister said. "It's just taking too darn long to get the results."
posted by Paul Asay | 9:09 AM
1 Comments:
Quirky? That is quite judgmental for a cartoonist. UU'sm is an evolving organized religion that is not based on faith but based on the concept that each and every individual has their own path to seek, be it agnostic, atheist, spiritual, or whatever. It is a non credal, non doctrine community but it is not quirky. In fact many people think your cartoons can be quirky. Remember making derogatory comments about things you don't understand can be a definition of ignorance.
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