Proud to be from Pittsburgh

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=9049

[VirtueOnline] 21 Sep 2008--When I began my ministry in the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1961 it was an old boy's club with clergy gatherings that felt to me like a fraternity reunion in Las Vegas. Today, this Episcopal diocese is a different place. Concern for faithfulness, eagerness to share the Gospel, brotherly affection, healthy laughter and respect for our bishop all characterize meetings that used to be events to avoid.

The difference is very noticeable, and it is in large measure thanks to the leadership we have had in our last two bishops: Alden Hathaway and Bob Duncan. They turned our eyes from the petty concerns of our local situations to the larger mission of the church of God and they did so by proclaiming the transforming power of Jesus Christ in their own and other's lives.

Now our bishop has been defrocked by the House of Bishops - a House in which he has been a faithful and loyal member for more than a decade. Why? Because he dared to challenge his peers and call for repentance at a time when - in the face of global opprobrium - they were only concerned to circle the wagons. No matter that the entire Anglican Communion has repeatedly asked them to turn back from their determination to revise the doctrine and moral teaching of the Church in conformity to the secular culture. No matter that dozens and dozens of the most faithful and growing parishes in the Church have left for some other expression of Anglicanism, often dropping the keys to their church properties on the desks of their bishop as they depart. No matter that the entire Anglican Communion is splitting over their decision to unapologetically consecrate a noncelibate homosexual as Bishop of New Hampshire, after repeated warnings that it would cause just such a split.

The question is why? My answer: cowardice. Having given in to pressure groups for decades, having allowed unspiritual leadership to drift to the top, having bargained their souls for cushy donations from those with unchristian agendas, having been embarrassed by fellow Episcopalians who have rediscovered the power and relevance of orthodox faith and energetic evangelism, they have caved in to the culture, and are now blinded by their own capitulation. It is simply outside their worldly frame of reference to take a stand that will draw angry responses from either the press or the country club crowd whose support they covet and whose disapproval they fear even more than that of their own faithful members.