Reservations

I have to admit that I have many reservations about becoming a priest. With the strangle hold radical Christians, especially in the Southern United States, have over the Christian vocabulary and presence it is difficult to discuss important issues, like human sexuality, in the context of Christianity without getting weighed down by their absolutist and backward-thinking theology. While there are many kinds of Christians in the world, the ones that permeate the media, both secular and religious, are of the Southern Right-Wing variety, completely skewing the vision of Christianity for the rest of us. Thank-you televangelism and Americn corporate interests. I know that this skew even affected my own faith. It has taken years for me to reclaim what I see as the love and inclusive nature of Christianity from those who fill it with hate, nationalism and bigotry.

After conversations with a friend of mine, who is a priest, I learned my meditated hesitation is a normal part of the process, even after ordination and years of preaching. My hesitation is greatly reduced becoming an Anglican priest, as Anglican theology is quite different from Roman Catholicism, and certainly more inclusive and pluralistic with a decentralized power structure unlike the Vatican. The debate over the blessing of same-sex unions/marriages is an example of how not only is there a difference of opinion within the Anglican Communion, but that these differences are also fully realized. A brief outline of this issue can be found here. Some parts of the Communion have problems with the Ordination of an Anglican Bishop who is also in an active homosexual relationship. This debate gives me hope that there is room for me as a priest in the Anglican Church. I recently read an article that encouraged me in the belief that there are brave and forward thinking leaders in the Anglican Church. A small excerpt:

“The fact that women, children, and homosexual persons not only have been restricted in their participation in the worship and governance of the church, but have also been exploited and suppressed for centuries, cannot be used as a justification to continue these practices. The clear call of the Gospel of our Savior is to fullness of life now, for every child of God.”

I'm also glad to be a Canadian. I am not mired in the bizarre American culture that seems to me to be held hostage by radical, regional Christian groups. I just have to live beside them.