By Lee Cullum, KERA 90.1 commentator
Dallas, TX – There are those who say that we are in the midst of another Great Awakening like the fervor that swept the nation in the 18th century, propelled by Jonathan Edwards from his pulpit in Massachusetts. Anyone who saw photographs of the present-day pilgrims almost prostrate before the stones at the Alabama Supreme Court with the Ten Commandments carved upon them might indeed wonder if the cleric who warned of "sinners in the hands of an angry God" was not abroad in the land once more, at least in Montgomery.
Unhappily, in my own Episcopal community, people are too distracted by the affirmation of Father Gene Robinson, who is gay, as the new bishop of New Hampshire to think of much else. I doubt that many of them made the trek to Montgomery. They are too upset still about Minneapolis, where the ruling bishops also voted to allow same-sex unions, but not develop a liturgy for them at this point.
Since that summer day, some people tearfully have slashed their pledges, cursed their clergy, ripped themselves away from parishes they love. Here in Dallas, the Park Cities Presbyterian Church is said to be bracing for a flood of refugees from Anglican congregations. Park Cities was born of just such a schism at the Highland Park Presbyterian Church, which tore itself apart over a similar issue. Feeling was just as high, with advocates on both sides hiring public relations firms, producing campaign videos, exhorting their families and shunning their friends of opposing persuasions.
It all worked out. As one observer said, "Before there was one church. Now there are two."
Episcopalians are too bruised to feel that sanguine at the moment. And besides, we're talking about the breakup of a denomination, not a single church. Such a rupture really is unthinkable.
Two things need to happen when the faithful convene at the Wyndham Anatole in Dallas in early October before the Archbishop of Canterbury confers with the primates in London later that month:
One: Drop the word "marriage" from the concept of same-sex commitments. What is really wanted is the protection of the state for pensions, insurance and so on, though some yearn also for religious recognition. Surely a way can be found to supply the civil benefits along with the care of the church without invading the idea of matrimony. Also, it might be wise to set aside this issue for now and let the states consider what to do. So far, only Vermont has approved same-sex unions. Anglicans have dealt with about all they digest can for now.
As the Rev. Bill Power of St. Michael and All Angel's said, we'd better watch out or we'll start "an avalanche that can't be stopped." Reportedly, Dallas Bishop James Stanton is counseling calm and deferring all decisions until after Archbishop Rowan Williams' meeting in London.
Two: Remember what Virginia Woolf wrote - "All human relations have shifted. And when human relations change, there is at the same time a change in religion, conduct, politics, and literature." God does not change. Nor does His word or His presence or His love. But human institutions do change, inevitably. The only question is how.
Lee Cullum is a frequent contributor to KERA and to the Dallas Morning News.