Rowan Williams and the Anglican/Episcopal Trainwreck Ahead

Several springs ago in April, 2006, I was in New York City and caually picked up a New Yorker Magazine on my son's coffee table. As I began to peruse it, I found that the cover story was a fascinating, long history of the Anglican Church in England and then America., dating back to its inception under England's Queen Elizabeth I in 1558 A.D.

The occasion of the article, of course, was the recent controversial ordination of practicing gay priest Gene Robinson as a Episcopal bishop in the liberal diocese of New Hampshire.

While the controversy over Robinson's ordination (as well as the more recent controversy involving Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan "sharia law in the UK is inevitable" Williams) threatened---and still threatens---to split the Anglican/Episcopal church beyond recognition, and was the focus of the article, I found that recalling the early history of Anglicanism to be, by far, the most fascinating part of the article.

To me, it went a long way in explaining Anglicanism here and abroad and helped me understand why I had finally left the pomp and ceremony, the deadening litury of the prayer book, the rote sacraments in beautiful surroundings with well-heeled people, gorgeous stained glass windows and thundering pipe organs, after trying to stay away in Anglican church services for over 30 years.

I was already long gone that day and have never looked back, except with a sense of relief and gratitude. The New Yorker article only served to deepen my gratitude that Whiskopalianism was in my rear view mirror.

For me, the Episcopal Church had died long before the present day controversies erupted, if in fact, it had ever been alive for me at all. The truth is for me the Anglican Church in the US and England has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with politics and politically correctness.

The New Yorker article entitled, A Church Asunder, by Peter J Boyer is well worth reading. And I'll be back soon to pull out some of the salient points of it.

For me, it helped better explain phenomenon like Gene Robinson, Rowan Williams and a host of other priests whom I've known over the years who were literally caught with their pants down with their own parishioners. The last married priest I knew before my leaving the Episcopal Church in early 2000 was let go just last summer from his church, after admitting a years-long affair with a young woman who attended his "cathedral" whom he was "counselling."

Will return to talk about why heretics like ABC Rowan Williams no longer surprise me in view of the genesis of that church. He and it are just business as usual for the vast majority of Anglicans.