Saturday, January 15, 2011

Prayer for Christian Unity - Don't make me laugh!

Good morning God,
On the very eve of the octave of prayer for Christian Unity three former Anglican Bishops, unhappy with the ordination of women are to be re-ordained(!) as Roman Catholic Priests at Westminster Cathedral. My, how these Christian's love one another
or - more accurately - My how our leaders mock us.
This is the Unity which our Church Leaders would have us emulate?

From the feast of St Peter's Confession to the feast of St Paul's Conversion, hundreds upon thousands of 'ordinary' Christian's worldwide will find ways to worship together, dialogue and fellowship together, but especially pray together in the name of Christian Unity. This movement, supported jointly by the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for the promotion of Christian Unity, is part of the search for 'the full unity' which it is claimed is Christ's will.
No doubt, these three newly ordained priests will participate in prayers for Christian Unity - just a few scant days after taking their leave of the Anglican Church (obviously not a denomination they feel a sense of unity with!)
And once again the hypocrisy of the established Churches make a mockery of the Gospel and the devilry of mysogyny once again rules what remains of Christendom.

What to do?
What on earth is a Christian to do when they realize how corrupt and life-denying the body that claims to represent them actually is?
I have to ask myself, do I really want to pray for Christian unity - and by so doing, appear to condone all that I find so damning and offensive in institutional Christianity?
How in conscience can I pray for unity with those who hate women so much that they would rather see them die than allow them the right to protect themselves from HIV infection?
Is it possible for me to pray with integrity for unity with those who hate women so much that they blame the entire sin of the world on one imaginary woman?
Please God, can you tell me how can I pray for unity with those who beleive that as an Ordained woman I should be excommunicated rather than tolerated or prayed for?

And ecuumenically God, tell me, how do I pray for unity with any organisation that actively seeks unity with such corruption?

It is all too easy to say -  but the 'ordinary' Christian isn't concerned with any of this..
or what has Church politics to do with Church practice really?
EVERYTHING
The hypocrysy that now pedals itself as ecumenisity beggars belief.

There seem to be only two options open to me God
1) Dennounce my Christianity - and hence any potential for personal unity with the outdated barbarism of the Church

2) Bury my head in the sand and hope it all goes to hell..

Meanwhile the least I can do is decry the hypocrysy of the Church Leaders who urge us to pray whilst they play power politics with gender in your name.

8 comments:

  1. 100% with you.
    We have turned a blind eye for too long, just accepting that that is how it is. More and more I see gospel things ( love,grace and justice) happening outside the church.
    Don't think I'll be staying connected for much longer to institutional church - but not lost my desire to follow Jesus.
    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for those words which really resonate.

    It seems from that from the beginning of God's revelation, when God has tried to show that us that God is "for" all people, we have always tried to find an exception: except the Jews, right? except the gentiles, right? except the children, right? except the women, right? except the gay people, right? The denomination in which I grew up actually once debated in the 1960s whether people with learning difficulties or dementia could be saved if they didn't believe in the Lordship of Christ. The mind boggles.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We must always pray that the Churches find the truth through the Holy Spirit. Great thought provoking post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Surely we must pray that those who call on the name of Christ to be saved will be united. Sure there's a long way to go and Christian Institutions (Of which the Methodist Church is part!!!) are part of fallen creation but don't we want Christians to be united in the truth? If all we do is further the divisions with insults then there is no hope and the name of Christ is discredited.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mary,
    thank you for taking the trouble to comment, I appreciate that.
    I would want to begin by saying I am not writing insults but protests, there is a difference. I am not writing to offend, but I am deeply offended. And that's before we even get to the stage of talking doctrine - I do not believe I am a part of fallen creation.. God saw all that he made and named it GOOD - only the Church has the gall to say that it is bad as a result of a woman and a talking snake. The Jews (from whose scriptures this 'doctrine' is drawn - do not have a doctrine of 'original' sin or of the 'fall'. Neither did Christ, neither do I.
    So what truth are we united in?
    That all are created good and equal before God, be they male or female, black or white, gay or straight. That Jesus came, as he said, to bring life in all its fullness, to make our Joy complete, to be life and truth..

    I have no desire to further division, but I also have no desire whatsoever to be united with those who proclaim bigotry and misogyny to be God's will(!) and whose dogma and practices condemn millions to death or worse in the name of Christ.

    (Please note - Unless we protest we are complicit - for the claim is that this is all being done in OUR name - WE are the Church)

    Sorry - but Ii think it really is time to stand up and be counted. Polite prayer and the scent of incense can no longer mask the stench of the Church's corruption.

    ReplyDelete
  6. When the RC Church talks about Unity, what they mean is all other churches joining "the one true church". Having been brought up in an Anglican church, I cant say its any better. If I have a choice between two large ships that are sinking, and a life raft, I know what I would choose...

    ReplyDelete
  7. great post ~ thank you! I've long had problems with the institutional church but somehow the Christ overcomes!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I want to pray that Jesus would build his church. Afterall that's what He promised and we are making a huge mess of it ...

    We are the church - not the building, not the structure, not the hierarchy and not the farce that is - in the main- behind the week of Christian unity.

    There are too many (male and female) who are secondrate citizens in the church. But we are NOT in the kingdom of God. Wake up people.We are the church!

    ReplyDelete