The action of the Disciplinary Board of The Episcopal Church to certify an abandonment by South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence of his communion with The Episcopal Church will either go down in history as a needless act of foolishness and folly, or a necessary step to ensure that bishops of the church (and from whom their authority flows or is at least initially conferred) do not act in ways that are contrary to the best interest of "the Church." At first blush, I'm inclined to think that the long term view of history will be the former, but I readily admit an inherent bias in that I personally admire Bishop Lawrence and at my core consider myself to be a traditionalist within The Episcopal Church (I emphasize "within" and even though I do not always feel welcome or wanted).
The foregoing said, I am going to follow an admonition that I often give to others, namely that I remain mindful that God gave humans two eyes, two ears and but one mouth (and with a tongue strategically placed at the back of the throat and behind both lips and teeth) for a reason. God, I think, is telling each of us to look and listen carefully, think about what we see and hear, and then only speak when it becomes necessary and when we have something worth while to say.
I suspect that I will have more to say about this matter. For now though, I merely observe that I deeply regret that our church is going down this road. My instincts tell me that the end result will not be positive for "the Church."
God's peace.
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