A Modest Proposal

Via the Midwest Conservative Journal...

A guest editorial by Katharine Jefferts Schori

First of all, I would like to thank Christopher Johnson for giving me the opportunity to communicate with you in this space. It is encouraging to know that every now and then, we can overcome our differences, as vast as those differences all too often are.

The humorous cartoon posted below was actually quite funny. Nobody likes a good joke more than I do. Actually, I’ve been told that just about everyone likes a good joke more than I do but that’s beside the point.

What, you may ask, is the point? The point is that Mr. Johnson’s cartoon gets at something we must not ignore and cannot allow ourselves to evade any longer.

The Episcopal Church is in a serious financial crisis, the most serious in its history.

Why? One could point to a variety of reasons. The bad economy. The fact that consecrating an openly-gay bishop didn’t turn to be as monetarily-profitable a move of the spirit as we were led to believe that it would be. The fact that too many of you are stupid, reactionary, hypocritical, homophobic bigots. One could go on and on.

But the point is not to assess blame but to find solutions. And a solution has recently been suggested that seems to show a way forward that will not only lift the Episcopal Church out of its financial valley of the shadow of death but lead it into a future where we can finally begin to realize God’s dream of shalom.

Selling indulgences.

Read the rest here.
Hat tip to Bill (aka The Godfather)