So writes Jamie Wilson in the British Guardian, deftly conveying with one sentence a crucial element of the potentially schismatic debates coming to a boil throughout the Anglican Communion (and, for that matter, many of the so-called “mainline” Protestant denominations): Joy. Not the joy taken in the act of worship, or from appreciation of God’s creation, but that which is derived from the fray.
Reading Wilson’s report on a movement within the Church of England to creat an all-male enclave, The Revealer cannot help but suspect that these fights are fueled by a new desire for heat among “God’s frozen chosen.” Their demoninations may be dwindling, but they are certainly getting some press — and, it seems, loving it. “”I am sick to death of being called a schismatic,” Kirk, national secretary of a group called Forward in Faith, tells Wilson.
Uh-huh. Say that one more time, would you, Mr. Kirk? This time into the microphone…