Misogyny, white supremacy and homophobia are all disguised under the auspices of religious freedom, according to remarks by a top official of the Episcopal Church.
“Religious liberty is a bedrock of our country and a right cherished by Americans of many faiths,” Episcopal Church House of Deputies President The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings told the denomination’s Executive Council meeting virtually June 25. “But disguising homophobia as religious freedom … is not only a dangerous legal precedent, it is a gross distortion of the teachings of Jesus. The same goes for disguising misogyny and white supremacy as religious liberty.”
Jennings has served as President of the House of Deputies since 2012: it is one-half of the Episcopal Church’s bicameral General Convention and constituted by four clergy and four lay deputies from each of the denomination’s 109 domestic and foreign dioceses.
In her address, Jennings also made reference to a recent decision by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to draft a teaching document that would likely discuss whether pro-abortion Catholic politicians should be allowed to receive Communion.
“The news is filled with headlines about Christians who threaten to withhold the sacraments—can you imagine weaponizing the Eucharist?–from leaders who support reproductive health care, Christians who align their churches with white supremacist movements, and Christians who seek to deny LGBTQ families the ability to provide loving foster homes,” Jennings told Executive Council members.
The Episcopal Church official bemoaned the recent Fulton v. City of Philadelphia Supreme Court ruling as a “disappointing decision.” Jennings had submitted an Amicus Curiae (“friend of the court”) brief alongside other Religious Left groups arguing that Catholic Social Services (CSS) submit to a Philadelphia ordinance requiring the private foster care agency to certify same-sex couples as foster parents. All nine justices ruled unanimously for CSS, deciding that the group could continue to place foster children in accordance with Roman Catholic teaching.
Despite Jennings assertion that Christians at CSS “seek to deny LGBTQ families the ability to provide loving foster homes” no same-sex couples who sought to provide foster care were denied placement, rather they worked through other, secular agencies. Several other U.S. based churches, including the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, the Anglican Church in North America, the National Association of Evangelicals and multiple Roman Catholic dioceses argued in favor of CSS’ position that the religious freedom of church agencies to operate according to their religious principles should not be compromised.
Jennings also previewed the findings of a racial justice audit commissioned by the church, touting efforts to make church legislative committees more racially diverse, especially the important Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget, and Finance. This will be a step towards correcting “the manifestations of structural racism” according to the Episcopal Church official. Despite electing an African American Presiding Bishop and several recent diocesan bishops, nine out of ten Episcopalians are white, according to the Pew Research Center.
“I hope that more diverse legislative committee leadership and membership helps us make inroads in eradicating some of the injustice identified by the audit and helps General Convention lead our church ever closer to Beloved Community,” Jennings told Executive Council.
Both Jennings and Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry noted in their remarks before the Executive Council the process of forming a working group on truth and reconciliation for the Episcopal Church.
The working group will be composed of bishops and deputies, some of whom currently serve on the Episcopal committee on anti-racism.
Jennings said appointees to the committee will develop proposals for the upcoming 2022 General Convention in Baltimore “to help us reckon with our historic and current complicity with racial injustice.”
“I pray that the Holy Spirit will move among us and bring us closer to telling the painful truths with which we must reckon before we can become fully the church we long to be.”
Lastly, Jennings said that she has asked the chair of the Joint Standing Committee for Mission Within the Episcopal Church to draft a resolution on reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the Executive Council to refer to the General Convention.
“Just as the truth and reconciliation initiative must enlist the church at all levels, working toward eliminating our carbon footprint will require a broad grassroots initiative,” Jennings said.
Comment by David S. on June 29, 2021 at 8:15 am
I honestly wonder how many, and I am going to call them what they are, false teachers, priests, bishops, pastors, ministers, etc., would let out blood curdling screams, if the courts said that they MUST permit a KKK or Aryan Nation meeting on the properties of their houses of worship, if they are open to everyone. Or that their service agencies must provide say foster or adoption services such individuals. Or better still, what if a medical provider affiliated with them must provide de-transitioning services to individuals who now regret attempting to change their gender through superficial, non-permanent means. Unfortunately, I don’t think these false teachers and such have even thought about it.
Comment by David D Wilson on June 29, 2021 at 8:26 am
Thanks Jeff for that report. I thank the Lord every time I read a report like this one that I am no longer part of that bunch. God clearly led me out from them.
Comment by Heretics will Heretic on June 29, 2021 at 9:25 am
Wow, some days things get more discouraging.
We have people supposedly trained in the highest intellectual traditions of Western civilization, who study Theology, Ethics, Philosophy, and all kinds of other disciplines that shed light on Christianity and the One who saves us from a miserable life and a miserable death.
But after two millennia they still can’t figure out that telling people that they sin is not the same as telling them they are somehow non-human and not worthy of God’s love. They cry and complain when people do not want to regularize self-destructive behavior, or want their children or other minors exposed to it.
We are destroying our culture simply because some small minority of people want a positive sanction for their behavior. God help us.
Comment by Mark Siegman on June 29, 2021 at 9:57 am
This she said on behalf of her rapidly shrinking denomination, declining at a rate suggesting it will no longer exist in just a few decades. The Episcopal Church, and many “mainline” denominations are increasingly irrelevant to most Americans, but their leadership either ignores or doesn’t understand that. I almost feel sorry for them.
Comment by Original Anna on June 30, 2021 at 7:56 pm
I didn’t know that the church approves murdering innocent babies in the womb by torturing to death a human with human DNA, not animal DNA. I don’t see Jesus teaching that crap just because a white women decided she was going to wipe out black people by making “abortion” legal. Murder by any other name is still murder and full grown women know that but they are putting themselves first. The murderers walk out of the building fully healthy and in one piece while the innocent baby lies in pieces or chemically very painful burned to death in a garbage can. And I didn’t know the Church approves or sanctions handing over children to those committing sin every time the two men or two women lie with each other. These LGBT people don’t want to put their time into founding and maintaining their own churches of Satanism. They would rather bring their sin into established churches and demand the churches change from being a Christian Church in the name of Jesus into a Satan church in the name of Satan/LGBT inclusive. Jesus said for the churches not to let Satan through their doors, the churches did and look what Satan’s LGBT did to the churches. LGBT isn’t about inclusive when it pushes out non LGBT believers and Jesus is also not inclusive. He said to leave those who don’t want to hear the word of Jesus and move on to those who do want to hear about Jesus and end up following Jesus not Satan. If I ever thought our local church was turning to Satanism I would be demanding we kick out these people out and remain in Jesus just to keep the children safe from LGBT. If that doesn’t work there are always the evangelical churches.
Comment by Stephanie Jenkins on July 3, 2021 at 12:20 pm
I left Episcopal Church after 72 years. Too much drama.
Comment by Charles Munsey Jr. on July 5, 2021 at 2:21 pm
Proof that some can be ordained without reading or believing in the Bible.
Comment by Search4Truth on July 6, 2021 at 12:07 pm
I wonder how much some of those with so much to say know what God has said through His Word about this topics about which they are so vocal?
Remember the end of the Revelation to John, the warning about adding to or detracting from His Word?