The parish was affiliated with the Episcopal Church, similar to our Anglicans:
The parish became concerned with the theological drift of the Episcopal Church and decided to leave. Even though their own family ancestors had raised the money to build the church, they still offered the Episcopal Church $150,000 to buy the church buildings.
The Episcopal Church refused the offer and decided instead to sell the buildings for $50,000 to a Muslim group. The cross was taken down and an Islamic banner installed:
The former church is now used for Islamic prayer meetings for a much smaller group of Muslims:
So much for fidelity to one's own religion. But we shouldn't really be surprised. The Episcopal Church, under its Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, promotes a theology in which fidelity has little place.
Nor is the case of the Church of the Good Shepherd an isolated one. There are similar stories covered in an article on the issue here.
It would be superficial to say that what's happening here is the intolerant replacing the tolerant. Before that happened, sincere and pious people were replaced by disloyal, destructive hypocrites. That's another revolution, even if it happened silently.
ReplyDeleteIt's worrying because where else should one look for straightforwardness and sincerity about fundamental values? Alternative religions? I don't think so, and certainly not for many people. Universities? Definitely not. The mass media? That's a bitter joke. Ordinary secular conversations? People are afraid to speak. Besides, religion addresses many issues that are vital to address somehow, but hard or impossible to address in ordinary conversation.
The US Episcopal leadership is corrupt, but obviously many local congegations are not. The New Left always focuses on taking the commanding heights, fungus blights the top of the tree, often leaving the roots still healthy. So you can't look to the top people, by and large (former Archbishop Robert Carey a rare exception - perhaps the last) but there are still plenty of good people lower down. I'd suggest finding a good vicar and stick with him. My local Anglican vicar is a decent bloke and maintains a healthy congregation.
DeleteIf I believed in Satan I'd believe he lives in the heart of Katharine Jefferts Schori.
ReplyDeleteIt's notable how the US courts have enforced unilateral declarations of ownership by the Episocopal Church over congregations' assets. I teach my Contract students that you can't bind a third party to your contract, but these sorts of "We own your stuff" declarations look quite similar and are apparently usually enforced by the US courts. I suspect a degree of bias by liberal judges.
Schori has a "scorched earth" policy for seceding parishes to punish them for leaving and for their criticism of her theology. After all this is the person who in a recent sermon took the side of a demon possessing a girl against St. Paul. She is truly a disgrace.
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