This story is so refreshing. Even though things feel so contentious and partisan in the US, it feels as if there are changes underfoot that are slowly tipping the balance to a world where it wouldn't be impossible to image equality and harmony. Just yesterday I got home from the grocery store and as I unpacked my groceries I found a brochure on wind farms and clean energy that the grocery bagger had sneaked into my bag. It was a brochure published by the grocery store to encourage its customers to purchase green energy credits. Chile recently elected its first female president. Bush even passed legislation to protect a humongous chunk of Ocean in Hawaii. Maybe there's still hope...

Christmas cards is a picture of shepherds, sheep, and wise men gathered around the stable all calling out, "It's a girl!"

I love the subversive nature of that proclamation because it mirrors Jesus' own subversiveness to the power structure of his day.

And doesn't her smile suggest that she would love that Christmas card, too?

Surely G-d is always present, even in church, but humans too rarely discern and respond.

I'm an Episcopalian. Our priest is a woman. Both of our deacons are women. Women basically run the place. And nobody notices or cares.

See if you can avoid turning this into some kind of a "gender wars" story. I'm sure that this election happened because the assembled group thought she was the best qualified for the position. Period. Please try to think the same way.

...then they can leave. I'm nearing the end of a three year term on the vestry of my Episcopal Church in Texas, and I'm frankly tired of the entire debate. As far as I'm concerned, the church's mission is to bring people to God, and if that means erring on the side of compassion and reaching out, even ordaining gays and lesbians, then I fail to see the problem.

It's a generational issue. If we given in to the prejudices of American conservatives, and our brothers and sisters in Africa and Asia, then we will, I fear, alienate the young people, gay or straight, or straight, who are now seeking a spiritual home. Should we allow a narrow definition of "purity" to essentially kill the Episcopal Church in the United States?

To me, at least, the answer's a no-brainer: a resounding NO!!

As long as we "bring people to God? we're doing the "right thing."

What?

What God? Whose God? Who's idea of what is "right" matters?

If you believe that Allah, Buddah, Mohamed, Jesus, Jehovah, and Sung Yung Moon are all basicly the same, and by the way, you're God too, then by all means, press on and bring people to worship the Yellow Pages or whoever wants to do what, and let's include the Man-Boy lovers and everyone!

It's all the same and who cares? David Duke? Come on in! Hitler? Welcome son.

No one has the right to say who's right or wrong in this new age. We're all the same, and everyone is beautiful.

Oh, you beat your wife? Are a bigot? Want to marry a fish? Who cares! Come on in, worship your chair, which you can call God, or Pat Robertson, or me.

It's all the same.

UNLESS you've actually read the Bible, the Koran and other religious works and find out- who boy are they all DIFFERENT. Wow! What a surprise! And in the Koran, it's okay to beat your wife and make her your servant, and in the New Testiment, we're all encouraged to follow God's son Jesus and pay attention to what HE says is right and wrong and...

No. That's silly. Better to chuck all that, the Torah, the Bible, the Koran, just chuck it all and make it up as we go and ordain our dog and random street drawings and trash.

Nothing really matters except that we all smile at one another.

That's all. Just smile. Kill whoever you want later- who can say it's wrong? Not me. Far from me to frown on anyone re-interpreting God's word or changing the Bible or Koran or whatever.

That's all FINE by me.

And you too, aparently.

Meanwhile, in other news, the planet is going bankrupt, headed for warming/death, and you can't leave your door unlocked anymore, because some whack-nut who has decided it's okay to kidnap and marry your baby daughter might decide tonight's the night.

But whatever you do, don't tell him he's "wrong" to do that. That would be Not Politcally Correct.

Trying to protect the sanctity of anything is Politically Correct. ESPECIALLY if you are any version of... oooh do we say it? A "Chistian." Ooh, that's just icky.

Better to be a shamballa kaballa, Britany Spears/Madona kind of person... yeah.

Or a gay priest. Or a pedophile. Whatever. Go for it! Be free!

Dynamic tension and difference under the same church roof is how the American Episcopal Church, and yes, even the Anglican Church operate daily. From its roots, the church has been made up of members that argue fiercely, and then kneel together and give glory to God in all His aspects, and share in open communion.

Those that leave in a huff because of gay bishops, woman clergy, or even a change in prayer books (!) for that matter, have lost the whole image of what our great church was, is, and ever will be about, thinking we're only about great piles of stone, good choirs, and the call and response of a beautiful liturgy.

What they don't realize is the dynamic tension that is driving them away is what brought the church those wonderful things in the first place.

No really, I'm not kidding this time. Yall is gonna get a good old fashion alley whuppin.

There are reasons why the proportion of Americans who are Episcopalians has been going down for so long and the proportion who are in the more conservative churches has been going up. Oh well, Anglican church buildings tend to be prettier than most; and aging, nearly deserted churches have an atmosphere of aesthetically pleasing melancholy.