true religion
Episcopalians can be a bit surprising, although there is little or nothing we can say or espouse that would get us excommunicated.
A priest might DO something that would get her/him called up on charges - - such as the priest in Virginia who is currently on trial and could be removed from the priesthood for refusing - - by his proclaimed fast as his way of protesting the church's and his diocese's sin guilt in institutional racism - - refusing to celebrate the Holy Eucharist for his parish even though the Sacrament is defined (BCP p.13) as "the primary act of Christian worship on the Lord's Day" and a priest's primary function includes offering Holy Communion for/to/with the people with whom he is the church's designated minister. It's a disciplinary issue of he is refusing to do what he is responsible for doing. However, unlike with some prominent Roman Catholic theologians who have been suspended or excommunicated, there is little we might say or believe that would get us kicked out.
Although recently, one priest elected bishop failed to receive the necessary churchwide consents because at interviews he had discussed his practice of Buddhist pious discipline.
Wandering, Bubba.
Anyway, I'm not surprised to see a Buddhist proclamation posted on the webpage Episcopalians On Facebook, and people posting that they agree with the Dalai Lama. I also agree.
Religion is not always its own friend: religion itself does not have a beautiful history of bringing peace, but division.
The mind wanders, and this stirred my memory of the day in class my first semester of theological seminary with other first year students, when the professor raised the question, "Is the Church an institution?" and I was surprised at the number of folks who were offended at the very suggestion that the Church is an institution.
Having served (although adjunct) as a college professor from 1979 to 1984, I know that we do the same things with the class year after year, so I reckon the seminary professor asked that same question at that exact point every semester, and knew what to expect, that nobody had ever stopped to consider that the Church is an institution with a purpose of staying in business and keeping people employed, by proclaiming a religions message. General Motors is in business to produce and sell cars, the Church is in business to proclaim and spread the Christian Gospel. Dealers that don't sell enough cars close down; parishes that don't attract enough parishioners fail and close; of course it's an institution!!
As the Dalai Lama says, if everyone lived by its precepts, temple, church, synagogue, mosque would not be needed, nor doctrine, dogma, creed. But we even fight over who has true religion, irony that makes ridiculous everything about us.
In our case, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not to accept Jesus as personal Savior in order to get into heaven, but lovingkindness as the way of life; the Way of the Cross, a way of love and sacrifice of oneself for others.
But, we have institutions to sustain. Do I help sustain ours? Of course.
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I'm a study, for myself, in perplexity, irony, inconsistency. IDK, maybe you are too?
Church at 10:30 then maybe a glass of wine or a martini and a bit of cheese; Sunday dinner of a turkey sandwich, my oyster dressing, iced cold tea, sweet potato pie for dessert. Maybe another bit of cheese. High priestly nap.
RSF&PTL
T89&c