NOTES,  3 JUNE 2021

Welcome, blog reader. It is Thursday, June 3, 2021 and time to check in on the crises we have been following for more than a year. Here is how they appear today:

PANDEMIC. The plague of the coronavirus is still ongoing. However, the signs in many countries, as the U.S., are encouraging. New cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are declining across the board in America. Some countries, as India, are still enduring surges. The pandemic is far from over, but it has abated enough in the U.S. for the authorities to ease almost all the restrictions. In general, Americans are anxious to get out and about. It is called "revenge travel."  

The best news in the U.S. is the spread of vaccinations. As of June 1, 40.9% of all Americans have been fully vaccinated and 50.8% have had at least one shot of a vaccine. The country is well on the way to "herd immunity." The president has set July 4 as the goal for this. Unfortunately, our southern states are at or near the bottom of the list in vaccinations. Of the 50 states plus D.C., SC is #41, at 33.83% fully vaccinated. As usual the bottom two states are Alabama (29.23%) and Mississippi (27.13%). The unofficial state motto of Alabama has always been "Thank God for Mississippi."

SCHISM IN SC. Nothing new. We are still waiting on the South Carolina Supreme Court to act on the Episcopal Church's appeal of Judge Dickson's ruling. The last papers were submitted to the SCSC in May. Since then, crickets. As far as I know, no one has any idea of when the justices will act. They can take as long as they wish; and as we know, this court is not known for expediency. It will soon be nine years since the schism of 2012. We are all growing old waiting for closure. Meanwhile, we have no choice but to bide time until the justices hand down their decision. Considering the amount of time that has elapsed in this appeal, my guess is the court will not hold a hearing but will go straight to a written decision on Dickson's order, but this is just speculation.

THE ADVENT. To put it mildly, the Episcopal Cathedral Church of the Advent, in Birmingham AL is in transition. We have been following what has been going on there since May 1 when news broke that Dean Andrew Pearson had submitted his resignation. Considering that 15,200 hits have been made on this  modest blog and its posts on the Advent in the last 30 days, I would say people of that parish are starving for information on what is going on and looking for a little encouragement that matters are improving. I am happy to provide a bit of both although as an outsider, what I know comes from a handful of sources, albeit well-placed and impeccable ones. As I see it, here are the main issues in the Advent today:

---Zac Hicks. On May 19, Hicks posted on the Internet, a 26-minute video of himself talking into the camera arguing to keep Pearson's "Our Liturgy." He trashed Rite I in the prayer book as "anti-Christ," anti-the Gospel," and liturgically against the Gospel. Although meant for the vestry, the video circulated as wildfire in the parish. Explosion. Hicks soon deleted the video from the Internet. He has not offered a public explanation for his shocking remarks let alone an apology. 

Hicks's future at the Advent really is a  matter for the authorities of the parish to handle; and I do not want to say anything more that might impact on this one way or another. I will say that if his video was meant to bolster Pearson's "Our Liturgy," it backfired.

---Covenant. For some weeks now, the vestry has been working on an agreement with the bishop to strengthen relations between the Advent and the Diocese, and by extension the Episcopal Church. Apparently this process is nearing a conclusion and we may expect some news about this later this month. I do not want to say more about this at this  moment lest I jeopardize sensitive issues. I expect we will have big news soon.

---Worship services. Now that covid has declined, all churches are easing back toward "normal" services and programs. The clergy and staff at the Advent are working on restoring as much pre-covid "normality" as they can. At the Advent, I expect one will see less of the camp meeting and more of the formal prayer book liturgy. Personally, I am looking at what will happen to two important symbols: the hootenanny band and the Chancel Lamp (aka Sanctuary Lamp). (Personally I would like to see the band turned off and the the lamp turned on.)

---Search for the new dean. A search committee is being formed to find a new permanent dean to replace Pearson. The Rev. Canon Craig Smalley is the interim dean. This is likely to be a long and difficult search that will go on for months. The understandably unsettled parishioners of the Advent should be patient. If and when I get the list of the search committee, I will post it. Then, parishioners will know whom to contact with their views of the search process.

If last month was the time of problems, this month may well see the beginnings of the solutions of those problems at the Advent. I know for a fact that the clergy and staff of the parish are working as best they can to solve the problems. My view is that everyone has to give them room to do what they think God's will to be for the church. I feel certain that matters will be clearer to everyone before the month is out.

Meanwhile, this is a moment for looking up. The pandemic is easing and life is slowly but surely inching back to "normal." As for SC, "normal" is waiting on the courts to act. I know it seems that there will never be closure in the schism, but we have to know that it will arrive in God's own time which we do not, cannot, understand at the moment. As for the Advent, "normal" means finding its comfortable identity and settling down into the confidence that it too is God's will. 

As always, none of us asked for these difficulties. None of us wanted these crises that were thrust upon us. Yet, here we are for the living of this hour. We must do our best for our mission. Peace.