ADSC WALKABOUT #3

OK, Walkabout #3, today, 15 September 2021, at St. Philip's, of Charleston has ended. I sat through the whole thing! That makes three in a row for me. So, what did today's beauty pageant event tell us?

Generally, it was just more of the same. Basically the three tried to outdo each other on who was closest to God. Once again, we heard a lot about how the Holy Spirit has guided their lives. I think we got that on the first night. Warner seemed to get a bit beyond himself in talking about how he felt called to be a bishop and would accept the offer if made. To me it came across as a little too presumptuous. 

Once again, the questions were mostly innocuous soft balls that anyone could answer. They all did answer them in pleasant, if meaningless, ways. Not really helpful. 

There were, however, two questions that I found to be strangely curious and perhaps revelatory. One was how the church should engage the wider culture. I was not clear exactly what that question meant. It could have meant various things. In the context where the ADSC is now, I took it to mean how should the diocese react to racism, equal rights for women, and rights and inclusion of non-celibate gays. Those are major elements in the culture war these days. Since the ADSC was set up in 2012 to keep non-celibate homosexuals from equal rights and inclusion in the  church and to keep women submissive to men, the ADSC has in fact made its interface with the secular culture crystal clear. So, the question really was, How do we rationalize and justify the diocesan opposition to these cultural changes? The answer pulled up the full Pharisee position. I understood Edgar to say what "the church" (his church) believes is true whether anyone agrees with it or not. If outside culture disagrees with the church it is wrong and the church will prevail so the church should be patient and wait for the corrupt culture to fall and pick up the pieces. The problem is in defining what the church believes. Edgar rejected the Episcopal Church's definition of rightful reform and put his own view in its place. Sturdy and Warner were not quite so pharisaic, but Sturdy took the absurd position that in 2003 (Robinson), the Episcopal Church fell into the secular political left-wing trap while the breakaway "Anglicans" were not, and are not, political. If he really believes ADSC, the ACNA, and GAFCON are non-political, he knows nothing of the schismatic movement.

The only other question of interest was the one asking what parts of the faith you are willing to die for or be removed as bishop. Again, I was not clear on what this mean, or what the implication was, but, again, in the context of the schism in SC, I took it to mean how far are you willing to go to resist the Episcopal Church. Edgar and Sturdy went back to their statements in the question above. Edgar said, in other words, his hill to die on was came in 2003 (when the Episcopal Church affirmed a partnered gay man as a bishop). The church was wrong; he was right; he left the Church. Sturdy repeated that "the secular polarized culture" had not "invaded" this (meaning ADSC) group. Disingenuous. [Memo to Rob Sturdy--read my history of the schism.]

Thus, this third night was the one in which two of the candidates edged up to the crucial issue of the hour, the schism. Both talked around it but neither fully engaged it. Warner seemed reluctant even to reach the outer edge. 

I sensed today a bit of weariness and fatigue setting in among the three candidates. They seemed a bit tired. They were not as spirited or energetic as the first two nights, and who could blame them? They are performing on stage for hours and know that one little slip could be fatal. I felt they spent a bit longer looking for just the right things to say although they have probably said everything they want to say.

Yet again, for the third day, I was amazed at how little interest the public has in these Walkabouts. Tonight the number of viewers got a bit higher, up to 90 at one point but dwindled away. Toward the end, I was one of 16 continuing to watch. Mercifully, the managers kept the show to two hours. 

I expect to watch the fourth, and last, stop on this beauty pageant road show tomorrow. I am developing some theories of what is happening here and I will share them with you after the last performance.