LETTER TO THIS EDITOR,
26 OCTOBER 2022
Today's letter to the editor refers to the last blog piece on the schism and guilt. In this, I said that the homosexual community of lower South Carolina should not feel guilty about causing the schism. This writer suggests there is more to it:
Hello Ron,
Read your latest blog entry. Plus, I was at the Roundtable meeting via Toutube. Very interesting and very humbling.
The second gentleman who spoke, I did not get his name. He came to the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina from New York...a former Catholic priest. He goes into the history of his arrival and a meeting with former Bishop Suffragan William Skilton and the late Bishop Edward Salmon. Searching for a possible administrative position...yet was being encouraged to become an Episcopal priest. Until, that is, the late Bishop Salmon learned he was "gay" and told him he would not be a good fit here.
He goes on to suggest (as you pointed out so well in your blog) that he felt somehow the LBGTQ community might bear partial responsibility for the schism.
You are correct...the LBGTQ community does not bear and should not feel they have any responsibility for the schism at all...not one iota.
Who is to blame? You have covered that well in your history of the schism here in eastern SC. But, I would go a step further. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said of the Civil Rights struggle..."the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."
Yes, the so-called good people...such as I. The "good people" who sat in the pews of the Episcopal churches and remained silent. The so-called "good people" who were afraid of speaking out...who were afraid to speak up and speak up loudly and often in protest. People like myself. Yes, I bear some responsibility for the schism, due to my view of "well the church will work this out in time." My lack of courage contributed to the schism. However...the "good people" of the LBGTQ community were not the problem and not the cause. They were just "good people" who, like me...simply wanting to worship God...seeking a closer relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Perhaps someday I will have the chance to meet this gentleman and shake his hand and say...I'm sorry.
Thanks for listening and reading,
Randolph Wilson,
St. Anne's, Conway
________________________
If you have not watched the video of St. Stephen's roundtable discussion, I suggest your should. It is available on Youtube.
What do you think about this? Do you agree with Randolph that too many people sat silently while the majority of the pre-schism diocesan leadership and laity put into practice their homophobia? If the silent people had spoken up could they have prevented the schism?
Send you thoughts to the email address above. You may choose to remain anonymous.
Ron Caldwell
