Tuesday, July 04, 2006

No ‘seepage’ for us
Rev. Gary Wilde, pastor,
St. John's Episcopal Church, Moultrie

In a recent column, Cal Thomas spoke of “theological seepage,” in the Episcopal Church. He opined that conservative Episcopalians are too few in number to stop the theological drift. Yet, it's amazing what any renewal movement can accomplish in a single generation. In fact, vast numbers of traditional-value Episcopalians fill churches across this land. They are gathered together into reforming organizations such as the Anglican Communion Network, which promote preaching the Word and winning people to Christ through loving outreach.

All of this to say: Conservative Episcopalians are also alive and well here in Moultrie, Georgia. The members of historic St. John's Church, on Main Street and 7th Avenue, continue to enjoy their rich Anglican heritage. They love worshipping “in the beauty of holiness,” studying the Scriptures, and learning about the ancient church fathers and orthodox creeds - all while holding biblical teachings on sexual morality.

Yet, we conservative Episcopalians do grieve for our church hierarchy. It has often succumbed to purely cultural mores in the past half-century. We believe the church is to be counter-cultural, however. And these days, in the area of sexuality, that means holding firm to the biblical position that marriage is for a man and a woman, and that God calls all of us to live chaste lives. This is true, even if one's sexual affections or temptations pull him or her to the same gender.
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