This afternoon the Presiding Bishop notified the Diocese of South Carolina that she was "declaring null and void the election of The Very Rev. Mark Lawrence to be bishop of The Diocese of South Carolina." To say that this is a disappointment for the people of South Carolina who elected Mark Lawrence is a vast understatement. To say that a large number of conservatives is disappointed vastly underestimates the depth of their anger and bitterness.
Shortly after The Rev. J. Haden McCormick, President of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina, announced the news, it hit the blogosphere. A look at the comments on a couple of the conservative blogs--titusonenine and Stand Firm, for example--will give you a feel for the anger out there. Name calling, personal slurs of Katharine, jabs at "815" (i.e., 815 Second Avenue, New York, the administrative offices of the Episcopal Church), and venomous comments directed at the liberals run on for multiple computer screens. That is not to say that all of the conservative comments are angry and venomous, just a very large majority of them.
Today the conservatives have a new entry for their Book of Martyrs: Fr. Mark Lawrence. He has already become a rallying cry for a conservative minority of the Episcopal Church. I expect that in the coming days and weeks he will become the latest lightning rod in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. It is not a comfortable place to be, as any lbgt Episcopalian can tell you.
Peace,
Jeffri
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