Anglican Unscripted 554 – To Catch a Predator

1. No one has time for church deportment. Conferences, covenants, prayerbook rewrites, treatises, intrigues, theologies of the elect, etc. absorb all the time. How about some guidelines for clergy and the poor saps that walk through the door? ENOUGH WITH THE HUGGING already. As a young man back in the ’80s, I told the new woman vicar a hand shake was preferable. Being hugged by a woman doesn’t make me uncomfortable. Hugging between men is just wrong. In church, shaking hands or clasping hands is preferred.

2. An important nuance to the above church story is priestly calling and discernment. The priestly vocation is doing God’s work and not self therapy. Don’t blame the victims however Victims A & B are not well suited for the priesthood. This isn’t about one-off situations. This bad behavior existed over months and reflects a deficit in reasonable world outlook and appropriate response. Can these two victims continue on as assistant priests under the supervision of a senior well respected pastor? NO. See above.

3. Bishop Lebhar also deserves kudos for allowing Bishop Eric Menees of The Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin oversight of the investigation and giving him episcopal authority over Eric Dudley. Bishop Lebhar and Dudley were close friends for several years and the bishop could not be seen as impartial by either side. This transfer of episcopal authority sparked several changes in the ACNA canons to more easily allow this arrangement in the future.

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