Important Op-Ed by David Abshire and Ian Markham in the Washington Post

With all the turmoil, vitriol, hurt, and anger happening in our Episcopal/Anglican Church, I found this piece by David Abshire and Ian Markham to be an important contribution, as it does not tread the same worn pathways that the strident liberals and the strident conservatives have been walking. Do read it all at the Washington Post website.

~ Rev. Peter Carey

David Abshire and Ian Markham

Anglicans Can Find Common Ground at the Cross

The boycotting of the Lambeth Conference in July by more than 200 Anglican Bishops worldwide has once again drawn attention to the divisions within the Anglican Communion. As mainstream Episcopalians, we are saddened by the rifts in the Church, especially because we believe them to be rooted, to a large extent, in misperceptions and misrepresentations. In addition, we lament the lack of civil dialogue around the divisions in the Church. We seek to remedy some of those misperceptions and advance a civil public discourse on these issues.

In May, Os Guinness posted a column to "On Faith" entitled "Evangelicals Reach Out." The piece referenced his Evangelical Manifesto and the prominent Americans that had supported it. It was superbly written, and subsequently Newsweek carried it in print. It was an affirmative statement of belief, which we endorse. But it stands in stark contrast to others of Guinness' public comments and the positions of some of the congregations and clergy with whom he has aligned himself. A year ago, Guinness and the Reverend John Yates wrote a piece carried in the Washington Post entitled "Why We Left the Episcopal Church." We respectfully but strongly disagree with its depiction of the American Episcopal Church, as strongly as we endorse the message of the Manifesto.

read the rest HERE

What are we saying when we say "OMG"?

Take a look at this Washington Post article "Exclamation or Expletive, OMG is Omnipresent"... "OMG," or "Oh My God" and let me know what you think? Is this taking the name of the Lord in vain, something to take seriously and offer our considered response, or should all of us "religious" folks just lighten up a whole lot? What do you think?

By Linton Weeks

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 25, 2007; Page C01

"Oh my God!"

The expression, once considered taboo in polite conversation, has become as commonplace as "that's cool" or "see you later" in American parlance. The acronym, OMG, is nearly as ubiquitous. Room-chatters rely on it, so do text-messagers. The search engine Yahoo now uses OMG as the name of a gossip-alert service.

It's a sign of a free-speech society, right? Say what you want when you want. But for many, the omnipresent phrase sounds like a sinful swipe at the Almighty. Or at least another iceberg of disrespect cracking away from the icecap of civility.

Rosie Brecevic catches herself mid-sentence and says, instead, "Oh my gosh!"

In town for the holidays, the kindergarten teacher from Colorado Springs is taking a break from shopping at the Pentagon City mall. "You try to pick a better way to say it," she says, especially this time of year and "in front of the little children."

Working at Sophisticat Boutique on Kenilworth Avenue, Vera Abel, in red shawl and long gold skirt, says she can't imagine anyone ever uttering the phrase. As she moves merchandise from spot to spot, she invokes one of the Ten Commandments: "You shall not call the name of your Lord God in vain."

The Rev. Patrick T. Gray agrees with Brecevic and Abel. Curate of the Church of the Advent in Boston, Gray preached a sermon on the subject earlier this year. He exhorted his flock: "There's one thing, or type of thing, that you'll never hear me say. And for some reason, it still makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable when I hear someone else do it. If I learned anything in my Baptist upbringing, it's that you never, ever say, 'Oh my God!' in casual conversation." He finds other words.

But others, such as Brian Gibson, don't see a need to hold back. Playing with his son at Clemyjontri Park in Langley, Gibson says, "I always say 'Oh my God!' " He's aware that the phrase occasionally rubs people the wrong way. "Some people are more religious than others," he says.

It's impossible to muddle through a day without hearing someone -- even on the public airwaves -- call on a higher being for a lower purpose. Just recently:

Hannah Storm cried out, "Oh my God!" during her final telecast as a co-host of "The Early Show" on CBS.

Read the res of the article, HERE.