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WEEKLY
ARTICLE
A
Letter to Good Shepherd Regarding the Press & Sun Article
Weekly
Article
by
the Rev. Matt Kennedy
The
Church of the Good Shepherd
Dear
Good Shepherd,
As
you know Good Shepherd and St. Andrew's Vestal made front
page news last week. Here
is the link . Please be sure to read the discussion in
the comments section below the main article where you will
see that Cookie Finch and I engaged in a discussion with some
of those who commented on the article itself.
The article seems to suggest that Good Shepherd does not welcome
homosexual people and because we do not welcome homosexual
people we are shrinking.
Nothing
could be further from the truth. We welcome and accept all
people. Welcoming and accepting all people, however, does
not necessarily mean that we must approve of everything that
people do. Anne and I love each other very much but that love
does not mean that I must always love what Anne does or vice
versa. In fact, love sometimes means intervening to prevent
someone from behaving in self-destructive ways.
The
bible defines sin as the ultimate act of self-destruction.
It harms body and soul. It separates people from God, from
others, and from creation itself.
In
Christ, God is reconciling the world to himself. That reconciliation
necessarily involves bringing human beings to the point where
we will repent of our sins. Repentance, of course, does not
mean that we never sin. It means being willing to acknowledge
our sins and, with God's help, commit to act differently,
in the future.
But
how can we repent and be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ
if we don't know what sin is? This is one reason God has given
us the Ten Commandments and the other laws found in the bible,
so that we can see what is good and what is evil and repent
of the evil.
But
what if we refuse to acknowledge the sin that God reveals?
Then we continue living apart from the Lord. We continue along
a path of self-destruction.
This
is why it is so very important for the Church never to compro
mise or dilute or hide the Word of God. In it God convicts
us of sin, which hurts, but he also shows us the way of salvation
and life.
God's
answer to sin is the cross of Christ. His answer to death
is the Resurrection. He has made a way for sinners to find
life and reconciliation. It is a glorious and beautiful way
that involves a deep and intimate relationship with his Son
Jesus Christ. It is the only path or lifestyle that will ever
bring peace and joy.
But
following Jesus requires repentance, turning away from sin,
and turning toward the cross.
The
good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ has died in your
place to pay the penalty for your sins. The Gospel is that
God loves you so much that he wants you to spend all of eternity
him.
But
to do that you and I must admit that we are sinners. We be
willing to give up our sin (God simply asks for a willing
heart even if our flesh is weak), and trust in the Lord Jesus
Christ alone for our salvation.
In
the words of John:
“If
we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth
is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
(1 st John 1:9)
Moreover,
as you know, we are not shrinking. We have grown incredibly
since 2003. In fact, last year, 2006, saw our highest Average
Sunday Attendance in more than a decade. I gave this information
to Bill Moyers, the reporter for the Press and Sun. He apparently
got confused and reversed the numbers. Rather than reporting
that we have gone from 50 to 80 on a Sunday since 2003, he
reported that we went from 80 to 50. I wrote the following
letter to Mr Moyers and his editors at the Press and Sun:
Dear
Mr. Moyers,
There
is at least one inaccuracy in the Press and Sun article this
morning.
We
had a long conversation about numbers. I told you
that in 2003 before the crisis we had built the church to
the point that we were getting around 80 or so on a Sunday
morning.
After
the crisis our attendance dropped by 30 so that we had an
Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) of 50 (still in 2003).
But
before the end of the year we picked up 20 new people. By
the end of 2003 we were back up to around 70 (69).
We
maintained that level of attendance until last year 2006 when
we gained 20 new members and our attendance jumped to 80.
I very clearly said that we had an ASA of 80 for 2006.
Please
issue a correction because as written it appears that we lost
attendance through this crisis when in fact the opposite is
true.
Here
are the official attendance Charts for Good Shepherd. They
only go to 2005. The 2006 numbers will be released by the
Episcopal Church at some point in 2007
http://12.0.101.92/reports/PR_ChartsDemo/exports/ParishRPT_319200782547AM.pdf
The 2006 Average Sunday Attendance will show a jump to 80
per Sunday as we gained about 20 new members last year.
Addendum:
The
real depth of this mischaracterization is seen when you compare
the ASA numbers for Good Shepherd above with the numbers for
the diocese of Central New York .
Good
Shepherd has gone from an ASA of 47 when we arrived in 2002 to
80 in 2006.
The
diocese, by contrast, has suffered a 14.75% loss from 2000-2005
and a 23.6% loss since 1995:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/Average_Sunday_Attendance_1995-05_by_Domestic_Diocese.pdf
Sincerely,
Matt
Kennedy
Rector
of the Church of the Good Shepherd
The
Wardens of Good Shepherd and St. Andrew's have sent in a joint
response to the theological questions raised in the Press
and Sun article. We hope will be published in the Viewpoints
section in the near future.
This
is a difficult time in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican
Communion. I am so very thankful for the way you have endured
this long trial. You are showing strength and courage that
can only come from the Lord. Thank you. We will continue to
stand firm and stand together as long as it takes. We will
trust God and pray that he will continue to protect us and
that he will bring peace and healing to the Anglican Communion
and the Episcopal Church
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