I just finished reading an article dealing with minority ethnic groups and the focus the Church needs to pay to the development of new liturgies and resources for what the article calls an important mission field. Of course I have no problem with this, except...

I worry about many within the current leadership of the Episcopal Church who have taken on the broadest possible view of inclusion. Kind of like when someone is so open-minded that all their brains fall out. In the name of ecumenicalism, tolerance, openness, guilt of the fact that Christianity is traditionally an exclusive religion (those who follow Jesus Christ and not just those who seek some sort of something above and beyond themselves), egalitarianism, guilt for living in a prosperous nation, etc., there are those who would incorporate anything into Christianity just to make others feel good about themselves and the Church.

One example is a new liturgy for Chinese people who honor their dead. The idea, I assume, is to write a new liturgy that enables them to do so within the Episcopal Church. Here is my reservation: if the new liturgy encourages the ancient Chinese custom of ancestor worship, then I think we are wrong to do such a thing. It is one thing to venerate and remember in respect our ancestors, but another thing entirely to worship ancestors - to do so is unchristian. I don't care whether it makes bunches of people feel good about our Church or themselves, it is not Christian.

Another pet-peeve revolves around those who say all Anglo-culture must give way because pretty soon the non-Anglo's will be the majority in the U.S. Yes, fine, but which individual expression of an alternate culture will surpass the predominate Anglo-culture? None of them, with the possible exception of Hispanic culture There is definitely a future in missions work and ministry among all the different ethnic and cultural groups in the U.S. I love the fact that there is such variety in our country, but the future of the Episcopal Church does not rest exclusively in catering to ethnic and cultural minorities. I think, again, it goes back to '60's style liberal guilt over WASPish (Catholic, Jewish, etc.) privilege -- in order to redeem ourselves, we have to down-play (and often times denigrate) anything that smacks of Anglo, European, and Caucasian emphasis. No, we don't! First off, we are an Anglican Church - we are from England, and there is nothing wrong with that. Second of all, there will be a Caucasian and general Anglo-cultural majority in this country for the next century, although the numbers are definitely changing, of which I don't have a problem. I don't think it is a bad thing that we continue in an Anglo dominated culture with English as it's language. If you look around the world, countries with an Anglo cultural domination are doing pretty darn well in most aspects of life!

So, yes, pay attention to and minister to the different ethnic groups in this country, but stop apologizing for being an Anglo church and stop acting like if we don't spend all our attention de-Anglicizing the Episcopal Church that it will surely fail! Besides, there is no reason the Episcopal Church in the United States of American cannot continue to be thoroughly Anglican, speaking English.

"In the light of this reality, other standing committees will
also propose that seminaries and diocesan schools integrate into
their curricula courses on contemporary foreign languages and
anti-racism. Likewise, the Standing Commission on Domestic
Mission and Evangelism will propose a revision to the ordination
canons to require "competency in a contemporary language other
than English or a culture other than the candidate's native
culture, and require inter-cultural field education experience
of all candidates."