Reflections of a Canadian Churchman

 Postlude Well my friends, it is time to draw our little narrative to a close as there a but a few loose ends to weave together. I shall attempt to finish the task as best as I am able.  Yes, the Bishop did resign his office, and Tony, the ever knowledgable diocesan historian was quite right, it was the shortest episcopate in diocesan history, but it was far from the most inconsequential. Bishop Perkins would forever be the bishop who would be remembered for authorizing same-sex marriage in the diocese, and certainly remembered with fondness and admiration by the LGBTQ community, and many others, for his courage and bravery in doing so.  Yet, for all the accolades and laurels placed upon him for this act of courage, he was loathed by the smaller conservative contingent, and is it not true that the voice of the angry minority so often drowns out that of the contended majority?   The Diocese remained in the turmoil he created for some time and it fell upon the next bishop to get the ho

 Chapter Eighteen: A Vestry Victory It was mid-March and still quite cold. Tony and Maddie walked out of the diocesan centre, where Tony worked in the Archives and they took up a brisk pace as they headed to their favourite restaurant.  The cold was no match for Maddie’s excitement, though, as she related the events of last Sunday’s Vestry meeting to Tony.  She told him that all the usual business had come off without a hitch, but that as the time grew closer for the election of officers, you could feel the tension mount amongst the parishioners in attendance. Maddie, herself, felt her own anxiety begin to grow and to reach the same uncomfortable level it had reached when the ballots were being counted back when she had championed Archdeacon Fulman’s candidacy for bishop.  She had done what she could then, and she had done what she could now, and she could only hope that her efforts would yield more successful results now than they had done then.  Judy had campaigned vigorously to be e

  Chapter Seventeen: Methuselah Visits the Bishop In the quiet early morning hours, after he said his prayers, the Bishop would often sit quietly with his coffee and talk to Mary. Of course, she didn't really answer back, but in his imagination he would spin out whole conversations with her, and these conversations brought him great solace and comfort, especially when he felt alone, as he did now.  The decision he had made, and the way he had gone about it had isolated him.  Canon Suzanne Sharpe had resigned...well, taken early retirement...in protest. Archdeacon Robbie Ready was giving him the cold shoulder and refusing to help him sort through the situation as if to silently say, "You made this mess, Bishop, you fix it."  Even his dear friend Chancellor Trehewey, although supportive in her duties was hurt that he had not consulted her before sending out his memorandum just over a month ago.  And what had happened in the Diocese in the mean time?  Well, it was vestry sea