Letter to The Living Church

AP, NYTimes and NPR be darned ... you know you've hit the big time in Episco-Media when you get a Letter to the Editor published in The Living Church.

Which I did.

In this week's free-to-the-whole-church Administrator's Issue.

On Page 60.

Mother will be so proud!

Dear Editor,

The Living Church did its readers a disservice by leading its article "LA Parishes Appeal to State Supreme Court" [TLC, Aug 26] with "Three former congregations of the Diocese of Los Angeles that left The Episcopal Church for the Church of Uganda ..."

In point of fact, congregations are ontologically incapable of leaving The Episcopal Church for Uganda or anywhere else. Parishioners and clergy are, of course, free to move about the country -- indeed, the communion -- as they please. But congregations are congregations by virtue of being constituent members of a diocese which is a constituent member of The Episcopal Church. Congregations are therefore ontologically incapable of leaving The Episcopal Church for Uganda or anywhere else.

It is understandable that those fomenting schism in The Episcopal Church would insist that congregations have the ability to "leave" the church. It is unconscionable that The Living Church would help to perpetuate that misrepresentation in an news article.

Or perhaps the TLC editoral board has adapted the same standards of "fair and balanced" reporting as practiced by Fox News. If that is the case then it does make the heart very sad indeed.

(The Reverend) Susan Russell

All Saints Church

Pasadena CA