The Episcopal Church: Nothing Like Consistency (With Comedy Video Bonus)

The very first newspaper op-ed article I ever published, way back in 1984, was about All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, which has long had a reputation as a leading “progressive” parish. I wrote about attending a meeting where a group of parishioners were reporting back on a recent visit to the newest workers’ paradise, Nic . . .—now just wait for it!!—yes, indeed, it was Nicaragua (or “KNEE-car-AHHH-gua,” if you’re really au courant).  Since this article was published in the pre-Internet age, I can’t link to it, so here’s the lede from my hard-copy archive:

When Karl Marx wrote that religion was an opiate, he never foresaw the ironic way his words would be confirmed.  In Pasadena, California, at All Saints Episcopal Church, the congregation recently witnessed a “political pilgrimage”—the phrase coined by Professor Paul Hollander to describe those earnest travelers who visit the latest revolutionary “experiment” and return with glowing reports of peace, harmony, and progress.

It got worse from there, of course.  Those loveable Sandinistas—why they were all “deeply devout Christians” practicing brotherly love.  Naturally everything wrong in Nicaragua, even late garbage pickup, was the fault of American intervention and CIA skullduggery.  This was the heyday of “Liberation Theology,” fruit of the fad at the time known as the “Christian-Marxist dialogue,” though I always thought the idea of “Christian Marxism” made about as much sense as Jewish Nazism, while “Liberation Theology” was best described as “Marxism with Salsa.”

Well, the old Sandinistas are long gone, or at least aren’t trendy any more, but not to worry, All Saints has it covered.  Guess who they’re all cozy with today?  The Muslim Brotherhood, naturally.  FrontPageMagazine reports:

On December 15, All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena hosted the annual convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a group with Muslim Brotherhood origins and a controversial past. The question of why All Saints would collaborate with this specific group persisted. The answer came during the event when Reverend Ed Bacon listed “acts of evil” committed by Christians and included “evangelical Zionism.”

There’s much more in Ryan Mauro’s comprehensive report, but this is quite enough.  Good to know All Saints hasn’t lost its touch for being “trendier than thou,” in the late great Paul Seabury’s famous phrase.

UPDATE: How could I miss passing along this three-minute video, an ode to womens’ ordination, passed along by Fr. Y in northern California, who assures me that this is NOT a parody:

 

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