The Rev. Clayton Crawley and his partner, Roy Kim
I spent time last weekend with friends I had made during the years I attended Trinity Episcopal Church in New Haven. I had gone decades without going to church regularly but the 9/11 attacks sent me looking for a church; I settled on Trinity, a vibrant, music-filled (4 choirs!) congregation in the heart of town. Its best asset was, of course, its people, and I met dozens of good ones.
Over time though I came to not believe in the whole god thing and eventually drifted away. Much as I liked the people, I felt a hypocrite and didn’t know what to do with my lips while everyone else was reciting the Nicene Creed.
Last weekend‘s time with Trinity friends made me think maybe I should find a way to come back to the church.
Then I read today’s Times and the story “True to Episcopal Church’s Past, Bishops Split on Gay Weddings”. I sighed in disgust and thought, no thanks, I’ll sleep in on Sundays. (The issue is that, if you are a gay Episcopalian you can marry your loved one in church IF you live in Brooklyn and Queens, but not if you live in the other three boroughs, including Manhattan! It’s all up to your local bishop; if he’s a religious bigot, you lose.)
Yes, I see that the church has come a long way and, yes, I know that the inexorable march toward freedom will one day prevail but I am damn tired of a bunch of (mostly) old, (mostly) white (mostly) men deciding who is to have rights and who is to be denied rights.
I am damn tired of bible-based racism, homophobia, sexism, xenophobia and hatred.
I am damn tired of our cultural habit of pussy-footing around religion: behavior that is condemned by most fair-minded, intelligent Americans is somehow excused if the bigot’s excuse is religion.
Christian churches have oppressed millions for millennia. I am damn tired of it.
Over time though I came to not believe in the whole god thing and eventually drifted away. Much as I liked the people, I felt a hypocrite and didn’t know what to do with my lips while everyone else was reciting the Nicene Creed.
Last weekend‘s time with Trinity friends made me think maybe I should find a way to come back to the church.
Then I read today’s Times and the story “True to Episcopal Church’s Past, Bishops Split on Gay Weddings”. I sighed in disgust and thought, no thanks, I’ll sleep in on Sundays. (The issue is that, if you are a gay Episcopalian you can marry your loved one in church IF you live in Brooklyn and Queens, but not if you live in the other three boroughs, including Manhattan! It’s all up to your local bishop; if he’s a religious bigot, you lose.)
Yes, I see that the church has come a long way and, yes, I know that the inexorable march toward freedom will one day prevail but I am damn tired of a bunch of (mostly) old, (mostly) white (mostly) men deciding who is to have rights and who is to be denied rights.
I am damn tired of bible-based racism, homophobia, sexism, xenophobia and hatred.
I am damn tired of our cultural habit of pussy-footing around religion: behavior that is condemned by most fair-minded, intelligent Americans is somehow excused if the bigot’s excuse is religion.
Christian churches have oppressed millions for millennia. I am damn tired of it.
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