Comments on: Has the Episcopal Church jumped the shark?

By: Scott Wells

Scott Wells — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:29:24 +0000

Why thanks!

By: jason

jason — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:12:28 +0000

Mr Wells, I very much like your Calvinist tabs.

By: Philocrites

Philocrites — Tue, 15 May 2007 20:05:12 +0000

Exciting update on the James McGreevey front! It doesn’t exonerate the school or his sponsoring parish, but it is a step back from the initial absurdity of the story: “James McGreevey, after more careful study of the guidelines for ordination in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, has decided to enter GTS as a full-time non-degree student rather than as student in the Seminary’s Master of Divinity program. His request for this change has been accepted by Dean Ewing. Having previously met General’s admissions requirements, including evaluations by a committee composed of faculty members, several students and the Director of Admissions, Mr. McGreevey will begin classes in September.”

By: Philocrites

Philocrites — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:59:35 +0000

P.S. I would hesitate to say that the UU churches (considered individually) or the UUA have “jumped the shark.” I’m just going along with your what-if.

I am perfectly happy to say, however, that the Utah County Republican Party has jumped the shark. Again.

By: Philocrites

Philocrites — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:55:50 +0000

Mrs Philocrites and I were flummoxed by two aspects of the McGreevey story: Why on earth did St Bart’s approve a discernment committee for someone so new to the church? (Or so scandal-plagued!) Here in Massachusetts, it’s typical for a congregation to ask a person to be an active member of a parish for at least a year before setting up a discernment committee — and even then, a major consideration would seem to be whether a person is living a scandalous life. McGreevey really hasn’t established that yet. I have my doubts about the judgment of the priest who jumpstarted all this.

But the second question is why General admitted him to the MDiv program. The school has been known to ask for a bishop’s approval before admitting someone into its MDiv program, yet several reputable news sources have confirmed that General has indeed accepted him for the MDiv. Oddly, the bishop says he had not been made aware of McGreevey’s entry into the discernment process. Again, St Bart’s is letting him go way too fast. (The liberalism of pity, perhaps? McGreevey is known for playing the system. How naive can you be?)

But has the Episcopal Church “jumped the shark” more than the UUA? Or even remotely as successfully? Maybe. My experience, though, is that the Episcopalians are still carrying on a real conversation with parts of the culture that we UUs abandoned decades ago, and in that sense I think their vitality is richer or at least more widely distributed. I think they have stumbled into a marketing problem, but they may also still have much more to sell.

By: Scott Wells

Scott Wells — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:23:57 +0000

It’s a pop-culture saying that means something or someone has moved into a state of irrevocable decline after a desperate or ill-conceived act. “Jumping the shark” originally referred to television shows and comes from an episode of Happy Days where the Fonz water-skied over sharks. (Wikipedia article)

By: Dudley Jones

Dudley Jones — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:12:14 +0000

Where does the shark come in?

By: Scott Wells

Scott Wells — Fri, 04 May 2007 14:59:21 +0000

I’ve wondered if he’s canonically in Newark.

By: Peregrinato

Peregrinato — Fri, 04 May 2007 14:47:34 +0000

I have to admit I was stunned when I first heard the news.

Knowing what I know of both the Episcopal discernment system (which is very little, but more than many non-Episcopal ordinands) and of seminary admissions procedures (heaven knows I’ve read enough admissions websites), I’m shocked that this transpired.

The Graduate Theological Seminary admissions website actually says, Normally applicants to the M.Div. program must hold the degree of Bachelor of Arts or its equivalent. For students whose Master of Divinity degree is intended as preparation for ordination, ecclesiastical endorsement is required. In the Episcopal Church, this means endorsement by the student’s bishop; for persons in other churches, it means endorsement by the comparable church authority. So did this man’s bishop actually endorse him for seminary study? The discernment process in DC is that you have to be a member of a parish for at least a year (possibly two?) before you can even enter discernment. And yet this man has been received into the Episcopal Church and been accepted into seminary all within the same month. I’ve read the news articles where GTS defends its decision and system, but it sounds like so much spin to me.