Sunday, December 16, 2012

Well, It Put My Traffic Up a Little,

but Ms Gyapong's post wound up as something of a disappointment -- 6 comments, only one that I thought was helpful:
The plain reality is that many congregations of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) are very small — no more than a handful of people. Here in North America and in England, the largest congregations — and many smaller congregations as well — have entered or are about to enter the Catholic Church, and the remnants are not large enough to be sustainable. In Australia, it’s not clear that there is a remnant.
I have a couple of observations on both the post and the comments. First, something may not matter to someone, but that doesn't mean it doesn't matter. Second, and Ms Gyapong seems to be referring to this theory of St Mary's in this post as well, I'd say that I got to know the people in the St Mary's majority (i.e., the ones who've been excommunicated and their friends) pretty well. They're mature, capable adults who hold, or have held, responsible jobs. They're not "wounded" or "tormented by demons". I would say they're doing what people knowledgeable in behavior and counseling would say is finding a constructive outlet for anger and frustration. If they're resilient enough to do that, they're resilient enough to put up with snarkiness. Don't condescend, Ms Gyapong, we aren't children, and the world isn't a nursery.