Written by Bishop Andrew Gentry   

Beloved Friends,

As a member of the Second Estate I supposed that qualifies me to address the current or general state of the "estate". Very recently an Episcopal minister had been asked to address a public forum on a matter of community concern. He called one of the sponsors of the forum to inquire as to the time he had been allotted to speak only to find out that due to a mix up and or a lack of communication there would be no speakers at this particular forum. "Well, he said with some irritation, I have spent several hours on my remarks" and then proceeded to tell the secretary of that sponsor how important his remarks were! When I heard this I responded "just how important does he think he is!" as I and the secretary enjoyed a good laugh. He reminded me of one of his colleagues who became quite angry upon receiving a letter from a visiting parishioner criticizing his homily that he had delivered the Sunday before in his cathedral parish, I say "cathedral parish" because this church absolutely loved that designation. He was huffing and puffing about the letter to me and another clergyman when my friend the Presbyterian and I again responded with amusement and consternation. "James, my friend said, why in heaven's name are you upset?" "At least, he continued, the man was actually listening to your sermon which is more that most of us can say!" I agreed with my friend and added that he should rather be concerned if he heard nothing about his homilies!"

There is as you have heard me say before a sort of clergy club in some cities and amongst some denominations. A hospital chaplain I knew told me that upon expressing an interest in another faith tradition other than the one in which he had been ordained the bishop of that tradition eagerly encouraged him to pursue ministry with his community until his diocesan committee learned of the chaplain's conviction that God had indeed called him to ordained ministry. It seems that in this denomination God does not determine if you have a call to ministry but rather a psychiatrist does so and if you insists on using "God language" before the committee you will find yourself "in the court of the Gentiles!"

Then there was the case of the AME minister who happened to overhear two white clergymen, both pastors in the two oldest and most "prestigious churches" in their city, one Lutheran and the other Baptist, laughing about the recent addition to their local ministers association of African American Churches with the remark that "you know black people they all are reverends"! The saddest aspect of this episode is that the two pastors could not see how inherently unChristian they were and how racist!

I have experienced some of the "club mentality" amongst clergy myself. In fact soon after my installation as the bishop of All Saints and Sorts I received a phone message with people laughing in the background saying "your eminence is it true the City is having you deliver the invocation at the opening of the new space in the City County Plaza!" This was not meant as a way to be humorous but rather as a way to make light of my ordination. I recognized one of the voices as a clergyman I have known in the past and had I had the opportunity I would have reminded him that if he was going to insult me at least to do so correctly. "Your Eminence" is a Roman Catholic form of address and it is reserved for Cardinals their Princes of the Roman Church not for bishops! But my favorite is the whisper that I had purchased my ordination online. I was ordained in 1970 there was no internet!

Clergy are people too. There are good and bad ones, smart and dumb ones, spiritually alive and spiritually dead ones, money and power hungry bastards, poverty stricken and barely surviving ones, and everything in between. I have known a few who thought they were perfect and was a misery unto themselves and to everyone around them. Clergy are just sheep dogs nothing more and nothing less and without the People of God no matter how important the office may appear to be including that of bishop, pontiff, elder or moderator without the People it is not worth a hill of bloody beans!

Peace
Bishop Andrew Gentry
Congregational Catholic Church