"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel..." declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Jeremiah 31:31-34
God's heart must be breaking. Is this what God had in mind when God said, "I will be their God, and they shall be my people"? Bishop Mark Dyer often reminded his students at Virginia Seminary that schism is the greatest sin. When we fracture the body of Christ, we literally break God's heart. Sadly a small number of Episcopalians have decided they alone know the truth and are attempting to break away from the Episcopal Church. This weighs heavy on my heart, since I now serve in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, one of four Dioceses that are seeking to separate from the Episcopal Church. Ironically, those who claim to be the "orthodox" Anglicans have abandoned a central tenet of Anglicanism: the ability to debate and to agree to disagree, coming together in common worship, not common theology.
It's not just the Church that breaks God's heart. Does the way we live our lives cause God to weep, or to rejoice? Do we put God first, or is God an afterthought? Do we give generously of our time, talent, and treasure, remembering that all that we have and all that we are comes from God?
The good news is that faithful Episcopalians in every Diocese are firmly committed to the Episcopal Church. The good news is that we try to live our lives as God intends. The very best news is that God forgives our iniquity, and remembers our sin no more.
Lou Hays+ (2008)
