A Wake-Up Call:
Will the General Church
Survive and Thrive?
Peter H. Boericke
L
ike many others, I have read and reread Bishop Keith’s Statement about
Gender and the Clergy in the General Church, published in the November/
December 2014 issue of New Church Life until my copy has become worn and
dog-eared. I have attended almost every event in Bryn Athyn over the last
25 years where the women-in-the-priesthood issue was discussed, questions
raised, and insightful presentations offered by the clergy and laity alike.
I have read a number of the scholarly papers and theses carefully researched
and written on this subject. I have listened. I have learned. And I have become
greatly concerned! This is just one issue, and a pivotal one, that should signal a
wake-up call if the General Church is to survive and thrive.
Women in the priesthood may indeed be the most passionate and central
issue of our time, but it is not, by far, the only one. Today, the organization
and its clergy are being challenged by tough questions which I believe must be
asked, answered, and acted upon if the General Church is to become healthy
and thrive.
These questions are not new, but they are on the lips of many. I ask them
openly, not out of criticism, but out of a deep and abiding affection for the faith
of the New Church and for that human organization known as the General
Church that is charged with the responsibility to carry out its core purpose:
• Is there a vision for the future of the General Church? Our core
purpose is clearly stated: “To help people throughout the world grow
closer to the Lord God Jesus Christ in His Second Coming, thereby finding
happiness, peace and meaning in their lives.” Is there a vision and a plan
from the current leadership to help make this happen?
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