Some were upset when the Episcopal church was suspended from the Anglican Communion  for supporting gay marriage. It is a red herring when the real reason is perhaps the church over 150 years with her elite seminaries of Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, and Cambridge have “progressed” to a denial of Jesus, as being born a virgin, resurrected from the dead, and is God and Saviour. The rest wanted to stay far away and have a reason to do so. They too are sinners but sin differently.

God has allowed the liberal churches the space to do His will in social justice. Its just that they thought they had made the road by their own walking. The space is getting smaller as what has been grey has been made white and black by the church strong effort to exclude a biblical Gospel faith in the name of diversity.

Their presiding Bishop Rev Curry calls for a Jesus movement but does not believe in individual salvation by faith in Jesus, nor that Jesus is The way and truth. For the Anglican communion, the gay reason is only an excuse because the fear that such regressive voice may spread beyond the Episcopal church. It is with irony that the old colonial states are now excluding their former masters from the table.

The angst was unnecessary. The Episcopal church has won. Gay marriage has been legalised. Their US conservative Anglicans have lost all their buildings and the Episcopal have a public claim of a moral high ground against the hypocritical Anglican South. But neither gays nor the Nones are not flocking in and the church within two decades would be very quiet, small, and famished.

Without an association with the mother church, soon the Episcopal would have lost subconsciously the appearance of a Christian standing as part of the body of Christ. No amount of repeating “we are a body of christ” by the church would do because it is actually by mere historical association rather than a faith revelation in the finished works of the Cross.

The Episcopal church has bleated loudly that any belief in the bible as God’s inspired Word would kill christianity. The Catholics banned the bible in the dark ages, and these churches banned the bible in their minds and hearts. But soon, no one hears their bleating because no one will notice them. The suspension brings fear that one day they be simply ignored.

Subconsciously, the church is desperately clinging to some sort of legitimacy as a christian church. They no longer really believe in individual salvation in Christ Jesus which was instead called a “Wesleyans heresy” by the former Episcopal presiding Primate Jeffrets. They now believe on salvation on earth, to save themselves as a kindom community by actions of love. But could they really save themselves?

It used to be difficult to separate between the goats and sheep. There is little ambiguity now nor diversity to speak of. The scotched earth policy of the previous Primate Jeffrets leaves none behind. But the times and seasons may be over soon. The legalization of gay marriage may mean that the church good works has been done. Its mission accomplished.

It has been indeed the Christian century of activism and basic human rights, powered by the elite liberal arts colleges. The election of Barack Obama became the powerful height of success of moulding justice.

Gay marriage is a victory which also meant a start of the decline of the many liberal ministries that have dominated the century.  The suspension is a reminder that many ministries eg MCC founded in 1968 that has been God’s grace for the last 50 years to the gay community is no longer entirely relevant.

The times are changing. The grey areas are no more. There will be a visiting esteemed theologian academic from the elite liberal UK college coming to Singapore. Our colonial masters do visit us sometimes. The visit however was entirely low key for a Professor ordained by the Queen herself.

Some amusingly asked why not hosted by a large church? Nor was there a widespread interest? Because the times and seasons are over. They had their voice, hitherto, for over a century. There is no return from the rubble, no ” i’ll be back bravado”, not after a century of having your turn.

It was angst when the Episcopal church and her liberal institutions were suspended, for it is also a fear and a mourning that the times are over for not just the Episcopal church but the liberal pogressive church which has done so much to shape social justice for a hundred and fifty years.