Working at Religion

Alex Beam wrote an interesting piece in the Boston Globe last week entitled “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” You can read it here. Beam castigates both the conservative and the progressive for their propensity to flee or find something else rather than hunkering down and doing the hard work that’s required to make an enterprise as complex as the Episcopal Church work. The parishes that are most healthy are those that have collectively engaged in this work, and that foster a sense of trust, meaning, and purpose. Beam concludes by noting that, “It is… hard work to worship alongside people who may not share your precise beliefs, or your sexual orientation. It's so much easier to start your own church, or to pretend that someone in Africa has the answer to your problems, or to worship a rock star with tinted glasses.” Easier, perhaps, but a lot less satisfying when all is said and done.