PARTY FOR GEORGE
Friday evening June 24, 2005 was the first event kicking off a weekend of parties at St. Joan of Arc to celebrate Father George Wertin’s 13 years as Pastor.
The man himself, Father George Wertin arrived between 7 and 7:30. I was fortunate enough to be outside when he strolled up. I got my hug and my glow when he called me “Dear Heart” which is what he usually calls me. I almost cried. I’ll miss that.
Just ick.
Mmmm. Just yummy. I feel like a walk in the labyrinth.
The Arians and Monophysites got nuthin' on us Americans.
Perhaps this can be categorized as a manifestation of the Minnesota Syndrome. Haugen and Haas are from that state, aren't they? And Garrison Keillor on the Lutheran side.
Perhaps it's those 10,000 lakes and the monster mosquitoes that live there. They're carrying some unidentified organism that survived the last glaciers. Puts a smiley face on heresy.
First of all, to generalize about the "AmChurch" working from the example of St. Joan of Arc is ridiculous. I'm from the Twin Cities and know several people associated with St. Joan of Arc. It is completely on the fringe and His Excellency Harry Flynn has been subtly undermining the parish for years, but as we all know, there's nothing the liberals want more than to victimize themselves. So taking care of heterodoxy gradually is the way to go IMO. I just talked to a middle-aged woman associated with the parish this weekend and she was comparing the parishioners to the early Christians in the catacombs since the diocese isn't being very friendly, they're priest being reassigned and all. In fact, this move probably will strike a serious blow to the parish so complaining about the "AmChurch" is rather out of place here. And lastly, observing my high school friends who went to St. Joan of Arc, I can definitely say the trend of liberal Catholics will hold. They're either leaving liberal Catholicism to become wonderfully orthodox or sadly stopping the practice of the faith altogether.
Yes, but I also noticed that they have a thriving "Mental illness awareness" ministry. So there is hope.
I hope this "church" is ex-communicated! And SOON!! Then they can hire that new female "priest." LOL
This sentence here pretty much did it for me, "St. Joan of Arc has a vibrant number of gay and lesbian partners with children. St. Joan of Arc's GLBT Families Group was initiated to meet this diverse group's needs. For more information, please send us an email."
http://www.stjoan.com/glfr.htm
Throughout the website, their "pastor" (I use quotes because I believe he is actually what the Bible calls a "ravenous wolf") is simply referred to as "George." In private I think it is fine to refer to a priest by his first name, if he is a close friend, but in public, the office deserves the respect it is accorded. This is not a church it is a mutual admiration group. What disturbs me the most is that it would appear that the local bishop doesn't care. The Vatican should call the bishop to Rome to give an explanation for this heresy.
I have mixed emotions in dealing with these borderline if not outright heretical parishes.
Part of me wants to see the smack down. But then I think about it for a moment I recognize that tempting what they would view as punishment is an important aspect of the psychological makeup of these folks. It's like you're dealing with people who never matured beyond the stage of resisting parental authority. They may be 50, but they never quite emotionally matured beyond the age of 15 or so.
As long as they are going to church I think that there is hope.
Why do I get the horrible feeling that the western church is circling the drain? Thank God for the Eastern Rites. If anyone told me they were thinking of becoming Catholic I would tell them for the sake of their souls to convert within the Byzantine Rite, or one of the other Eastern Rites. If there were no such churches available I think I would tell them to go to the Eastern Orthodox. I no longer attend Mass in the western rite. Its just too painful. How much farther can the west sink?