Monday, August 3, 2009

"Minnesota Model" watch

Early last October, I posted comments about what I called "The Minnesota Model", in which a "big city" cathedral bulks up with niche programming for the LGBT community, while congregations outside of the city become expendable.

As Minnesota proceeds with its Bishop election, it is worth noting that the three candidates currently put forward all tend toward urban, academic and bureaucratic ministry. All speak the language of "diversity and inclusion," meaning LGBT as applied in the Episcopal Church.

I was being a bit flip when I typed "Minnesota Model," but I might have perceived more than I realized at the time. It will be interesting to see if "Diocese of Minnesota" increasingly means "LGBT niche church in Minneapolis."

Here's a Minnesota Priest's take on the slate of candidates.

3 comments:

mousestalker said...

Someone out your way proposed using the acronym GBLT in lieu of LGBT. I think the former is preferable to the latter as GiBLeT provides a clear signal that whatever theology may follow from it will be just offal.

;)

Jeffersonian said...

TGC will, by necessity, retreat to the urban core. The population density of open homosexuals and the corrupted elites who sanction their behavior is nowhere near high enough in rural, or even most suburban areas. And, let's face it, that is the new core constituency of TGC.

Once its deathbed demographics and worldview catch up with it, TGC will implode once and for all.

TLF+ said...

Matthew and Jeffersonian, I think it was a Chekov play in which an opera singer is humbled when a member of the audience booms out a "Bravo!" a whole octave lower than the performer can reach!

Matthew got more humor per word into his comment than I think I could on a good day... my fave was the "offal theology" word play.

Jeffersonian said in a few sentences what I've been trying to express in three or four posts.

Bravo!