So I was talking to my wonderful mom last night and she mentioned an article about the Episcopal Church she read in "the newspaper" that had a notable error. I asked her which paper (Denver has two papers and they also subscribe to or receive other local papers) and she didn't remember. Neither did she remember what day it ran or who wrote it. I asked her if she remembered that I write about the problems mainstream media reporters have with writing about religion. She did and said she meant to mention it to me earlier. So this is just a reminder to my mom and all other readers that we love it when you point out good and bad articles you read or segments you watch or listen to. Within a few hours or days at most.
The article, which my mother eventually found, ran February 16. That's almost beyond our statute of limitations. Written by the Rocky Mountain News' Jean Torkelson, it was actually a good piece of analysis about the larger Anglican controversy and how it is affecting Colorado parishes. Here was the fun part, though:
A majority of the provinces, many of them centered in conservative Africa, are disturbed by the Episcopal Church's vote at its 2003 general convention to ordain openly gay bishops and allow for same-sex blessings. But critics say that's just the most visible symptom of an array of departures the American church has taken from classic Christianity, like the tolerance for alternative views of Scripture and core beliefs, including divinity of Christ.
In short, the denomination that launched the Reformation 500 years ago has become a microcosm of modern cultural change and spiritual angst.
Now, the Reformation was launched 500 years ago, but I'm not sure it's accurate to say any denomination launched it. Particularly when you consider that the major players were trying to reform the Catholic Church while they were still in it -- before they were excommunicated. But if you're going to give credit, I'm pretty sure no scholars or historians would give it to the Anglicans. I don't think that my Lutheran beliefs are biasing me when I say Martin Luther is commonly considered the most prominent of the Reformers.
Am I missing something? I searched for a correction, but the Rocky Mountain News only archives them for two weeks. But maybe its readers are like my mother and haven't gotten around to notifying the paper of the error.