OKAY, A LITTLE RANT – Some of you may or may not have heard about a minister in the United Church named, Gretta Vosper. It came to light that some time ago, Ms. Vosper (I won’t call her Reverend) decided that she no longer believed in God as an entity, or the divinity of Jesus. She stopped saying the Lord’s Prayer in her services, and OBVIOUSLY alienated many of her congregants who left her church; OUR church.
Now, anyone may choose to believe whatever they want, but as a minister in ANY church, this is ludicrous! She should have been ousted immediately. Instead, the very inclusive (it seems of absolutely everything and everyone) United Church has allowed this to drag on and on. After all, there are legalities etc. etc. and certainly we wouldn’t want to dismiss a minister who doesn’t believe in God, do we?
The United Church has one assumption that is making all of this possible; the assumption that God is Love, and only that. Yes, God IS love, but God is not ONLY love. He/she is so multi-dimensional that we can’t fathom it. God the entity itself tells that he/she is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow – unchanging. We can no more separate Old Testament God with New Testament God. Yes, Jesus came to bring the new, but that doesn’t mean that God will not judge (and we are told he/she will) separate the goats from the sheep in the end. Even Jesus, didn’t accept everyone and everything. He called his own disciples, “thick and slow.” He called out the church leaders of his time, the Pharisees, and many others who did not speak the truth. And when he was gone, his disciples chastised and admonished congregations who were behaving badly.
She professes to preach “love.” So, is it love that prompts her to threaten to sue the United Church? Does one sue or use legal means for love’s sake? Is it love that allows her to tear our church in two? I don’t think so. Love is an instrument for building up, for encouragement. What Ms. Vosper is doing is self centered, narcissistic and ego driven. What is ego based is certainly not love.
When one no longer believes in what one is doing, one usually leaves. So, what might we think is keeping Ms. Vosper where she is, and in a place that is garnering scads of publicity? Well, for one thing, if she were to leave, where would she preach? If she were to leave, she would lose her pension. Could these be the reasons she has chosen to dig in her ego filled heels and cause such consternation within our church? Only she can answers these questions. Only she knows what is truly in her heart, but we have been warned of false prophets throughout time.
Do I judge her opinions, or her beliefs; certainly not, but I do draw the line at her remaining in the church as a leader, and tearing it apart!
Our greatest commandments are to love our God with all our mind, heart and soul, AND love others as ourselves.
Each side can pull Scripture to defend their stance, but in the end EVERYONE knows that if you no longer believe in the Creed of your church, you can no longer lead a flock.
If you really love us all Ms. Vosper, you will simply step away. Give up the lawyers, give up trying to desperately hang on to brick and mortar. For the love of God and church, just stop.