Re: Nancy Reagan
I appreciate your interest in current events, but she never did anything to you so please remember, as you frequently promise, to "respect the dignity of every human being".
I'm under the impression that many of you have been taught by people who should have known better that our role in society is to be some sort of community organizer and ideologue who is to issue a snarky comment on social media when someone with whom we disagree says or does something newsworthy. Including, apparently, when they die.
The people who taught you that were and are delusional and disingenuous. We're members of the Sacred Order of Deacons/Priests/Bishops. As such, we represent no government, political party, or secular ideology. We represent something greater than those.
Our role is to be the voice of reason and compassion even in circumstances that most find difficult and sometimes with people with whom we disagree. That's our job and, if you find that impossible, I would suggest finding another vocation. The rest of us have a church to build up and we can only do so when we accept that not everyone has to agree with us in all things and at all times. Leave such thinking to the desiccated remains of seminary/divinity school education and embrace the new creation that Jesus taught at that table of sinners.
That, you will find, is the path to salvation for both the Episcopal Church and the souls we seek to nurture in God's service.
Your friend [and I mean it],
A Veteran Priest