Proud of my church

The Rev. Cameron Partridge

(Reuters) - An Episcopal chaplain on Sunday became the first openly transgender priest to preach at the historic National Cathedral in Washington D.C.

The Reverend Dr. Cameron Partridge, one of seven openly transgender clergy in the Episcopal Church, spoke from the Canterbury Pulpit in honor of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community's Pride Month, the Cathedral said.

Partridge told congregants in his guest appearance he was proud to be a part of a church that was pushing for acceptance of all people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity.

"As we behold one another in these days of celebration may we honor the way we sustain each other," he said.

Bravo to Cameron!

Yet I find myself wondering: what does it mean to be "proud" of my church?

The work of a church is to proclaim that we are loved, all of us.

Is "a church" really "a church" if it is not doing that work? Sure, it can be a specialized sort of non-profit, a polity, a quite complex and struggling social institution.

But unless "a (Christian) church" is announcing and striving to enflesh God's generous love for all humanity, I have trouble labeling it "a church." Just saying.