An Episcopalian church in the Chicago area caved to pressure from Rwandan Anglican leaders and disinvited internationally honored hero Paul Rusesabagina, the man whose life-saving work was featured in the movie Hotel Rwanda. The church, which started under the oversight of the Rwandan branch a few years ago, was told to disinvite Rusesabagina because he has had a conflict with Rwanda's president. The Rwandan Anglican leaders feared the invite could thus cause problems. So the Chicago church disinvited a hero who saved more than 1,200 people. Why? Because of politics. How sad!
The Chicago pastor justified the decision by saying:
The Chicago pastor justified the decision by saying:
The bigger reality for us is having to accept the whole concept of obedience, and that is a harder cultural pill to swallow than I realized.But at what point does one take a courageous--even if disobedient--stand? Why dishonor a hero because of politics? Ironically, this same pastor left the U.S. branch of the Anglican Church because of disagreements, so apparently he was not willing to be disobedient back then.
You included Mennonite under religious affiliation!! So proud.
ReplyDeleteHow incredibly sad. Any church should be more than honored to have Paul come. Thanks for letting us know.
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ReplyDeleteCareful ya'll (especially Jennifer)!
ReplyDeleteYour criticism borders on treading on the 2nd most important Baptist principle of all--church autonomy!
While our Anglican friends don't enjoy it, surely we wish desire it for them.
:)
Thanks for the comments! (Texas in Africa, where did you go?)
ReplyDeleteMEP: I'm glad you noticed! I was trying to think of people I knew and you were the reason I added that one to the list.
jennifer h: I agree.
Chuck: Huh? I am not sure you understand church autonomy. This case shows that the local church did not have autonomy and that's part of the problem. I really don't see how any of the criticism here treads on that principle.