Episcopal Priest Defrocked for Practicing Islam
A priest of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, Washington was defrocked on April 2nd, 2009 for her Islamic beliefs. Reverend Ann Holmes Redding, a priest with the Episcopal Church for 25 years, converted to Islam two years ago yet she remained in communion with the Episcopal Church.
"I have people who love me very much who really don't want me to do this, and I love them very much. And I would love to be able to say, 'Because I love you I will renounce my orders' or 'I will renounce Islam' ... I hate causing pain to people who love me, that's not my intention," Redding said.
(CNN)
After being introduced to Muslim prayer, Redding became interested in, and ultimately drawn to Islam. When she made her conversion nearly two years ago, Episcopal Bishop Geralyn Wolf allowed Redding a year off to clarify her faith.
21 months later, Redding had not denied her Muslim faith or left the priesthood; in spite of the directives issued by the Episcopal leadership she maintained that her two faiths were compatible. Yesterday Bishop Wolf made the decision to remove Redding of her position at St. Mark’s Cathedral.
In Christianity and Islam, while "there are streams of tradition that are mutually exclusive, there are also streams that are not mutually exclusive," said Eugene Webb, professor emeritus of comparative religion at the University of Washington. "Ann is exploring those."
It would be a good thing, Webb said, if more churches allowed for such exploration since it's "going to take place one way or the other. It might be better to wait and see what comes of them, rather than decide in advance that it wouldn't be fruitful."
(ST)
We stand firmly beside the controversial soul searchers and free thinkers. Religion is an inherently personal system of beliefs, and in many cases a dogmatic approach to faith – as offered by traditional churches – can not fulfill the needs of the human spirit. At the ULC Monastery we do not subscribe to the teachings of one, but rather the intrinsic wisdom of many. We must all follow our own path; we are all children of the same Universe.
- CNN
- Seattle Times
posted by Universal Life Church at
11:26 AM
21 Comments:
The point of posting this is??? She is not Christian anymore, so what is the newsflash the she has been defrocked?
You're missing the point. This is not about someone being defrocked for choosing a different faith. It is about close-minded individuals rebuking someone who chooses a path of greater spiritual exploration. It is an illustration of how fear inhibits enlightenment.
Sean, just how in the world do you figure that? It is VERY simple, she was thrown out because she was NO LONGER a Christian. The ULC may want to put so ludicrous spin on it, but it aint rocket science.
She could always start a ministry of her own
Religion is so much more than following the written belief of an organized religion, but it is about following the beliefs of your heart. When we truly surrender to the intuitions inside us and follow the walk we know we should that leads us to our god, then that is when we become free.
Why am I reminded of this?
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Quran. (Surah 5:51) O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.
۞ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ ٱلْيَهُودَ وَٱلنَّصَٰرَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ ۘ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍۢ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُۥ مِنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ ﴿١٥﴾
Quran. (Surah 4:157) And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the messenger of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure.
وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ لَفِى شَكٍّۢ مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا ٱتِّبَاعَ ٱلظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًۢا ﴿٧٥١﴾
Quran. (Surah 4:34) Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.
ٱلرِّجَالُ قَوَّٰمُونَ عَلَى ٱلنِّسَآءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ ٱللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ وَبِمَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ مِنْ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ ۚ فَٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتُ قَٰنِتَٰتٌ حَٰفِظَٰتٌۭ لِّلْغَيْبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَٱلَّٰتِى تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ فَعِظُوهُنَّ وَٱهْجُرُوهُنَّ فِى ٱلْمَضَاجِعِ وَٱضْرِبُوهُنَّ ۖ فَإِنْ أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلَا تَبْغُوا۟ عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلًا ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيًّۭا كَبِيرًۭا ﴿٤٣﴾
Serves him right. What a scum.
What a shame! Another soul deceived by the lies of the "holy" quaran. Wake up everybody! There can be no peace in the entire world as long as this violent religeon exists on any level. The only hope for peace is the total genocide of muslims, down to the last man, woman, and child.
The scumbags live in mud huts and caves! Most adult muslims (95%) have NEVER EVEN HELD A BOOK, let alone read one. I say, kill them all, let GOD sort them out! Then the rest of the religeous world, Chfristians, Jews, Hindus, Budists, etc, can live in harmony, as our GODs don't instruct us to fly airplanes into buildings, bomb grammer schools in Isrial, and all the other atrocious acts that muslim scum seem to think is thier "mission"
Once again with feeling: KILL 'EM ALL; LET GOD SORT 'EM OUT!!!!!!!!!!
I never thought such ignorant people were patrons of the Universal Life Church blog. LMAO! Next time you want to mock the Muslims, and accuse them falsely of being illiterate, you might want to check your spelling of words, like "Israel" and "religious".
I love it when dummies get mad! :) Hey, what happened to us all being "children of the same universe". I think that people with your mentality need to experience some self-genocide. The reason that this story is posted is because the Priest was living the Mission Statement of the Universal Life Church, but she was ousted because her Episcopal pals wanted to be narrow minded. That's all. Please keep hateful and racist rhetoric out of discussions.
And christian, Pease Love and Kindness too all who serve.
For a good look at Christianity, Islam, and the Jewish faith check out YouTube videos by: ozzycda.
Some very educational presentations and debates.
I would just like to add that according to the news story she still felt in her heart that she was Episcopal even though she had found additional value in the Muslim teachings. I say Go Girl! Finding any kind of spirituality and sticking with it as you open your mind to other forms of religion is to be admired.
First off, this is not too unconventional, there is a sect that has existed in Nigeria since the early '80s founded by Rev. Tela Tella called "The Will of God Mission" that holds both the Bible and the Qur'an to be holy and consider themselves neither/both Christian or Muslim.
Second off to the guy who called Islam barbaric and war mongering I can say only that you must know your "enemy" before you pass your judgement (remember that Yahshua[Jesus] told us not to judge for by the measure that we judge we shall also be judged [will you like it when the almighty looks down on you with the same wrath which you have looked down at your Muslim brothers with]). As I have read and been told by an Imam himself the Qur'an says (and I'm paraphrasing [muslim hater if that's too big of a word for you it means I'm summing up in my own words] here) no man who kills another shall see the face of God for it's not mans place to decide who lives and who dies but Gods alone, that violent overtone is a corruption of Islam. The Qur'an also tells us that both Christians and Jews are peoples of the book and are the brothers of there Muslim counterparts and should not be prosecutedfor their beliefs. I could go into further detail but I fear I would begin to ramble in such a forum.
Third, you hit the nail on the head Brother Richard, although I don't feel necessarily that the Episcopal Church was being narrow minded as much as I do that they were attempting to maintain their individuality without blurring the lines and appearing weak to their older congregants(I come from a church where reform is taking a long time because of the hardline views of the older generation).
Peace be to all and may your paths be well lit.
Like Bro Richard, I too am surprised at the comments of some of the ULC ministers who are so judgmental. If one were to truly understand the Oneness of "The Most High" they would know that we are all Muslim according to the literal translation of the word. I am always skeptical of those who quote the Quran in English. They use whichever version suits their purpose. One would think the same holds true with the Bible. In the end we are right back to the "Tower of Babel", unable to communicate with one another and ignorant of our own spirituality as we continue to spew meaningless dogma.
I saw a wonderful French film this week titled "La Grand Voyage (2004)" which gave me some extraordinary insights into the Muslim world. I recommend it highly as a way to understand the importance Islam in fabric of our universal beliefs. Below are the credits:
Driving his traditional Muslim father (Mohamed Majd) across Europe en route to Mecca, thoroughly modern college student Reda (Nicolas Cazale) finds little to say to the old man. But along the way, as the gap between father and son begins to narrow, the two discover that ultimately it's the journey -- not the destination -- that matters. For his fresh take on the road trip formula, director Ismael Ferroukhi earned a BAFTA nomination.
I have been a seeker in the many and varied belief systems found in the world today. Therefore I can say from personal knowledge that none of these systems is as liberal as any of them claim to be. All have asked me at some point in the training to renounce all others. Many have found in their favorite scriptures ( regardless of religious brand) reason to go out and murder those of other systems. Others, and I can only hope most, will deny their scriptures that level of authority for humane reasons. If not we will have by our neglect brought armageddon upon ourselves. We will then rationalize that it was already prophesied and that GOD did it to us. I take these lessons as a warning that LOVE PEACE and PROSPERITY must be cultivated in order to avoid the resultant vacuum that can lead our world's people into human hopelessness and desperate acts just to subsist against one another. Galatians 5:22-23. Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Peace,
Rev. Jaime...
She no longer believed in the teachings of the Episcopal Church. In staying in that church (and thus implying that she believed in those teachings) she is lying. It is amoral for her to stay in a church whose central viewpoints she disagrees with. Whether being dogmatic is proper religious expression or not, the Episcopal Church is dogmatic and she does not belong there if she wants to practice Islam.
I will always find it to be very amazing that anyone who believes in "God" (in whatever for or name one has for Diety) could ever say that another person who believes in "God" is wrong in their belief. I can understand the Episcopal Church leaders decision in defrocking this Priest. It seems that all specific religious practices Episcipilian or otherwise want their leaders to teach their congregations according to their doctrine. This Priest had decided that not only did she believe still in those Episcipilian values and doctrines she had originaly declared but that she had also found faith in Muslim teachings as well. I commend her for trying to find a path that would allow her to embrace both teachings. Unfortunatly she was commited to making a choice. That choice was she could continue to be an Episcopal Priest and denouse the Muslim teachings she had come to embrase or give up her priesthood and find some other venue at which she could embrase both teachings. As she apparently was unable to make this choice on her own her Episcopal breathern aparently chose to make the decision for her. I "pray" she can find a way to embrase "God" in whatever manner or form she finds appropriate for herself.
Wow, what a perfect example of how all organized religion's have been corrupted by self serving human manipulation.
I say this because I believe all organized religions sprang from the same seed and have grown and evolved and thus been manipulated by their enviornment. Christianity and Islam are probably the best examples of how something so originally beautiful can be transformed into something so ugly, hateful and most importantly controlled.
The environment and "soils" in which these seeds have grown are wrought and rife with the need for power and control.
Spirituality (rather than Religion)is a personal experience. It is extremely simple with no rules, no strings. It exists as your own personal connection to the universe, made and nutured by your own FREEWILL. There are no words that can truely describe ones connection to god, nature, the cosmos, or whatever you want to call it.
All scriptures, all bibles, Korans, teachings, anything that has been written down has been written by men who seek to enlighten through control and manipulation. Most humans can not help but to try to manipulate other peoples view of the world, of religion, of truth, of love.
Industry has long ago figured this out and has unashamedly sought to control our desires, needs, wants, and beliefs. Organized religion is an industry, probably one of the first. (As beautiful as cathedrals are I can't help but to see them as factories pumping out a product). They seek to persway you towards their way of thinking and force you to give up your FREEWILL of thought just as is the case with this "defrocking" story.
I would suggest we all re-examine how, where, by whom our religious docraines
eminate, and more importantly for whom they serve a purpose. To me, true spitituality is about our connection to the universe through love and any doctraine that spews intolerance, hatred, incompatabilty of religions, and punishes FREE thought must be scrutinized with eyes wide open!
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