Wouldn't It Be Nice?

Wouldn't it be refreshing if news reports about the Episcopal Church sounded more like this? From today's local paper:

More than 2,000 people from across the country are expected to convene in
Nashville today for a national gathering of Greek Orthodox clergy and church
members.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America convenes every two years to worship as a national body and discuss church finances and other issues…

At the same time, he said, "we have many new members who have been attracted to Orthodoxy in the past decade." The number of new converts baptized — most not of Greek heritage — has increased about 12% or 13% each year, he said.

Unlike other similar national gatherings of Christian denominations that have grabbed headlines this summer — Episcopalians, Southern Baptists and Presbyterians, for example — the Greek Orthodox Church's 2006 Clergy Laity Congress will include no heated debates over thorny social issues such as gay marriage and women in leadership positions.

There are no women clergy and no plans to recognize or perform same-sex weddings. And unlike those denominations, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is not grappling with stalled membership growth or declining numbers of clergy members.

While the church is always in need of new priests, there has not been any decline in the number of clergy members, also because of a large number of converts to the faith, the archbishop said. About 20% of the church's priests and seminary students are converts to the faith, he said.

Here's the whole thing.