Dear Blog Visitors:
After several years of discernment, I officially joined Spiritus Christi Church in Rochester today. As you know, Spiritus Christi is independent of Vatican rule, which suits me perfectly at this point in my life.
I truly value all the friendships I have experienced in the Diocese of Rochester, and I anticipate that many of these friendships will continue. However, I will now have the freedom to engage in my ministries without the Vatican and ultra-conservative Catholic groups worrying about every move I make that is geared toward church-reform.
I will continue to work toward a church that values the gifts/ministries of all its members. I truly appreciate the friendship and leadership of Bishop Matthew Clark, for he has done as best he could to bring women and married men into diocesan leadership positions, although the powers-that-be would not allow him to ordain these gifted people to the priesthood. As he nears retirement, perhaps conservatives are right in their assessment that the Vatican will appoint an ultra-orthodox bishop in his place, in which case Spiritus Christi Church is certainly a safe place for me to be.
I look forward to continuing my role as national media liaison for CORPUS (www.corpus.org) and I will continue my role as officiant for weddings, baptisms and funerals, via my certification from the Federation of Christian Ministries (www.federationofchristianministries.org).
My prayer is that the Roman Catholic Church will come to realize that if it is to survive another 2,000 years, it needs to be open to structural change, which does not mean it needs to sacrifice any of its long-held doctrines.
Stay tuned to my blog and YouTube site for further developments.
Peace to all,
Ray Grosswirth
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