But Can You Rub His Tummy?

From the Stand Firm website:

When stories like this come along, it's tempting to remind everyone of similar people and events that have turned the Episcopal Church into a laughingstock for reasons completely unrelated to homosexuality, if only so we can have them in one convenient place the next time something happens.

There's the pagan seminar in the Diocese of Eastern Michigan, Bill Melnyk the Druid priest, Maury Johnston the gay Wiccan lay activist, whirling with the sufis in Seattle, the ridiculous labyrinth trend, the Hindu mass in Los Angeles... but there are so many more that listing them all every time something like this happens threatens to become a full-time job.

A year and half ago, The Rev. Ann Holmes Redding was inhibited by Rhode Island Bishop Geralyn Wolf for claiming to be both Muslim and Christian. Now the Diocese of Northern Michigan has announced that its only nominee for bishop - The Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester - is also a Zen Buddhist. Not the kind who lived down the hall from you in your college dorm - no, Forrester has actually received Buddhist lay ordination.

Forrester will succeed the late Bishop James Kelsey, who in his diocesan convention address from 2004 mentioned Forrester's Buddhist ordination in a laundry list of diocesan happenings that could have easily come from a "Lake Wobegon" news break:

"Manuel Padilla received his Doctorate of Ministry from Seabury-Western Seminary. Anita Wingert got married! (to Hal Martin) Jane Cisluycis (our new Diocesan Operations Coordinator) graduated last spring from Northern Michigan University with a degree in Communications. Kevin Thew Forrester received Buddhist "lay ordination" - so now he's walking the path of Christianity and Zen Buddhism together"

And so it goes; The Episcopal Organization slides ever farther into shiny, happy, self-absorbed irrelevance. How can I possibly make any comment that would add to the event itself? No external mockery can quite live up to the standard of self-mockery.

If he gets elected, does he get to wear a saffron collar?