Anglicans and Episcopalians Unite! Or not.

There are strong political winds blowing in Mt. Lebanon. The Obama campaign will formally open an office on Washington Road in the coming week, and there is a large Democratic Party picnic/program planned for the Main Park on September 28. Someone with a long memory in Mt. Lebanon told me recently that the word "Democrat" once was banned from the pages of the predecessor to Mt. Lebanon magazine the Mt. Lebanon News (I am corrected on this; the News was not the predecessor of the magazine), so resolutely did the Republican Party grip this town. Apocryphal? Perhaps, but it rings true. I've had Republican Committee members marvel in conversations with me that the Democratic Party now apparently holds a registration advantage in town. At last Friday's "First Friday" event, supporters of Republican Member of Congress Tom Murphy set up a sidewalk tent and table right next to those of Democratic State Rep. Matt Smith, at the corner of Washington and Cochran Roads.

Closer to home, issues-wise, I have heard long-time observers on both sides of the political fence bemoan the seeming emergence of a Red vs. Blue dynamic on the Mt. Lebanon Commission. (RvB is a Halo reference as well as a political one, for those with a passing familiarity with the videogame generation!) Some might say that a contest is being waged for the soul of Mt. Lebanon. Should local politics mirror national politics? When? How? Or not?

Switching institutions but not spiritual or political concerns, an even more bitter battle is being waged within the Anglican Communion, and that battle is making at stop here in Mt. Lebanon. The Tribune Review reports:

Supporters and opponents of a plan to realign the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh with another Anglican body will outline their positions at two meetings before taking a final vote.

The Coalition for Realignment, a group of clergy, lay people and church leaders, will discuss the issue at its third and final public meeting today at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Sewickley. The session begins at 9:30 a.m.

Across the Aisle, a coalition of clergy and lay people who oppose realignment, will hold its first public meeting at 1 p.m. next Saturday [Sept. 13] at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon.

Link here. For those you haven't been following the question of so-called realignment, the question has to do formally with the survival of the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church in the United States has long been a part. Some dioceses in the U.S. and many in Africa have withdrawn, and others propose to follow suit. Substantively, the divide largely concerns strong objections to Anglican acceptance of gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriage. The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is not merely among the objectors but has been a leader in what has become known as the "realignment" debate. On the other side of the proverbial aisle, opposing realignment, are the Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh. (As a one-time Episcopalian myself, but a former member of a very progressive California congregation, I've been following the local rift -- from a respectful distance -- for years.)

As the proverb goes, we in Mt. Lebanon live in interesting times.