BRIEF: Bishop Waggoner responds to WSJ article

Earlier this month the Wall Street Journal published, “What Ails the Episcopalians,” an article about the recent triennial General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

The author, Jay Akasie, wrote The Episcopal Church voted on minor things, like pet funerals, while ignoring the bigger issues — like the shrinking membership.

Bishop James Waggoner, of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, responded, saying, “he primary focus of the convention was not on developing funeral rites for dogs and cats, nor was it in effect an apology to Native Americans for exposing them to Christianity. The primary focus of convention from beginning to end was on how to continually strengthen God’s mission to the world as lived and taught by Jesus, and expressed in the Five Marks of Mission that have been adopted across the Anglican Community…”

Waggoner's full response can be read here.

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About Tracy Simmons

Tracy Simmons is an award winning journalist specializing in religion reporting, digital entrepreneurship and social journalism. In her 15 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti.
Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas and Connecticut. Currently she serves as the executive director of SpokaneFAVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Wash. She is also a Journalism Instructor at Washington State University.

She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and for the Religion News Service.

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