[Magdalen] Heather Cook

[Ginga Wilder]

We are talking about The Episcopal Church and alcohol abuse that the church
enables.  This is a huge problem across the church.  Our policies and
protocols need to be changed, not because Heather Cook killed a good man
while driving under the influence, nor because the Diocese of MD looked the
other way with regard to her history of alcohol abuse when she was
elected.  Alcohol abuse kills people slowly, but first it kills families,
marriaged, jobs, reputations, etc.  We need to be eyes wide open to seeing
the problem and putting resonable policies in place in our dioceses and
parishes.

I do not think TEC parishes and vestries should become tee-totalers, but I
certainly do think that TEC parishes and vestries need to move off the
denial place and admit what is going on and how we all enable those who
abuse.  Alcoholism is an illness of the system and the individuals in it.
THAT is the problem.  I don't know what the answers are, but considered
change needs to be made in church protocol.

My $0.02.
Ginga
old adult child of alcoholics



On Wed, Nov 4, 2015 at 6:00 PM, Molly Wolf <lupa at kos.net> wrote:

> I was responding not to the part snipped but to your psychopathologizing
> people in recovery, of whom I have the honour to be one, as gluttons for
> attention.  Also to your minimizing the problem of alcoholism in churches
> by an extreme anecdote.
>
> Your tone, sir, was offensive.
>
> Molly
>
> The man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no
> other way. -- Mark Twain
>
> On Nov 4, 2015, at 5:47 PM, Jim Guthrie <jguthrie at pipeline.com> wrote:
>
> >>> That doesn't negate the need for an alcohol policy to be sure, but it
> can’t
> >>> work if the strongest advocates come off as over the top. And that
> would be a
> >>> real tragedy, I think.
> >
> > Molly responded:
> >
> >> In a word:  bullshit.  Or moose poop, if I'm going to be Canajun.
> >
> > I find it disappointing that you think the failure to establish an
> alcohol policy, and the tragedy that result if it doesn’t happen as "bs"
> >
> > If you're responding to the part snipped, well, I think it proves my
> point.
> >
> > Jim,
>