Strongly intimating that certain parishioners caused the death of St. Agnes rector Father Simeon Patrick Johnson, a priest on Thursday lashed out at the hierarchy of the diocese and certain “clergy killers in the church and said Father “Pat told him recently he wished he could die.
Father Basil Tynes, rector at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, told a large crowd attending Father Johnson’s funeral at Christ Church Cathedral that clergy killers are never satisfied with a single victory over a pastor.
“It is only a matter of time before the attack begins elsewhere,” said Father Tynes, whose sermon drew tears, cheers and laughter at different points.
It is no secret in Anglican circles that there was tension in St. Agnes. In fact, Archbishop Drexel Gomez announced from the pulpit several months ago that he planned to make changes in the leadership of the church.
Father Tynes said during the funeral that Father Johnson “wept on my shoulder in September of this year as I tried to encourage him in his struggles. A man who four weeks ago after we left a luncheon sponsored by The College of The Bahamas stood with me on the Cable Beach Strip for 45 minutes.”
.He said during their conversation, Father Johnson, who died at 55, said to him, “Basil, not all of us are as strong as you. There are times when I wish my heavenly father could just take me home from all of this – the injustices and maltreatment that are being meted out against me, that I am going through.”
Father Tynes described Father Johnson – who died in his sleep in Eleuthera last week – as a friend who was “broken, battered, mistreated, wrongly accused, and whose name was unjustly dragged through the mud.”
Father Tynes said at one time cardiovascular disorders, cancer, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, and respiratory problems used to be rare among clergy, and clergy used to generate the best mental health and longevity statistics of any profession.
“But now they are highly stressed, cynical and dysfunctional in growing numbers with a long list of sicknesses which can be attributed to these clergy killers,” he said.
Father Tynes added, “Patrick would not want us to sit here and go on and on about his achievements, but I believe his death must count for something, to bring us to a new watershed in our development in this diocese which needs to wake up and repent of the evil that goes on in the name of Christianity that touches those who are coming from the fount to those who are seated on thrones in this diocese.”
Referring to Dr. G. Lloyd Rediger’s book entitled “Clergy Killers”, Father Tynes warned that clergy killers tend to look for a new killing field after destroying a pastor.
“The first thing [Rediger] says is that we need to acknowledge the existence of clergy killers in our midst,” he said.
“It is so much easier to blame the priest – after all as Rediger states in many denominations the belief is that the successful pastor is one who keeps everybody happy. Too bad we do not measure success by Jesus’ standards anymore because Jesus’ standards of success are far different than how we measure them now in the diocese.
“Just as you cannot help a drug addict or an alcoholic unless they admit they have a problem the same is true for us. Let’s wake up and take our medicine.”
He noted that it is incredibly difficult to eliminate clergy killers on a permanent basis, but pointed out that Rediger offers advice that should help clergy cope.
They include: Be patient; educate laity and clergy to the clergy killer’s phenomenon; teach survival skills to the clergy and their families because very few denominational leaders will come to the rescue of their people; give theology and polity some teeth; engage knowledgeable consultants; and go back to the denominational handbook.
Father Tynes urged Father Johnson’s widow, Ethel, not to let other people’s disobedience cause her and her family to become disobedient and bitter.
“Do not allow them to cause you to lose your place in the kingdom above,” he said. “There are many people who love you despite what has happened and there are many prepared to stand with you to the end. Continue the work that Patrick has left for you.”
To others gathered for the funeral, he advised, “Let Patrick’s life on earth count for something. Let it cause a revolution in the way that we operate in this diocese. There is a revolution that is going to take place in this diocese and some of us better be prepared for it.”
He added, “Let Patrick’s death call us to repentance and make us realize that we need to change; we need to be transformed in the grace of God and let go of this spirit of contentment of living in spiritual luke-warmness, apathy, and indifference.”
Father Johnson also urged Anglicans to let Father Johnson’s purity of life challenge “the ethical and moral bankruptcy and decay in our church-Let his holiness call us back to basics-
“Let the love that he had for others help us to love one another and treat each other with respect and realize that people matter, and not just your sacred cow – the money.
“And let us stop the clergy killers in their tracks before they strike again and another life is wasted, another ministry ruined, another family is left to grieve or limp along because of the pain.”
From: The Bahama Journal
