Somehow, my entry for Tuesday got swallowed up into the ether, so we'll try again.

Monday night, the Consistory took the step too far and confirmed the break between Pastor and congregation, or should I say part of the congregation.  Much has been said, a lot of it without foundation.  My reaction is to quote the name of the papal encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge/With Burning Sorrow.  In it, Pope Pius XI condemned the German Government of the day's policies concerning the Roman Church, charging "...'evasion' and violation'" (William L Shirer, The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich, pg. 235).  While not nearly so drastic, after all, no one is being sent to Dachau or Buchenwald, the Consistory broke faith with the spiritual leader of the congregation without just cause.  I can imagine Jesus' reaction to all this.  He probably slapped his head and exclaimed, "Oy vey iz mir!  Hey, folks, I gave you something simple, 'Love your neighbor.'  Meshuginah, you mess it up like this.

The famed passage from Micah took an awful beating Monday night.  Hardly anyone did justly, loved mercy and walked humbly with their God.

There were those on consistory who saw the horror for what it is and tried to warn of it.  Particular mention should be made of Recording Secretary Karen Schmidt, who exposed the whole hypocrisy of the situation as it really is, a naked attempt to seize power.    There is a place at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Israel, known as the Memorial To The Righteous.  Oskar Schindler is remembered there, along with thousands of other non-Jews who saw the unspeakable evil that had overtaken them and faught it to the best of their ability.  At the Middletown Reformed Church's version, Karen Schmidt's name, along with many others, will have pride of place.  Until then, may God protect and keep Middletown Reformed Church in a special place, the one where broken souls stay until healed.