In the Courts of the Lord: A Gay Priest's Story

Rating:
Summary: Love Thy Neighbour
Review: Clear as crystal, I can remember the hug goodbye I got from Jim at his farewell 'party' in some fellow St. Philips-on-the-Hill Church-goer's backyard. It was the last I was to see of him, and at the age of ten, found the reasons for his departure from the church to be thoroughly incomprehensible. Some years later I stumbled across his book on my parents' bookshelf and sat down for a good, long read. Giving little regard to the usual technicalities your average book critic sits and festers over, I was able to embrace the book from a unique perspective, enabling me to travel in the passenger's seat through Jim's life and through the catastrophe that was to be his forced removal from our church. While disappointed with the lack of reference to his friendly, Old English Sheepdog, "Maybe" (and his understandable failure to mention me!) I still highly recommend this book to anyone who's willing to open their eyes (and hearts) for an encounter with a touching story of a priest's battle with a belief system that guided him, yet at the same time, prosecuted him.

Rating:
Summary: trite, self-engrandizing, egotistical, narcissistic, pulp
Review: I was very disappointed by this self-indulgent, self-engrandizing piece of pulp. Mr. Ferry obviously wrote this as an antidote to his insecurity and it expresses a poor attempt at both self-examination and historical analysis. This product is an insult to the reader's intelligence; a grand waste of time to read. I don't think the Anglican church got rid of Mr. Ferry for the reasons he would have us believe. I think it was his apparent obstinacy, and inability to subject himself to the authority of the church! There are many gay priests in the Anglican church who have not left their lovers (of which the church is aware). Mr. Ferry was obviously looking to grand stand at the time, and to create a name for himself! This is a sad testament and not worthy of a major motion picture.

I for one was not interested in his vanity, misrepresentations, half-truths, and rantings.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting personal account of one priest's voyage.
Review: There are three parts to this book: Anglican (Episcopalian) priest Jim Ferry describes his spiritual and personal journey, and his attempts to find fulfillment as a gay Christian while active as the rector of a Toronto-area parish, and an ecclesiastical trial to remove him from his parish. He describes how a homophobic parishioner reports him to the Bishop of Toronto, and the ensuing complicated ecclesiastical trial (the Courts of the Lord, of the title). Parishioners' reactions to his situation range from the homophobic to the fearful to the affectionate and supportive and we see how this diversity of opinion both distresses and comforts him. We also see how the stress of the canon-law process destroys his relationship with a man and places him under much strain, without destroying his personal faith. While it is, perhaps of necessity, a self-centred document (some might even say self-serving or confused), it is a measured and thoughtful exposition of a situation in which many clergy have found themselves. For them's of us who are into canon law, it is an indictment of a basic weakness in Anglican practice and approach, confusing the bishop's role of pastor of pastors, and judge, and prosecutor. One can have very different (indeed, warring and contradictory) opinions of Fr Ferry, and the issues of gays in the clergy, homesexuality and Christianity, but still benefit from reading his perspectives. This is Food for thought stuff, and an important document in a debate which is far from over.