Really. Really?

Three news stories I've seen this week that have prompted me to say, "Really. Really?"

First, in a story that is close to home but made news ripples around the country and even across the ocean, a Pike County, KY church voted in favor of a statement disapproving of interracial couples, banning them from joining as members and leading worship. The outcry prompted an official from the National Association of Freewill Baptists to speak out, and it appears that the congregation might overturn the vote. But seriously. Really. Really?

In other news, apparently as various states are racing to out-anti-immigrant each other, Florida has quietly been enforcing a law that charges out of state tuition rates to the children of immigrants - Florida residents who are US Citizens - if they cannot prove that their parents came to this country legally. Apparently the law, which is currently target of lawsuits, has been on the book since 2005. Really. Really?

Finally, in an article published on the Presbyterian Layman website, there is news of additional churches in Virginia and Florida who have petitioned their respective presbyteries for dismissal. Unfortunately, that doesn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has been following denominational issues in the PC(USA). But what was curious to me was the opening line of the article: "As the Christmas holiday approaches, an increasing number of Presbyterian churches have one thing at the top of their wish list – a gracious departure from the Presbyterian Church (USA)."
Really. Really? I find it quite puzzling that this publication that has taken such great joy in labeling the PC(USA) as a church that has "severed itself from 'the faith once delivered to the saints,'" has elevated schism in the church to the level of joy of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Really. Really? 


Really, nothing more needs to be said.