Time for an End of Gossip Sunday?

My brothers and sisters, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.  Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill[a] the law of Christ.  For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves.  All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride.  For all must carry their own loads.

                           Galatians 6: 1-5 NRSVue

Let no evil talk come out of your mouths but only what is good for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.  Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice.

            Ephesians 4: 29-31 NRSVue

Back in September I blogged about a book with the intrigying title You Didn't Hear This From Me: (mostly) true notes on gossip by Kelsey McKinney. Apparently she has a podcast on the subject called Normal Gossip. The book is entertaining and thoughtful and, lo and behold, there is a chapter on gossip from her perspective as someone who was raised in what seems to be an evangelical church. To quote myself: 

She notes that there are only eight verses in the bible specifically about gossip and thousands on caring for the poor. In the King James Version of the bible the word gossip isn't used at all because at that time it didn't have the connotation that slander did. Actually, we have allowed "gossip" to become cozy enough that it has lost its schmeck and we might do well to return to using slander or talebearer.  McKinney points out, rightly, that while gossip/slander/talebearing is condemned it isn't really defined. Is it any conversation about someone else when that person isn't present or does there have to be a certain threshold of nastiness? 

I'm circling back to this topic because since I wrote I've become aware of two situations involving clergy I know who have been dealing with destructive gossip. 

In one instance the minister and his wife have separated and they are moving toward divorce.They worked at resolving their differences for a long time but they eventually concluded that they need to move on. Very quickly false rumours started within the congregation and a beloved pastor is now treated miserably by some people, including some who are divorced and were probably subject to nasty talk themselves. 

In the other, a pastor and church leaders are dealing with a complex pastoral situation where the circumstance and details can't be revealed. They are following United Church guidelines in this regard and have been advised that legally they must maintain privacy. Again, this hasn't prevented destructive speculation and gossip and those who are addressing the situation faithfully are being maligned rather than supported.  

I know that some readers have also been caught in the swirl of similar circumstances within congregations and it has left emotional and spiritual scars. The fooishness and meaness can be profoundly discouraging. Why does the Body of Christ end up sounding like a mean kids high school nightmare? 

I wonder if the United Church needs to have an annual End of Gossip Sunday so that the subject can be addressed from the pulpit without, well, starting rumours? In those services we could make an attempt to define gossip. They might include prayers for repentance and reconciliation. 

Maybe there could be the reminder that in Christ we are called to build one another up rather than tear one another down, as the passages from the apostle Paul's letters to the Galatians and Ephesians tell us.