So, here’s what the Episcopal Church-the U.S. branch of Anglicanism, the proud parent of Washington’s National Cathedral, the producer of all those smells and bells, the institution that has taught generations of well-heeled children the difference between a shrimp fork and a salad fork -has come up with for its new motto: Get Closer to God. Slice Carrots.

I’m not making this up. The inheritor of the tradition that gave us C.S. Lewis, N.T. Wright, Rowan Williams; the guardian of some of the most beautiful churches and church music; the church that is the vanguard for tackling social issues head on, damn the consequences-they want us to slice carrots?

I don’t get it.

My mother always told me that carrots are good for your eyes, but I never knew they could be good for the church.

The idea, as I understand it, is that by slicing carrots (in a soup kitchen, for example), you’re doing God’s work here on earth. That much I get. But on its face, I’m not convinced that most people are going to get the connection between “Get Closer to God” and “Slice Carrots.”

Is this the best they could come up with?