"seminary & church"

The most memorable line in the Westminster Shorter Catechism comes as a response to its first question: “What is the chief end of man?” to which the faithful respond in earnest, “To glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” The fact that the catechism introduces children and neophytes to Christian doctrine by establishing the primacy of divine adoration in defining humanity’s purpose places worship at the center, not only of church life, but also the constitution of our own being as creatures.

From the perspective of the Reformed tradition, we are created to be in worshipful relationship with God. In seeing ourselves—adopting the words of the African theologian St. Augustine—as “homo liturgicus,” we understand that our lives are defined by rituals that give us purpose and meaning. When these rituals are expressed in community in ways that make evident our shared beliefs, we find ourselves in a veritable space of worship.

This edition of Windows celebrates the many ways in which our “chief human end” is made manifest in the life of Austin Seminary. To be part of this community is to learn the patterns by which we come together in worship. These patterns are both extensions of familiar ways we worship at our home congregations, and unique, creative responses to the multiplicity of faith stories and the cultural diversity that shapes our understanding and experience of this place of sacred encounters.

In reading the articles and stories printed here, you will get to know more about our institutional identity, not through a well-articulated mission statement, but through a description of manners in which we pray, the way we sing, the way we navigate the rhythms of the liturgical year, the ways we hear the music, and listen to the Word, as well as to the sound of running water, the rupturing of a loaf, and the pouring of wine. In the stories of students, you will realize how they are mentored into worship leadership and participation.

While less remembered, the answer to the last question of the Shorter Catechism brings our worshipful obligation full circle. For in learning the Lord’s Prayer as the prime model for addressing the divine, we are taught “to take our encouragement in prayer from God only, and in our prayers to praise him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to him; and, in testimony of our desire, and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen.”

Faithfully yours, José R. Irizarry President