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Consecration of the Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Washington, June 1, 2002 (photo: Donovan Marks for National Cathedral) Easter 2006
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TESTING 123
The official publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina
The only reason for being an Anglican is that this balance [of Reformed, Catholic, and cultural and intellectual concerns] seems to you to be healthy for the Church catholic overall, and that it helps people grow in discernment and holiness.
thi
Diocesan calendar
—The Most Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, in “The Challenge and Hope of Being an Anglican Today: A Reflection for the Bishops, Clergy, and Faithful of the Anglican Communion,” June 27, 2006.
Nov
Oct 2
Bishop’s visitation to St. Alban’s, Lexington
2
7
ECW Northwestern District meeting, H oly Trinity, Clemson
Dec Bishop’s visitation, St. Mark’s, Chester
3
Bishop’s visitation, Church of the Advent, Spartanburg
3-5
Happening #56, Gravatt
10
BIshop’s visitations, Grace Church, Camden
Installation of the Presiding Bishop
16
DYLC meeting, St. Luke’s, Newberry
BACAM, priesthood, Gravatt
17
BIshop’s visitation, St. Andrew’s, Greenville
24
Christmas Eve
Bishop’s visitation to St. Michael’s, Easley
5
9-11
Clergy Conference, Lake Logan, NC
7-9
11-15
Cursillo #106, Gravatt
9-12 DEC orientation, Gravatt
14
ECW Western District Meeting, St. Luke’s, Newberry
12
26
Bishop’s visitation to All Saints, Cayce
8
20-21 Diocesan Convention, Church of the Advent, Spartanburg 23 29
Diocesan House closed Bishop’s visitation to St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, Columbia
14 19 23-24
Bishop’s visitation to St. Bartholomew’s, N. Augusa
25
Christmas Day
Bishop Harris’s vistiation, St. Peter’s, Greenville
25-1
Diocesan House closed
ECW Board Meeting, Diocesan House Bishop’s visitation, St. Thaddeus, Aiken Diocesan House closed
DEADLINE for next issue of Crosswalk: October15. Send submissions to phill@edusc.org. Send photos to photos@edusc.org. Send items for the calendar to bhuman@edusc.org. Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina 1115 Marion Street Columbia, South Carolina 29201
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TESTING 123
TESTING 123
Crosswalk The official publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina
this issue Anglicans— Who we are, and why...
inside 4
Accidentally Anglican How the Anglican Church got its start and survived the early ups and downs
5
Living into our “God-talk” What Anglican theology is all about
10
Why I’m an Anglican Three Upper SC Episcopalians offer very different responses
on the cover The choir at Canterbury Cathedral (photo by Robin Smith).Turn to page 12 for more of Mr. Smith’s photos and the photographer’s reflections as a pilgrim to Canterbury.
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Visit our diocese online
www.edusc.org
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TESTING 123
FROM THE
Bishop’s desk
The Season of Pentecost
Around the Diocese St. Barnabas wins “steeple chase”
Sisters and Brothers, dearly Beloved:
By Joan Green
Crosswalk
Official Publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina 1115 Marion Street Columbia, South Carolina 29201 803.771.7800/800.889.6961 803.799.5119 fax dioceseusc@aol.com Crosswalk E-mail Address phill@edusc.org Bishop The Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr. Executive Assistant to Bishop Henderson Jane B. Goldsmith jgoldsmith@edusc.org Canon to the Ordinary The Rev. Mark Clevenger mclevenger@edusc.org Assistant to the Canon to the Ordinary The Rev’d d’Rue Hazel dhazel@edusc.org Assistant for Administration Roslyn Hook rhook@edusc.org Canon for Finance and Administration Julie Price jprice@edusc.org Director of Finance and Insurance Cynthia Hendrix chendrix@edusc.org Canon for Communications, Editor of Crosswalk Peggy Van Antwerp Hill phill@edusc.org Canon for Youth Ministry The Rev. L. Sue von Rautenkranz suevon@edusc.org Assistant for Communications and Youth Ministry Bethany Human bhuman@edusc.org Archdeacon and Senior Pastoral Assistant to the Bishop The Ven. Frederick C. Byrd fbyrd@edusc.org Assistant to Archdeacon Byrd Bonnie Blackberg bblackberg@edusc.org Visit us on the Web at: www.edusc.org
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Silver linings are sometimes difficult to recognize. After General Convention 2003, the silver lining for Episcopalians was a rebirth of interest in Holy Scripture. After The Windsor Report and General Convention 2006, the silver lining is a rebirth of interest in Anglicanism and the Anglican Communion. What do Anglicans believe? Exactly what does it mean to be an Anglican? And what does it mean to be part of a worldwide Communion made up of autonomous but interdependent provinces? This issue of Crosswalk is devoted to increasing our knowledge about Anglicanism and the Anglican Communion. It provides essential information, but will not answer all the questions—a starting point for some, a next step for others—but its specific purpose is to be a catalyst for further study. As materials to continue that study, I recommend the works which appear as a footnote to this letter.* Begin and end your next step, however, with Parts A and B of The Windsor Report—the best thumbnail description of Anglicanism I’ve seen in a long time. And do not forget the Catechism (“An Outline of the Faith”), pages 845–862, and the “Historical Documents of the Church,” pages 864–878, in The Book of Common Prayer.
Anglican essentials Anglicanism begins, to be sure, with a commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. This may not be the only dogma of Anglicanism—although I could make an argument for that—but it is surely first on any list of essentials. Beyond that, consistent with the teachings of St. Paul, Anglican “watchwords” are unity, diversity, and charity: “unity in essentials, diversity in nonessentials, and charity in all things” (see, especially, Eph. 4:1–7, 11–16). Peter C. Moore, in his work referenced below, describes ours as a “fundamentals-ist” church and distinguishes it from a fundamentalist church: “Anglicanism deliberately seeks to concentrate its worship on the person of Christ, its witness on the biblical testimony to Christ, and its discipleship on obedience to the word of Christ.” He continues: “That is why it is against the spirit of Anglicanism to make the views Christians have on the nature of holiness, the place of prophecy, the presence of Christ in the sacrament, the right kind of ecclesial government, the honors due to the Virgin Mary, or the inerrancy of Scripture a test of orthodoxy. The Anglican way focuses on the fundamentals. We say that, while these other issues are important, they are not foundational to the Faith.” Anglicanism also claims to be “comprehensive”—applying the Lord’s parable of “The Wheat and the Tares” (Matt: 13:24–30) to our relationships with each other: united as the Body of Christ, nurturing one another in our spiritual growth and journey, avoiding judgmentalism in the conviction that we should let God be God, leaving judgment to God. Comprehensiveness is applied also to personal experience and the fullness of the life of the Church— acknowledging that God speaks to different people in different ways, that no single personal experience is a standard for authentic salvation against which all other experiences should be measured, and that everyone and everyone’s gifts are essential to the life and mission of the Church. μÅçåíáåìÉÇ=çå=é~ÖÉ=NS G=^ãçåÖ=çíÜÉêëW=oáÅÜ~êÇ=eççâÉê∞ë=i~ïë=çÑ=bÅÅäÉëá~ëíáÅ~ä=mçäáíóX=rêÄ~å=qK=eçäãÉë fffI= tÜ~í= fë= ^åÖäáÅ~åáëã\X= píÉéÜÉå= póâÉëI= gçÜå= _ççíóI= ~åÇ= gçå~íÜ~å= håáÖÜíI ÉÇáíçêëI=qÜÉ=píìÇó=çÑ=^åÖäáÅ~åáëãX=~åÇI=mÉíÉê=`K=jççêÉ∞ë=^=`ÜìêÅÜ=íç=_ÉäáÉîÉ=fåK eççâÉê∞ë= ïçêâ= áë= ëçãÉïÜ~í= ÇáÑÑáÅìäí= íç= êÉ~ÇI= Äìí= Ä~ëáÅ= íç= ~åó= ìåÇÉêëí~åÇáåÖ= çÑ ^åÖäáÅ~åáëãX= íÜÉ= çíÜÉê= ïçêâë= áåÅäìÇÉ= ëìÑÑáÅáÉåí= ÇáÑÑÉêÉåÅÉë= çÑ= çéáåáçå= íç= éêçîçâÉ ÜÉäéÑìä=íÜçìÖÜí=~ãçåÖ=~åó=çÑ=ìëI=ÇÉëéáíÉ=íÜÉ=éêÉàìÇáÅÉ=çê=Äá~ë=ïÉ=ÄêáåÖ=íç=íÜáë=ëíìÇóK qÜÉëÉ=åçí=~î~áä~ÄäÉ=íç=óçì\=^ëâ=óçìê=ÅäÉêÖó=Ñçê=~ÇÇáíáçå~ä=êÉÅçããÉåÇ~íáçåëK
Years of careful planning have culminated in the realization of a life-long dream for many members of St. Barnabas, Jenkinsville—a steeple for their church. At the July 23 worship service, Priest-in-Charge the Rev. Glenn Gould offered that by erecting the steeple, the people were affirming their identity as “an outpost of the kingdom of God.” The present church building, erected more than 50 years ago, was designed on a basic, utilitarian model that has served the small congregation well. The steeple’s addition, said one member, “makes it look like a church.” A celebration, including dedication of the steeple and recognition of the many contributors, is planned for the near future.
Robbins, Woodrum named Gravatt’s 2006 outstanding staffers In 1984 Bishop Beckham and Archdeacon Byrd began the tradition of presenting the Bishop & Archdeacon’s Outstanding Staff Award to Gravatt summer staff members, one female, one male, selected by their peers. Bishop Henderson and the Archdeacon Byrd and archdeacon have camp director Fletcher continued the tradition. Spigner celebrate with The 2006 awards were Glennie Woodrum and presented to Gray Robbins Gray Robbins. and Glennie Woodrum on July 28 at Gravatt. Robbins is a member of St. Alban’s, Lexington, and a sophomore athe College of Charleston, majoring in theater. Woodrum is a member of St. John’s, Columbia, and a junior at College of Charleston, majoring in communications. μÅçåíáåìÉÇ=çå=é~ÖÉ=NV
Please send all Crosswalk address corrections, deletions or additions to: Trevett’s Mailing Service 2217 Lake Murray Blvd. Columbia, SC 29212 phone: 803.781.3150 email: mail@trevetts.com
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ANGLICAN SPIRITUALITY _ó=íÜÉ=oÉîK=aêK=aK=gçå~íÜ~å=dêáÉëÉê Spirituality—the very word conjures up images of contemporary American life. Some might think of New Age seekers, wandering about from guru to guru, cobbling together meaning from the most diverse strands of human experience. For others, the word might suggest something quite different, the mystical writings of Meister Eckhart or St. Teresa of Avila. Still others might use it as so many do today, to distinguish their religious lives from those of churchgoers: “I’m spiritual, not religious.” Spirituality is a problematic word, not least because of what it has come to mean today. It’s problematic as well in the history of Christianity because it’s a fairly new word, probably coined in the 17th century to refer to devotional texts and practices that focus on the inward life. The term Anglican is itself somewhat new, so when we speak of Anglican spirituality, we are speaking of an idea that would have been unknown to churchgoers or theologians in England’s Elizabethan or Stuart periods. Nonetheless, there is certainly something distinctive about Anglican spirituality that can be traced back to the 16th century.
The BCP, of course Anglican spirituality is called into being and shaped by The Book of Common Prayer. When we think of The Book of Common Prayer we usually think of the poetry and majesty of its language, but its uniqueness begins with the book itself. For it is a book of common prayer. It is used by everyone, laity and clergy. In that sense, it is a very Protestant phenomenon, emphasizing the unity and equality of all Christians before God. All of us, laypeople and clergy use the same text, pray the same prayers, read the same instructions. The second important aspect of The Book of Common Prayer is that Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, who was primarily responsible for the first book, did not intend only to translate the Latin of the Mass into English. He wanted to make the prayer life of the monastery accessible to all as well. In the Daily Office, Morning Prayer and Evensong, Cranmer gave the Church of England a disciplined and adaptable way of making one’s whole life a life of prayer. The old medieval distinction of the three estates—those who fight (the nobles), those who work (the commoners), and those who pray (the monks and nuns)—was collapsed. Now everyone belonged to “those who pray.”
Protestantism (Calvinist) and the Catholicism that emerged after the Council of Trent in the mid-16th century. But the middle way sought to embrace the strengths of both and to include both Catholic and Puritan in the Church of England. While that particular vision of comprehensiveness did not ultimately survive, the idea that Anglicans might draw on the best of the spiritual, liturgical and devotional practices of all branches of the Christian tradition did persist. When, occasionally, one hears enthusiasts claiming such medieval mystics as Julian of Norwich or the early Church Fathers for the “Anglican” way, what that means is in fact that we seek to learn, and borrow, from all those who have gone before us—Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant.
Embodied and sensual
qáíäÉ=é~ÖÉ=Ñêçã=íÜÉ=ÑáêëíI=NRQV=_ççâ=çÑ `çããçå=mê~óÉê
Anglican spirituality is embodied, sensual. From the fight over the rubric in the 1552 Book of Common Prayer that mandated kneeling to receive communion, against the wishes of those who thought sitting was more biblical, what our bodies “do” in worship, has mattered. Anglican worship of the “smells and bells” variety is the best example of worship that seeks to engage all of our senses, but underlying that enterprise is a deeper conviction that the beauty and goodness of creation contribute to our experience and understanding of God. Over the centuries clergy and laity have sought to bring the beauty of God’s creation, and the beauty created by human hands, into our language and experience of God. Though words matter, and the words of the liturgy are themselves beautiful, Anglican spirituality proclaims that a scent, an image, a hymn or anthem, beautiful vestments, a beautiful worship experience, all contribute to our encounter with and experience of God.
qÜÉ=^åÖäáÅ~å=ëéáêáíì~ä=èìÉëí=áë=åçí=íÜÉ=~ÇîÉåíìêÉ=çÑ=~ An incarnational spirituality Of all the theological conflicts that shaped Anglicanism, perhaps none was so äçåÉ=áåÇáîáÇì~äI=ëÉÉâáåÖ=çìí=ãÉ~åáåÖ=áå=äáÑÉX=áí=áë=íÜÉ important as the 16th- century Eucharistic controversies. The real presence of Jesus Christ in the bread and wine of the Eucharist was attacked by Reformed éáäÖêáã~ÖÉ=çÑ=~=Åçããìåáíó=~í=éê~óÉêK=K=K=K th A community at prayer While the Daily Office and other prayers of The Book of Common Prayer can be adapted for use by individuals and families, the book’s title reminds us that Anglican spirituality begins, and has its proper home, in community. The Anglican spiritual quest is not the adventure of a lone individual, seeking out meaning in life; it is the pilgrimage of a community at prayer, experiencing each Sunday, and where the Daily Office is said regularly, every day, language that binds us together not only in our local congregations, but across the globe and across the centuries as well. And since the recovery of the Eucharist as the central act of the worshiping community, the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist knits us together as the Body of Christ at the altar. We experience the paschal mystery of the crucified and risen Christ as the central experience of our faith.
Protestantism, but another important intellectual current of the 16 century, Renaissance humanism, also contributed to a suspicion of the material world. For Anglicans, the presence of Christ in the sacraments reminds us that Christ may be present to us in all of creation. Anglican spirituality is incarnational, shaped by that openness to God’s presence in the world around us. But it is also incarnational in that it has shaped the particular contexts in which Anglicans live, worship, and pray. How we put these various elements together, as individuals and as communities, may vary widely from place to place and over the centuries. That remains one of the internal tensions in Anglicanism. Yet the broad streams of Anglican spirituality, streams that include the simple, spare devotion of Morning Prayer said in chapel, the High Mass of an Anglo-Catholic cathedral, the devotions of a hermit or of group of monks or nuns; and, yes, even the prayers and psalms of early-17th-century Puritans, and certainly the hymns of John and Charles Wesley and the spirited worship of an Afro-Caribbean parish—all of these touch aspects of Anglican spirituality, even if they do not, any of them, define its limits.
All those who have gone before Anglican spirituality is comprehensive. The Elizabethan Settlement (1559) opted for the via media, the middle way between Protestantism, especially Reformed
The Rev. Dr. D. Jonathan Grieser is assistant to the rector at St. James, Greenville.
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THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND GETS UNDER WAY People who say that Henry VIII founded the Church of England in order to divorce his wife are mistaken. And the people who think that his marital troubles had nothing to do with it are also mistaken. The Church of England is the Roman Catholic Church without the pope. It is also Lutheranism without Luther and Calvinism without Calvin. Anne Boleyn became the object of Henry’s roving eye and lustful heart. But she was a Protestant. Anne would have been better off to have climbed into Henry’s bed without insisting that she must also be queen. Then her Anne Boleyn, by an later adultery would not have been treason, but then, unknown artist Elizabeth would not have been queen either.
qÜÉ=`ÜìêÅÜ=çÑ=båÖä~åÇ=áë=íÜÉ=oçã~å=`~íÜçäáÅ=`ÜìêÅÜ ïáíÜçìí=íÜÉ=éçéÉ=K=K=K=K=iìíÜÉê~åáëã=ïáíÜçìí=iìíÜÉê ~åÇ=`~äîáåáëã=ïáíÜçìí=`~äîáåK Henry as Catholic Christian Anglican origins played out on the larger stage of world events. The great Holy Roman Empire continued in name only. England was never a part of that empire, anyway. The disintegration of political centralization in Europe was accompanied by the fracturing of the western Catholic Church. Henry did not think of himself as a Protestant. After all, the pope had titled him “Defender of the Faith” for his antiLutheran writing. But he convinced himself that to be a Catholic Christian did not mean rule from Rome. Nor did it mean tithes and taxes to Rome, either, and Henry was always in need of money.
Accidentally Anglican Anglicanism was an accident. It was not intentional. Perhaps the Reformation itself was an accident. No one except perhaps a few extreme radicals ever intended to divide the Church. Luther and Calvin thought that it was Rome that had separated itself from the true Catholic faith. And their almost constant references were to the “Fathers” of the first centuries and to Scripture. Henry did not want a divorce. That would have been impossible. He sought an annulment. He had married Catherine of Aragon, who was his brother’s widow. That was contrary to Scripture and to Church law. A brother’s wife became a sister, and to marry a sister was incest. (Of course, there is another Scripture passage that says exactly the opposite.)
Did you know that the Anglican Church’s survival was “iffy” for more than 200 years after Henry VIII broke from the Church of Rome? After Henry VIII’s sickly son, Edward VI, a Protestant, died at age 15, the throne quickly passed in 1553 to Mary, the Roman Catholic daughter of Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Mary, crowned at age 37, quickly married but after a year was abandoned by her husband, Philip, heir to the Spanish throne. If Mary had had children, the Anglican Church would have died. “Bloody Mary,” as she was known, executed Thomas Cranmer, who produced our first Book of Common Prayer. During much of the reign of Elizabeth I, 1558 to 1603, her Roman Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, posed a great threat. Some Catholics wanted to kill Elizabeth and place Mary on the throne of England, thus converting England back to Roman Catholicism. This threat was ended when Elizabeth regretfully signed Mary’s death warrant in 1587. The Protestant James VI of Scotland, later James I of England (and James of the King James version of the Bible), who succeeded Elizabeth in 1603, was the only son of the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots. Charles I, who reigned from 1625 to 1649, battled with Parliament figuratively and literally, finally losing to Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Naseby in 1645. Cromwell was a Puritan and therefore no friend of the established Church of England. Charles was tried for treason and beheaded. After Cromwell’s death in 1659, his son, Richard, lasted only one year as head of the Commonwealth. Charles II ascended to the throne in 1660, thereby re-establishing the Church of England. In 1685 King Charles II was received into the Roman Catholic Church on his deathbed. Fortunately for us Anglicans, he did not convert to Catholicism earlier. After the death of Charles II in 1685, James II succeeded to the throne. He had converted to Catholicism in 1670. James II initiated a course to convert England to Catholicism. Under pressure from many Protestant nobles and from his son-in-law, William of Orange, King James II fled to France in 1688. Soon afterward he raised an army there and invaded Ireland, where many Roman Catholics joined his cause. His aim was to proceed to Scotland to rally more Catholics in order to retake the throne of England. He was stymied, however, in 1689 at Londonderry in northern Ireland and roundly defeated by William (later King William III) at the battle of the Boyne in 1690. After that he was no longer a threat to England. In the first half of the 18th century the Scottish Jacobites, primarily Roman Catholics, opposed the English. Armies were raised and battles fought. At times the Jacobites prevailed until they were finally and brutally defeated at Culloden in April 1746. Twenty-five-year-old Bonnie Prince Charlie, against sound advice, led the fight against the English at Culloden. This was the last serious threat by Roman Catholics to the British throne.
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1546, by Gerlach Flicke —continued on page 14
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HOW THE EARLY ANGLICAN CHURCH SURVIVED _ó=dáäÉë=`~êíÉê
_ó=íÜÉ=oÉîK=qÜçã~ë=`K=a~îáë
Henry VIII, ca. 1542, by an unknown artist
^=êÉäáÖáçìë=óçJóçI=çê=K=K=K
Let us be thankful for the many martyrs and others who founded and protected the Anglican Church through hundreds of years. Giles Carter is a member of Holy Trinity, Clemson.
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iáîáåÖ=áåíç=çìê=±dçÇJí~äâI≤=çê=K=K=K
&
ANGLICAN THEOLOGY
_ó=íÜÉ=oÉîK=aêK=mÜáäáé=tÜáíÉÜÉ~Ç
PRACTICE
Defining the terms
Theology is “God-talk.” Theology is a way of thinking and talking about God, as we study the biblical story, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the historic formation of creedal statements, the insights of critics of the Church and, finally, the relationship of culture to faith. Practice includes the outward and visible signs and actions by which “God-talk” (theology) becomes more than just talk. Practice includes the whole array of rites, liturgies, symbolic language, moral actions, pastoral caring, environmental and economic stewardship that witness to or make evident the truth of theology. Practice includes engagement with God’s mystery, grace, Holy Spirit, and, ultimately, with praxis (a serious personal, political, and social decision to act). Ethos means the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, and guiding beliefs of a group or institution. Each denomination in the Christian faith has what is called an “ethos.”
Anglican ethos Anglican ethos, unlike German or Italian ethos, is a culturally formed stance, a “habit of the heart and mind,” a reasoned moral and spiritual posture influenced and shaped by the early history of the British Isles, the influence of Celtic-Western Latin Christianity, and the flow of patristic thought (the thought of the Church Fathers) across the English channel. The Anglican Church is not a denomination or a sect. It is considered a continuation of the Ecclesia anglicana, the Church of England, which reaches backward not only through the Reformation to the Celts, but also to the heritage of the gospel of the early Church Fathers, as their thought challenged Roman paganism, Nordic gods, and Druid spirituality.
Anglican theology Anglican theology is thought by some scholars not to exist. That is true in this sense: There is no such thing as Anglican theology if we mean by that term a published set of reasoned propositions or confessions compared to John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion or Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses, the basis for Reformed and Lutheran theology respectively.
`ÜìêÅÜ
^åÖäáÅ~å==íÜÉçäçÖó áë=íÜçìÖÜí=Äó=ëçãÉ=ëÅÜçä~êë=åçí=íç
ÉñáëíK=qÜ~í=áë=íêìÉ=áå=íÜáë=ëÉåëÉW=qÜÉêÉ=áë=åç=ëìÅÜ íÜáåÖ=~ë=^åÖäáÅ~å=íÜÉçäçÖó=áÑ=ïÉ=ãÉ~å=Äó=íÜ~í=íÉêã ~=éìÄäáëÜÉÇ=ëÉí=çÑ=êÉ~ëçåÉÇ=éêçéçëáíáçåë=çê ÅçåÑÉëëáçåëK=K=K=K For Anglicans, however, The Book of Common Prayer (1549) and other liturgical resources are interspersed with God-talk, so that, as we intentionally pray, we come sincerely to believe. This principle is called Lex Orandi-Lex Credendi, which means that habits of prayer and official provisions for worship are determinative in shaping Christian doctrine. The various Prayer Books published from 1549 to the present establish the fundamental outline and spirit of Anglican theology and practice. If the general public wonders why the changing of an Episcopal Prayer Book causes such furor, it is because those changes are signs that the Church is struggling with belief.
Strength & weakness— Being comprehensive One of the characteristics of Anglicanism, since the Reformation in the 16th century, is the attempt and desire for Anglican theology to be comprehensive. Anglican thought is serious about comprehensiveness. Unfortunately, it is both a strength and a frustration within Anglicanism. Comprehensiveness allows for debate, serious diversity, pluralistic concerns, and the spirit of ecumenicity to exist (thrive) within the Church, hopefully without tearing the Christian body apart.
Anglican God-talk in prayer and practice Affirming then, that the way we pray is the way we believe, let us consider briefly our theology (Anglican God-talk) as revealed in our prayers and practices. μÅçåíáåìÉÇ=çå=é~ÖÉ=NR
An Anglican at the Pearly Gates
you say that I am?” The Baptist immediately replied, “The Holy Bible says . . .” But Jesus interrupted him: “No, no, I know what the Bible says, but what do you say?” The Baptist looked perplexed, and said: “Well, I can’t presume to say on my own account; it’s qÜÉêÉ= áë= ~= ïÉääJâåçïå= ëíçêó= ~Äçìí= gÉëìë= ëÜçïáåÖ what the Bible says that matters.” “I am sorry,” Åçãé~ëëáçå=Ñçê=píK=mÉíÉê=ïÜç=Ü~Ç=íÉåÇÉÇ=íÜÉ=Ö~íÉë=çÑ=íÜÉ Jesus said, “but you must go elsewhere.”
Lite
âáåÖÇçã= Ñçê= ëç= äçåÖ= ïáíÜçìí= ~= ÄêÉ~âK= eÉ= ÇÉÅáÇÉÇ= íç êÉäáÉîÉ=mÉíÉê=Ñçê=~å=áåíÉêî~äK
Then came a Roman Catholic, who was presented with the same question. He began, next arrival at the gates was a rather “Holy Mother Church teaches . . .” But he too Baptist. Jesus said to him, “There has was interrupted. “I know what Holy Mother procedural change. Before you go any Church teaches, but what do you say?” you must answer a question: “Who do The Roman Catholic stuttered, “But surely
The Bible tells me so! The startled been a further,
Holy Mother Church.
only Mother Church can answer that with any accuracy.”
“That’s easy,” or is it? At last came an Anglican, to whom Jesus put the same question. “That’s easy,” said the Anglican. “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” “Quite right,” said Jesus. “Please proceed.” Then just as the Anglican was about to step through the gates, he turned and said, “On the other hand . . .” Quoted from “Ties That Bind,” an address by the Most Rev. Andrew S. Hutchison, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, delivered at Trinity College, Toronto, June 27, 2005
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THE CELTS AND US ^å==~åÅáÉåí==áåÇáÖÉåçìë==Ñ~áíÜ==áë==êÉÑäÉÅíÉÇ==áå ^åÖäáÅ~å==íê~Çáíáçå _ó=i~êêó=kÉïíçå Celtic Christianity, practiced by the early indigenous Christian communities of the British Isles and officially eclipsed by the Roman church in the seventh century, exerted a significant and lasting influence on Anglican spirituality that is still evident today. Although, owing to the lack of written records, it is difficult to describe with certainty the Celtic church, it is possible to point to some aspects of Celtic thought and attitude that Anglican tradition and Anglican polity continue to reflect in their own way. Celtic Christians, family-based and tribal in nature, resisted the centralization of authority embraced by the Roman church, preferring instead to worship in local communities that emphasized the individual’s responsibility in creating and sustaining relationship with the divine. Whereas Rome tended to be authoritarian and legalistic, Celtic Christians were free thinkers. They recognized women in leadership; they celebrated nature as a gift from God; and they focused on the goodness of all creation, including humankind.
unsullied goodness of creation. Pelagius detested the doctrine of original sin as espoused by Augustine and the Roman church, but he did not deny that human beings were capable of sin, only that sin masked one’s essential goodness. Redemption, as offered through Christ, liberated one from “failures” and returned one to fundamental goodness.
St. Patrick and beyond During the time of St. Patrick, circa 430, new aspects of Celtic Christianity emerged, along with the appearance of intricately interwoven designs representing the interrelatedness of spiritual and material realms, of heaven and earth, and of time and eternity. Ultimately these found expression in the high crosses of Iona, the glorious illustrations of the Lindesfarne Gospels, and countless hymns and prayers. There existed also among the Celts an extraordinary desire to integrate the gospel with the older, indigenous traditions. Rather than discard these older beliefs, the Celts merged them with newer Christian ones. It has
A church on its own Several centuries before the birth of Christ, Celtic territory extended across continental Europe and into what is now Asia. By the time of the second century A.D., this territory was reduced to the British Isles. Pushed relentlessly westward by the Roman army, the Celts claimed only these remaining islands. It was here that they made contact with Christianity, brought to the islands by a few Roman soldiers who were Christians themselves. Except for the missionary work of St. Alban in the third century, there was no further Roman presence for the next 300 years. The Celtic church developed in isolation, influenced only by local custom and tradition. These left traces of Druid mysticism, a profound reverence for the natural world, and a strong sense of the interconnectedness of the seen and unseen worlds.
A Celtic theologian Late in the fourth century, the first Celtic theologian, Pelagius, later condemned as a heretic by Rome, developed Celtic beliefs further. Significantly, Pelagius taught that (1) Christ commanded us to love not only our human neighbors, but all life forms as well. (2) Christ was the perfect fulfillment of wisdom and humility, and what mattered more than believing in him was becoming like him. © mÜçíçÖê~éÜÉêW=píÉéÜÉå=cáåå (3) Every child was conceived and born in the ^ÖÉåÅóW=aêÉ~ãëíáãÉKÅçãK image of God—the embodiment of the original
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been said, in fact, that in the history of Christianity the Celts offer the most stunning and complete example of Christian transformation of a pagan culture, with very little influence of the culture that introduced the Christian gospel. For the Celts, the Gospel of St. John was particularly significant. With its rich metaphors (expressed, for example, as “Light” and “Word”), it represented the heart of Celtic spirituality. The Celts’ special love for St. John was inspired by the image of him leaning against Jesus at the Last Supper, listening, as it has been said, to the heartbeat of God.
The goodness of creation Likewise, Celtic Christians saw the Hebrew Scriptures’ creation stories as an expression of God’s goodness in all aspects of the natural world. It is here, in these stories, that the truth of God is revealed—not hidden away but found deep within all that has life. In God’s creation, all creatures are equal, and all that God has created is good. God’s command articulated by the psalmist (Psalm 46:10) to “Be still, and know that I am God,” is a command to appreciate the natural world, to listen to the heart, and to see the goodness creation offers. Humankind is not alien to the natural world, but an essential part of it. Failure to love the natural world corresponds to a failure in loving one’s self and loving one’s neighbor, and by extension, a failure to love God.
Columba, Celtic saint Columba’s arrival at the Isle of Iona, Scotland, in 563 marked the final phase of Celtic Christianity. His departure from Ireland represented a retreat to a wilderness area—to a place to be tested and in the process to find one’s self. Iona was not only a wilderness place, but also “A Thin Place,” where the sky and sea and land came together, where the seen and unseen worlds met and life’s deeper meaning might be found. Iona also represented the culmination of a pilgrimage and a chance encounter with the unknown. Without maps or destination, Columba set out from Ireland, rudderless, and adrift on the sea. By chance he landed at Iona. His journey imitated the journey of Christ and his disciples, who had no place to lay their heads, totally dependent on the hospitality of others. μÅçåíáåìÉÇ=çå=é~ÖÉ=NQ
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ANGLICAN IDENTITY pçãÉ=_ÉåÉÇáÅíáåÉ= áåÑäìÉåÅÉë _ó=íÜÉ=oÉîK=jáÅÜ~Éä= ^åÇÉêëçå=_ìääçÅâ In the nearly 15 years that I have embraced the disciplines of the Benedictine tradition as a way of following Christ, one of the ongoing joys has been to mark how deeply our Prayer Book tradition is rooted in the principles and practices of the sixth-century Rule of St. Benedict. Benedict’s spiritual disciplines stand at the heart of The Book of Common Prayer and, therefore, of our Anglican identity.
Right worship / right belief A simple word study points us in the right direction. The word is orthodoxy, a term that is being bandied about a good deal of late, too often as a hammer. It is a telling point of history that at about the turn of the first millennium, the meaning of orthodoxy changed. Around this time the term took on its present definition, meaning “right belief or opinion or practice.” Yet (and I think importantly), the earlier sense of the word’s meaning was “right worship.” I mention this because I believe it speaks to a profound truth and a significant point of identity. Our Lord promises us that when two or three are gathered in his name, we will be in the divine presence. To me, this strikes at the heart of a clarifying reality for Christians, in general, and Anglicans, in particular. Rather than use belief (content) as the primary test of orthodoxy, a more fundamental (and humbly useful) recognition is right worship. That is, when we gather together in Christ’s name and remembrance, we place ourselves first and foremost in the context of God and God’s life, from which we may more properly orient our selves, our thinking, our statements of belief, and the way we live.
First things first To my way of thinking, this perspective is at the heart of the Benedictine spiritual tradition. Prayer and worship, in community, stand at the center of this witness, as seven times a day members of the monastic community gather for such a “reality test.” The Prayer Book tradition refers to this experience as “common prayer”— common in the sense of our needing to confront the divine context, over and against which all
other claims to precedence necessarily fade. In this regard, right worship is a matter of “first things first.” Consequently, the first acts of worship are as simple as they are fundamental. They are: showing up; making room for God; and honoring and then responding to what it is like to be in God’s presence.
On “meaningful” worship One of the difficult challenges anyone with corporate worship responsibilities faces is the demand that worship be “meaningful.” This comment usually refers to the expectation that worship should inspire us, should move us, touch us. And while I would be the last person to advocate boring, careless, or idiosyncratic worship, the crucial point I am compelled personally to recognize is that “right worship” is not PRIMARILY about “getting any thing out of going to church.” Rather, “right worship” is PRIMARILY about confronting God and what life with God is like. “Right worship” is, I believe, meant first and foremost to be a “reality test,” where in Christ we confront God and what life with God is like. Only then can we properly register our emotional response to the divine reality and presence and perhaps (one fervently hopes) then “get something out of it.”
God first, then us “God first, then us” is, I am suggesting, what the orthodox worship experience is about and the idea that stands at the heart of both the Benedictine and the Prayer Book traditions, to the extent that when we are dismissed from worship (“Let us bless the Lord.”), the trajectory of our lives in the world contains a firm—and sacred—foundation. From this “first things first” attitude comes another element of Anglican identity from the experience of Benedict’s Rule. The routine of worship, as demonstrated in a monastic community, is just that. It is not meant to be anything but “being there” (in the sense that showing up is 90 percent of life). “Do this in remembrance of me” is about daring to be present to God and to one another as God’s people. Once again, one’s emotional response to such “presence” is not the essential determination about whether worship is “good” or not.
qÜÉ==ëáÇÉ==~áëäÉ==~í `~åíÉêÄìêó==`~íÜÉÇê~ä EmÜçíçW==oçÄáå==pãáíÜF
—continued on page 17
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W a n d e r i n g s Wandering ambiguity By Duncan C. Ely The ultimate gift of conscious life is the sense of the mystery that encompasses it. —Lewis Mumford God is a mystery we can never fully comprehend or explain. The biblical descriptions of God are mysterious. The depth and power of our liturgies are mysterious. Creation and nature are full of mystery. Unanswered questions or questions with ambiguous answers abound. In many ways trying to talk about God with others is like trying to discuss a book everyone has read. All readers have in common the plot and basic descriptions. But each reader’s imagination fleshes out the details—the scenery, characters’ appearances, the specifics of places and buildings—and does this out of the reader’s own experiences and preferences. In discussing God, we all have in common Scripture (albeit it in different translations and versions) and parts of tradition. But each of us fills in the details with tradition and our own reason and experiences—our denominational backgrounds, our upbringings, our education, our spiritual disciplines, our lives, our personalities. It is any wonder that we end up with differing versions of the concept of God and our understanding of God’s role in our lives an in the world? And through all of this, we have no definitive answers. We can never really know. The mystery is still there, and we live with at least some degree of ambiguity. Some people find the mystery—the gray areas and questions with ambiguous or no answers at all—a comfortable—or at least a tolerable—part of life and faith. Others find the mystery uncomfortable and need more black-and-white answers. Part of the problem may be language. We understand words differently. We read different versions of the Bible. But the deeper and more touching our experiences are personally, the more difficult they are to describe to others. The Israelites experienced this in describing their experiences of God in the Old Testament. The New Testament writers also had this problem. We have this problem, too. Have you ever experienced an extraordinarily beautiful, moving sunset and tried to describe it to someone? The words you choose convey some of the sunset’s physical attributes and maybe some of your emotions, but language ultimately fails to convey the depth of beauty and the way the sunset moved you spiritually. The person with whom you are sharing your sunset experience receives the physical description, but has to fill in a lot of blanks with his or her own experience of a sunset or something similar. Part of the problem may be the mystery—the lack of clear answers or of any answers at all. What we have left is faith in a God who created us in God’s image, who loves us, who is present with us when we have clear answers as well as when we have ambiguous ones, or none at all. God of mystery, assure us by your presence that you have the control and the answers we do not have, and help us to rest comfortably in your love, in our faith, and in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Anglicans on the menu
Book Review
Always Open: Being an Anglican Today, by Richard Giles (Cambridge Mass.: Cowley Publications, 2004), 150 pages.
oÉîáÉïÉÇ=Äó=íÜÉ=oÉîK=`~êçäáåÉ=dççÇâáåÇ At first glance, the intriguing front cover of Always Open seems to picture a late-50’s / early 60’s drive-in restaurant, similar to the “retro” Varsity Drive-In in Atlanta. It tempts one to look inside, to explore further, to bask in nostalgia, to sample the menu. In short, it seems to invite the reader into the literary equivalent of savoring, to the very last slurp, an authentic old-fashioned malted milkshake.
Reading the menu Venturing inside the cover, a table of contents “menu” highlights both an introductory ambiance and the main course of specials du jour. The first five chapters cover the history, scope, and basic elements of Anglicanism, a tall order. Using a deft and palatable blend of conversational style, humor, and substance, author Richard Giles distills the essence of his subject matter while avoiding the mental indigestion of too many historical and statistical details. The book’s title derives from the chapter entitled “Building Blocks: Essential Elements of Anglicanism.” First and foremost among the essentials, Giles cites openness. “The family of Anglican provinces to which the Episcopal Church belongs is always open,” he asserts. “No one is turned away who is truthfully engaged in the adventure of seeking God.” His list of basic ingredients also includes generosity (a reluctance to draw lines, to define, to exclude); doing things properly (which often means doing things as they’ve always been done); and exploration (in the forefront of change).
“The Anglican Approach to . . .” Having set the table, Giles proceeds to spread a buffet of 11 chapters, all subtitled “The Anglican Approach to . . .” These include the standard meat-and-potatoes fare of Anglicanism— Scripture, doctrine, church, sacraments, worship, prayer, authority—complemented by “sides”: membership, moral questions, wider community, and other traditions and faiths. The quality of these chapters varies tremendously. Most cover the requisite basics in a readable style liberally spiced with interesting details and tidbits. Author Giles served as a parish priest in his native England for 30 years before coming to the Episcopal Church in 1998. Not surprisingly, the book deals much more skillfully with Anglicanism in its English aspects than in its American ones. At its worst, gross misinformation and flip humor bend too far in the direction of cynicism, and it seems almost unbearable to continue reading. “Checks and Balances: The Anglican Approach to Authority” especially comes to mind in this context. Perseverance, however, does pay off. There are chapters, such as “Bouquets and Bandages: The Anglican Approach to the Sacraments,” that soar to levels of originality and spiritual insight that satisfy deeply, beyond all expectations. The diner image is an apt one for this book. The fare is intellectually light, limited in scope, and not especially well-balanced. Yet it has its place, for some, as a fun place to visit. Short, readable chapters that maintain interest make it a good candidate to provide a flexible structure for an adult education classes that features sharing and discussion as a way to learn and deepen faith. The Rev. Caroline Goodkind is rector of St. George’s, Anderson.
“There are many things I don’t understand. Sincere Christians can disagree about the details of Scripture and theology—absolutely.” 8
μqÜÉ=oÉîK=_áääó=dê~Ü~ãI=èìçíÉÇ=áå=íÜÉ=^ìÖìëí=NQI=OMMSI=áëëìÉ=çÑ Newsweek
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T HE A NGLICAN C OMMUNION now & then _ó=aìåÅ~å=`K=bäó=
T
Interdependent and autonomous
The Anglican Communion is not an official legal entity with a formal governing structure. Instead it is an affiliation of 38 national or multinational churches or provinces throughout the world bound together by their use of a Book of Common Prayer, their theoretical acknowledgment that the archbishop of Canterbury is their senior bishop and spiritual leader, their common theological beliefs, and their participation in an organizational structure. Each province is autonomous: it has its own leader or primate; it enjoys wide powers of self-government; and it independently decides who is eligible for ordination as deacons, priests, and bishops. The primates and bishops from all of the provinces meet every ten years at the Lambeth Conference (first held in 1867), named after Lambeth Palace on the south bank of the River Thames, the archbishop of Canterbury’s Anglicans found it easier London residence since the to agree when we were less year 1200. There they discuss culturally and geogChurch and societal concerns raphically diverse. But as and try to reach consensus. the British Empire grew They will meet next in 2008. over the centuries, its Other unifying influences in church also grew as English the Communion include the missionaries spread the Anglican Consultative Council gospel to new places. Not (which first met in 1971) and only were the missionaries the Primates’ Meeting (first themselves diverse as convened in 1979). Anglicans, but their new Collectively, the archbishop of Anglican converts in the Canterbury, the Lambeth various English colonies Conference, the Anglican were diverse as well. Before Consultative Council, and the long, the Church of Primates’ Meeting are known England was really the as the “Instruments of Unity,” Church of England in name jçëí=^åÖäáÅ~åë=íçÇ~ó=äáîÉ=áå=^ÑêáÅ~=~åÇ=pçìíÜ=^ãÉêáÅ~K=máÅíìêÉÇ=ÜÉêÉ=~êÉ=^êÅÜÄáëÜçé=çÑ=`~åíÉêÄìêó=íÜÉ=jçëí “mechanisms,” in the words of only, but not in culture, oÉîK=oçï~å=táääá~ãë=~åÇ=jêëK=táääá~ãë=ëìêêçåÇÉÇ=Äó=íÜÉ=Ñ~áíÜÑìä=çÑ=dÜ~å~K= The Windsor Report, by which language, or local tradition. EmÜçíçW=gK=oçëÉåíÜ~äL^åÖäáÅ~å=tçêäÇF the churches of the Instead, the Church of England had Communion can “take common council.” its own sort of colony churches in places such as Africa, China, India, Japan, and South America. he Anglican Communion is in conflict. It has been in conflict before, and it will be in conflict again. Conflict comes about because traditionally we Anglicans agree to disagree. We take the middle road between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. We can be high, broad, or low church. We are conservative, moderate, or liberal. Some Anglicans are charismatic or evangelical. Traditional Anglicans seek God’s will interpreting Scripture first, and then using tradition and reason in equal measure. But in today’s Anglican Communion, many look to Scripture mainly, and interpret it literally. It is no wonder we are at odds with each other locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Following the empire
Spreading the light The missionaries did such a good job of spreading the light of Christ that their converts in turn spread that light, and God’s kingdom with Anglican roots grew, but there were varying ways of thinking theologically and different manifestations of local tradition. As most of the British colonies eventually became independent countries, most of the Church of England missions maintained their affiliation with the Church of England. Thus the Church of England grew into the Anglican Communion, which today has more than 76 million members—making it the third largest Christian group in the world.
qÜÉ=bëëÉåíá~ä=dìáÇÉ=íç=íÜÉ= Bound by “Common ^åÖäáÅ~å=`çããìåáçå The worldwide Anglican Communion, with more Prayer,” and more The Book of Common Prayer holds than 70 million members, is the third largest Anglicans together. Worship with an Anglican denomination in the world. Nigeria has 17.5 congregation anywhere in the world and you indeed find we have liturgy in common. million practicing Anglicans—more than Canada, will Since its introduction in the 16th century, the England, and the United States combined. Prayer Book has been published in several The typical Anglican is no longer a privileged and educated white Anglo living in the industrial West. She is a poor woman of color between 20 and 30 years old, in the two-thirds world of the Southern Hemisphere (such as Africa or South America) and is biblically and socially conservative, evangelical, and charismatic.
provincial editions (by, for example, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia; the Anglican Church of Australia; the Church of England; the Episcopal Church [USA]) and translated into numerous languages (such as Cree, Eskimo, Hawaiian, Japanese, Manx Gaelic, Hungarian, Maori, and Swahili). —continued on page 17
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Why I am an
viewpoints
I t ’s t h e c u l t u r e . I t ’s t h
The culture of Anglicanism
Preserving culture
A former rector of my parish, who became an Episcopalian after he was an adult, told me that it is converts who bring to the Episcopal Church new enthusiasm, energy, creativity, and life. Cradle Episcopalians, the pejorative term he used for people like me who have been Episcopalians all their lives, are complacent and uninquiring. They are largely uninformed on the issues of the Church, view their membership as a social prerogative, and are, frankly, rigid in their approach to change. He never wondered if my “rigidity” was a reaction to the unknowing, but persistent, assault on Anglican culture that his casual transfer from one generic Christian franchise to another had caused.
When I am not in church, I make a living practicing law. I often represent consumers in business transactions. Although I am fastidious about explaining the legal documents involved in the transaction, often, when representing a couple who are of ethnicity not ordinary for South Carolina, I become distracted. “Do you speak Spanish/French/German/Chinese/Japanese to your children at home?” “What do you do to preserve your ethnic culture for your children? Isn’t it wonderful that they can grow up in colloquial South Carolina, be American, and still preserve their sense of belonging to their ethnic heritage and language!” These are questions and sentiments that I trust I could express at a Diocesan Convention and not fear the rebuke of my fellow participants. I would gainsay that they might even embrace these sentiments. Would it not be equally enriching if they were as receptive to the preservation of Anglican culture in the United States?
Ethnic Anglican Americans
Waging war
I feel no shame in disclosing that I have been an Episcopalian since my birth. On the maternal side of my mother’s family, the first immigrant to America, Charleston, South Carolina, specifically, came in 1724. He was an Anglican, and immediately became involved with Charleston’s only Anglican parish at the time, St. Philip’s, and was later a founding member of St. Michael’s. My stock reply to the question, “Are you a cradle Episcopalian?” is, “My family has been Anglican as long as the Queen’s family has.” One Sunday a month, my two brothers and I, our wives, their children, and my mother- and father-in-law, go to my mother’s house for Sunday dinner. Like an Anglican scene translated into a Faulkner novel, the conversation around the dinner table usually becomes immersed in matters of parish, diocesan, and national Church life. We exchange information about matters on which the archbishop of Canterbury has commented, and the conversation swings alternatively from lighthearted to serious. To the extent that there is an ethnic Anglican American population in America, we are part of it.
I love being Anglican. I love Anglican music (we sing better than anybody else), Anglican history, Anglican liturgy, and most of all, Anglican theology. Unfortunately, it is the American jurisdiction of the Anglican Church, the Episcopal Church, which for the last 30 years has been waging a war of cultural genocide against anything remotely ethnically Anglican in nature. I've just returned from the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, where services, prayers, and sermons were delivered in Spanish. Obviously, this is an acknowledgment of the emerging Spanish-speaking population in the United States, which I think, frankly, may be the savior of the greatness of our country. But, if I am going to sit through a 30-minute sermon at national convention which is delivered in Spanish, is there not room in the Episcopal Church for traditional language? After all, the Spanish-language sermons are an indication that liturgy should be delivered in the vernacular. Is it too much of a stretch to assert that Elizabethan English is my liturgical vernacular? —continued on page 18
_ó=oçÄÉêí=`K=`ä~ïëçå
Exploring “the bonds of affection” _ó=íÜÉ=oÉîK=qáãçíÜó=açãÄÉâ cEarly on in my formation as an Episcopalian, I learned an interesting fact about the Church I had just joined from Fr. Mac, the man who was my confessor and mentor in becoming a faithful Christian—first of all—and a faithful Anglican and Episcopalian at that time in my life.
Anglican lessons We normally went to lunch together after Friday noon worship, which gave Fr. Mac the opportunity to continue my tutelage in all matters Anglican. “You do know that as an Anglican,” he said one day, “you belong to a Church in which white persons are a minority. There are far more people of color in the Anglican Communion worldwide than there are whites.”
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Another time he showed me a map depicting the worldwide spread of Anglicanism, extending through Asia, the South Pacific, and the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, and Central America, the continent of South America, and Africa too. “Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a bishop in your Church,” he told me, “and we must support him and the South African Church in any way that we can in their struggle against apartheid.” Those lessons were the beginnings for me of what The Windsor Report has termed “the bonds of affection.”
“Bonds of affection” It is easy for me to write about “bonds of affection” as a reason why the Anglican Communion is important to me, because it is through the sense of community and unconditional love that I was brought into the Episcopal Church. I was captivated by her and “loved into” her, and embraced by her at a time in my life when I felt neither lovable nor embraceable. This captivating, unconditional love and the captivating liturgical worship are the hallmarks of the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. I believe these hallmarks possess the grace and strength to carry us all together through the present crisis into a Church that is both prophetic and conserving, traditional and contemporary, faithful and yet creating something new.
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ANGLICAN s t h e t r a d i t i o n . I t ’s t h e l o v e . Connecting with the Church catholic _ó=íÜÉ=oÉîK=g~ãÉë=hK=tçêâã~å The organizations of the Anglican Communion are relatively young. The Lambeth Conference of Bishops is the oldest, first meeting in 1867. The Anglican Consultative Council (hereafter ACC) was formalized only in 1968 and the Primates’ Meeting in 1978. Compare these dates with the de facto beginning of a “communion” among Anglicans. The Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. made the first break with the mother church (Church of England, of course) when we gained our independence. The name and concept of an Anglican Communion may only go back to about the time of the first Lambeth Conference. Before that, it was just the mother church and the daughters—the colonies, yet.
Anglicanism and communion So, how does the Anglican Communion fit into Anglicanism? Anglicanism may be defined as that mindset and attitude of heart and spirit that emanates from the churches in communion with the Church of England (Angle-land), through the archbishop of Canterbury. Anglicanism has resisted over-regimenting. At every step in the development of the entities named above, overt statements were made that these were not synodical or controlling groups. The Windsor Report (WR) gives useful summaries about each of the Anglican Communion organizations (available online at http://www.anglicancommunion.org/windsor2004/section_c/index.cfm). “The first Lambeth Conference was called amidst considerable controversy and resistance as to its significance” (WR, para. 100). Even though the conference was called partly to consider the Church-shaking teaching by William Colenso, a bishop
Since becoming a priest in 1992, I have been blessed to travel and to visit with Episcopalians and with other Anglicans in the Spanish-speaking countries of Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexico. In all the congregations I have visited, it is none other than the unconditional love and captivating worship that attract people to the Anglican tradition. The people in the pews everywhere, from overseas dioceses to the Anglican Church of Mexico, understand that the gospel is lived through extending the love of Jesus Christ to all others, and they welcome us visitors with open arms as fellow Anglicans and brother and sister Christians.
Love, acceptance, joy The issues that occupy their lives seem so mundane to us: adequate shelter and clothing, daily food that is nutritious, a livable wage that sustains them, and access to needed healthcare. Health insurance is mostly a dream. Most of us take these things for granted. But the love and acceptance and the joy and celebration of living in community often far outshine any we in the U.S. might have experienced. It’s impossible to visit the churches in the Dioceses of Guatemala or Central Ecuador or Mexico and not remember their communicants fondly whenever we offer of the Prayers of the People. When their concerns become our concerns, then we have come closer to understanding the true bonds of affection that Jesus commanded us to extend: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
of the South African Church, the power of the conference was downplayed. “The Archbishop of York was the most prominent among those bishops who refused the summons to the 1867 Conference (for reasons based partly on Church-State issues, relating to questions about the status of the Conference as a ‘General Council’…)” (WR, para. 100, see footnote 58). The ACC was specifically named “consultative” to define its non-synodical nature. Its special gift was the voice of the laity. When the Primates’ Meeting took shape, the archbishop of Canterbury gave its rationale as: “thought, prayer and deep consultation” (WR, para. 104).
The current crisis The current crisis in the Anglican Communion brings questions about the place of the Communion in Anglicanism into sharp focus. As I write this in the weeks following the General Convention, strong voices from what might be called (not very helpfully) the “left” and the “right” have looked on the organizations of the Communion with wary eyes or with what some consider misplaced hope. In the debates in General Convention over the requests of The Windsor Report, advocates of the full affirmation of gays in the life and ministry of the Episcopal Church made clear that no Communion organization had any authority over this church. From the other side, the Anglican Church of Nigeria synod has suggested that the “Global South” primates, meeting in September, should consider contingency plans for an alternate international conference of Anglican bishops if the Episcopal Church is not excluded from the next Lambeth Conference.
The role of the Communion Tensions could hardly be higher in the Anglican Communion. In the middle is the archbishop of Canterbury as the human focus of the Communion’s communion. What might Anglicanism as a way of thinking, praying, believing, and serving say about the role of the Anglican Communion? μÅçåíáåìÉÇ=çå=é~ÖÉ=NU
God has a dream As I write this, I am one of 13 participants from St. James, Greenville, on a shortterm team mission to Quito, Ecuador. On the way to Quito, I was listening to Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s latest book, God Has a Dream, on CD—a fabulous experience because he reads the work himself, and the musical sound of his voice, his manner and style of expression simply cannot be conveyed through print. In his book he has many excellent things to say about God’s love for us, for our enemies, and the world. One of them, especially, stood out for me:
God’s love for us and our love for others is the single greatest motivating force in the world, and this love and the good it creates will always triumph over hatred and evil….We try to claim God’s love for ourselves and our cause, but God’s love is too great to be confined to any one side of a conflict….God has no enemies, only family. μÅçåíáåìÉÇ=çå=é~ÖÉ=NU
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“[To] Canterbury they wende...” μdÉçÑÑêÉó===`Ü~ìÅÉêI= `Ü~ìÅÉêI===qÜÉ= qÜÉ===`~åíÉêÄìêó= `~åíÉêÄìêó===q~äÉë q~äÉë μdÉçÑÑêÉó=
Clockwise from bottom left: Canterbury cloister ceiling; the cathedral beyond the ruins; St. Martin’s Church, Canterbury, said to be the oldest parish church in England that has been in continuous use, known to have been a place of worship since the sixth century; Canterbury Cathedral crossing.
mÜçíçë=~åÇ=oÉÑäÉÅíáçå=Äó=oçÄáå=pãáíÜ For centuries Canterbury Cathedral has been a destination for pilgrims in search of the holy. I have had the privilege of visiting Canterbury three times, once on my honeymoon in 1961, once on vacation in 1998, and once again in 2001 on photographic assignment. For me, Canterbury Cathedral is both sacramental and iconic— sacramental because the structure itself is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. I am awed by the fact that those who started construction of the cathedral did not live to see its completion. I am further awe-struck that the cathedral was built before the time of power tools, computers, and other technological advances, and stands today as a beacon of hope to a spiritually starving world. Aside from the political struggles of the day, the craftsmen and artisans had one goal— excellence in their craft and creating an offering worthy of God’s call. All of their work was done to the glory of God and when one is building to God’s glory there is a different perspective that provides opportunities for the Holy Spirit to inspire stonecutters, window makers, woodcarvers, fabric makers—all working together to build and equip the finest structure of the time. All so that the word of God can be proclaimed and passed down for generations. Centuries later it would serve us well to step back from our computers and instant gratifications and relearn the goal of excellence, quality, and artistic craftsmanship using technology as an aid rather then as the producer of the product. I feel that Canterbury Cathedral is iconic because it is a window into the presence of God. Iconic because in icon writing, every brush stroke has meaning and at Canterbury every stone, every stained glass, every stitch on the fabric, and every piece of carved wood has meaning and depth, all drawing us closer to the presence of God. I feel comforted that the Anglican Communion has a place like Canterbury Cathedral, built by the talents of so many, steeped in prayer, and surrounded by music, as the locus for mission and outreach for the church at large. So, as in The Canterbury Tales, I invite you to make a physical or mental pilgrimage to Canterbury to be renewed in spirit and challenged with the opportunities of excellence that the Church offers for God’s work in the world today. That is, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all of our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Artist and photographer Robin Smith is owner of PhotoVision in Columbia and a member of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields.Contact him by phone at 803.738.2121 or by e-mail to robin@artbyrobin.com.
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Mission Profile
TESTING 123
BODY
Pentecost 2006
P • A• R• T• S
All Saints, Beech Island _ó=háãÄÉêäÉó=eáÖÖáåë Who:
All Saints, Beech Island; mission, Gravatt Convocation, 137 Summerwood Way Aiken, SC 29803. Average weekly attendance, 20. Vicar: The Rev. Charlotte E. Waldrop.
Where: All Saints is nestled in the quiet community of Beech Island just outside of Aiken, South Carolina. Also close to both Augusta and North Augusta, it draws communicants from all three areas. Beech Island is the oldest inland settlement in South Carolina. Founded in 1685 it is only 15 years younger then Charleston. In 1877 the British built a fort on the river to protect the traders. Because the settlement was constructed on the highland along the Savannah River where there was a grove of beech trees, they called the area Beech Highland. The theory is that with the cockney accent they dropped the “h” and it became know as Beech Island, no beach, no island.
When: The church was built in 1836 and was originally owned by a Presbyterian congregation. During the Civil War Woodrow Wilson’s father was a minister at a church in Augusta. It was during this time that Wilson’s first wife, Ellen Axson, was baptized in the church that is now All Saints. Her father was a Presbyterian minister who was then serving there. When the Presbyterian church dissolved, it lay unoccupied for quiet a while. In the late 1940s a group of area people got together to form an Episcopal
congregation, and they bought the church for $5,000. It was in 1950 that All Saints was consecrated as an Episcopal church. How: For a small congregation All Saints does a great job of reaching out to the community and further. “Once a month, on a Friday, we invite the local Day Spring Group [Day Spring is part of the Department of Mental Health] to come to All Saints for a modified Morning Prayer,” explains the vicar, the Rev. Charlotte Waldrop. “The Day Spring participants read the readings and the prayers and everyone sings.” Volunteers from the church prepare a hot meal, and after they eat they play bingo. Another outreach for this historic church is helping out the local food bank with a collection of jelly, soap, and money every Sunday. They have also connected themselves to a project that St. Mary’s, Columbia, started several years ago to help students in Le Caye, Haiti. All Saints raises money for tuition for five children who without the funding would be unable to attend school. There is a permanent resident on the church property that is always in need of some outreach, Rosie the cat. Church members come by and feed her daily, and she is very well fed on Sunday. But the outreach she enjoys the most is that of a hand to give her a little scratch and a pat. For that she will welcome you with a loud purr and a gentle nudge. Adult Sunday school, which Waldrop teaches, is offered during the school year.“We also have a covered dish meal once a month,” says Waldrop, “with great food, and occasionally a speaker.”
Quote: The Rev. Charlotte Waldrop: “When I first started looking for a new church I prayed that God would All Saints’ Feline Faithful, Rosie
send me to a church on the beach. Well, God answered my prayer. Just goes to show, God has a great sense of humor.” Kimberley Higgins is a member of St. Paul’s, Batesburg.
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The Celts and us ÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=S
The Roman eclipse
qçÇ~ó=íÜÉ=éê~óÉêë=~åÇ=íê~Çáíáçåë çÑ= `ÉäíáÅ= `Üêáëíá~åáíó= ~êÉ ÉñéÉêáÉåÅáåÖ= ~= êÉå~áëë~åÅÉI= ~åÇ ïÉää= íÜÉó= ëÜçìäÇK= mÉêÜ~éë= ãçëí áãéçêí~åí= áë= íÜÉáê= êÉJÉãÉêÖÉåÅÉ ~í= íÜÉ= ÜÉ~êí= çÑ= ONëíJÅÉåíìêó ^åÖäáÅ~åáëãK=K=K=K
By the mid-seventh century there was considerable tension between Celtic beliefs and those of the Roman church. Minor differences over such issues as the method of tonsure used by the monks and the manner of calculating the date for the celebration of Easter had become insurmountable. Celtic Christianity had moved far away from its counterpart in Rome. Whereas the Celtic church was monastic, without central organization, and focused on the goodness of
humankind, the Roman church was hierarchical, institutionalized, with ever-increasing papal authority, heavily influenced by the Augustinian doctrine of original sin emphasizing humankind’s depravity and fall from grace. At the Synod of Whitby in 664, the collision finally occurred. King Oswy, a Celtic Christian, was faced with a momentous decision: Would his kingdom practice
As the place where the worlds came together, Iona became key to the Celts’ wonderful sense of companionship with Jesus. For them he was a great reminder of what it is to be fully human: fully here in human life, fully here to the world around us, and fully present to the unseen worlds, but also able to go back and forth through the doorway where the seen and unseen worlds meet.
Accidentally AnglicanμÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=Q Too Catholic, insufficiently Protestant There were people who felt that the Church of ^åÖäáÅ~åáëã=ï~ë=~å=~ÅÅáÇÉåíK= England was still much too Catholic, or, perhaps, not fí=ï~ë=åçí=áåíÉåíáçå~äK Henry asked to have the marriage to Catherine annulled, declared invalid, but the pope, who had already granted one dispensation to allow that marriage, was not about to grant another. Still, the pope did approve the nomination by Henry of Thomas Cranmer as archbishop of Canterbury. Henry knew that Cranmer would grant his annulment. It may be interesting to note that all the churches of the Reformation allowed for divorce and remarriage except the Church of England. Only since the middle of the 19th century has there been civil divorce in England. Talk about being more Catholic than the pope!
From Edward to Elizabeth Henry was followed by Edward VI, his only living legitimate son, who died while he was still a teenager. He had been raised a Protestant, and the revision of The Book of Common Prayer during his reign was very much influenced by continental Protestantism. Then Mary I, Catherine of Aragon’s daughter, who never forgot her mother’s betrayal, took England back to Rome. She burned so many hundreds of Protestants as heretics that she will always be called “Bloody Mary.” Elizabeth I, who ascended the throne in 1558, was the child of Henry and Anne Boleyn. She was raised in the Reformed tradition. The action of the pope in excommunicating her and absolving her people from their allegiance to her resulted in a long standing antiCatholic tradition in England, and for that matter in the first century of our own country’s history.
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yet sufficiently Protestant. The church had abandoned the pope but not much else from its tradition. The Book of Common Prayer even retained the title “priest.” The Puritans, frustrated by the slow progress of the Reformation in England, and their successors in the Evangelical Party have preferred “minister.” There were also a good many people who retained their loyalty to Rome. The Jesuits trained priests to serve those families, and they slipped into England and ministered there at very great personal risk. Elizabeth thought, as many rulers have, that a nation should have a single religion.
A “middle way” What we usually call the “Elizabethan Settlement” was something Elizabeth never planned. It refers to her desire to seek a “middle way,” one which might make the Church of England as inclusive as possible. Neither the extreme of the right, those obedient to Rome, nor those of the extreme of the left, the Puritans, could join in that enterprise. Some Puritans went to the continent, some came to New England, some remained as a low-church or Protestant party in the Church of England. Roman Catholic families lived under severe restrictions until the early 19th century.
And so it goes In recent weeks, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has written about Anglicanism as a unique experiment in which the insights of Reformation and Catholic traditions are held together in a single church body. That has never been an easy marriage. For instance, ordained women are as apt to be Catholic as Protestant. The Evangelical wing of the Church, at the same time, seems to have produced some sort of
Celtic or Roman Christianity? He chose the Roman tradition. From that point forward Celtic Christianity experienced a slow decline. By the 12th century it had become little more than the stuff of oral tradition.
A message for the 21st century Today the prayers and traditions of Celtic Christianity are experiencing a renaissance, and well they should. Perhaps most important is their re-emergence at the heart of 21st-century Anglicanism, one which increasingly appreciates diversity of expression, the rich use of biblical metaphor, a deepening reverence for creation and the natural world, the continuing empowerment of women, and a broader understanding of Jesus as the role model for Christianity. Had the Synod of Whitby possessed the wisdom to accommodate these traits, the world might have evolved with a different sense of priorities—a world that embraces love and charity more readily than conflict and domination. i~êêó=kÉïíçå=áë=~=ãÉãÄÉê=çÑ=píK=páãçå=C=píK=gìÇÉI=fêãçK biblical fundamentalism, especially as regards the ordination of gay and lesbian persons. The great schism in Anglicanism at the end of the 18th century was not about the tension between Catholic and Reformed traditions. It was about the loss of the Methodists, led by John and Charles Wesley. One Roman Catholic writer has commented that John Wesley was the most Catholic of all the great Reformers. That schism was the result of a failure of nerve and imagination and vision among the bishops of the Church of England. They could not find a place for enthusiasm in the established Church. But not only has our failure of nerve cost us the Methodists; it has also cost us working people, farmers, laborers and factory workers. There were times in the 16th and 17th centuries when it seemed possible that Rome might have imagination enough and vision enough to incorporate the insights of the Protestant reformers into its life. It did not. Archbishop Williams has said that Anglicanism is a unique attempt to be truly Catholic and truly Reformed. It will not happen by accident, nor will it happen by manipulation, but only with vision, imagination, faith, and love. qÜÉ=oÉîK=qÜçã~ë=`K=a~îáëI=êÉíáêÉÇ=éêáÉëí=çÑ=íÜÉ=ÇáçÅÉëÉI ëÉêîÉÇ=Ñçê=ã~åó=óÉ~êë=~ë=êÉÅíçê=çÑ=eçäó=qêáåáíóI=`äÉãëçåK
^åÖäáÅ~åáëãμ~=ìåáèìÉ ÉñéÉêáãÉåí=áå=ïÜáÅÜ=íÜÉ=áåëáÖÜíë çÑ=oÉÑçêã~íáçå=~åÇ=`~íÜçäáÅ íê~Çáíáçåë=~êÉ=ÜÉäÇ=íçÖÉíÜÉê=áå=~ ëáåÖäÉ=ÅÜìêÅÜ=ÄçÇóK=qÜ~í=Ü~ë åÉîÉê=ÄÉÉå=~å=É~ëó=ã~êêá~ÖÉK
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Theology and practice ÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=R
THE PRAYERS: Opening prayer for the Consecration of a Church, BCP, page 568: Ever-living Father, watchful and caring, our source and our end: All that we are and all that we have are yours. Accept us now, as we dedicate this place to which we come to praise your name, to ask for forgiveness , to know your healing power, to hear your Word, and to be nourished by the body and blood of your Son . . . Proper 8, BCP, page 230: Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple . . .
THE DOCTRINE (teaching) OF THE CHURCH Theologically there are many biblical metaphors for what the Church is—building, body, vine, historic ecclesia (people of God). The Church is a focus for grace. In that respect it is a location, a sacred space. But more importantly, it is the Body of Christ, often gathered in one place to receive grace upon grace. The prayers above rehearse why we gather and what graces are available to us in a faith community. From amid those who are baptized into the Church, God raises up various leaders with various gifts. Traditionally, those who would be forgiven, those who would hear the gospel, those who would be nourished by the body and blood of Christ, receive these graces through those whom the Church designates as bishops, priests, deacons, and lay ministers. Currently, the Church holds to these forms of ministry, in the midst of new theological challenges connected with congregational growth, social diversity, hospitality, and the full meaning of the sacrament of baptism. We believe that the Holy Spirit is at work helping us to resolve authority issues. Until those issues
“[T]he challenge of hospitality beckons us to open wide the doors of the Church to those who would hear the gospel. . . (photo: Peter Tarpley, Trinity Cathedral, Columbia). are resolved, the Church maintains that bishops and priests are the primary sacramental ministers. Currently, a serious theological challenge exists in that the culture is caught between Modern and Postmodern thinking. Postmodern thinking generally challenges structures and absolutes, raising questions about the validity and veracity of any biblical narrative that gives meaning and purpose to history. This means that we are currently challenged to review the truth of biblical narrative, the Christ-story, and the sacramental authority woven in the fabric of Christian Church history.
our time dreaming about a triumphant glory that shall be ours by and by. We are called to trust the “good news” of Jesus Christ, witnessed by apostles and prophets, and to get on with the work of healing relationships and sacrificial caring for the earth and its inhabitants. In this we are sustained by the grace and gifts of baptism and confirmation, while being spiritually fed in the Holy Eucharist. These sacraments are essentials, having to do with sacramental nurture in community. While the challenge of hospitality beckons us to open
THE PRACTICE The gospel invites us into a relationship with God, our neighbor, and Creation. We are not called to spend
HEREOS OF ANGLICANISM (1489–1586) was appointed archbishop of Canterbury by Henry VIII and served as well under Henry’s successor, Edward VI. He is credited with much of the composition and with the compilation of The Book of Common Prayer (first published in 1549), which established the basic structure of Anglican liturgy that continues to this day.
THOMAS CRAMMER
μÅçåíáåìÉÇ=çå=é~ÖÉ=NS=
(1554?–1600) was an Oxford-educated theologian and clergyman of the Church of England who wrote, in eight volumes, Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, a work that laid the groundwork for the tradition of Anglicanism. He has been described as a “co-founder,” with Thomas Cranmer (see page 3) of the “Anglican religious tradition” and “the closest counterpart in the AnglicanEpiscopal denomination to Martin Luther for Lutherans or John Calvin for Presbyterians or John Wesley for Methodists.”
RICHARD HOOKER
It was, in large part, thanks to Cranmer that the Church of England came into being. His 1552 revision of the Prayer Book, under Edward VI, reflected in its details the influence of the Protestant Reformation.
In his masterwork, which sets forth the principle of via media, or middle way, he explains how such an approach to the search for religious truth differs from that of the reformers, on the one hand, and the supporters of the pope, on the other.
Under Edward’s successor, the Roman Catholic Queen Mary I, Cranmer was tried for treason, convicted of heresy, and burned at the stake. (See the related articles on page 3.)
The image of Anglicanism as a three-legged stool—with legs of Scripture, tradition, and reason—has been derived from the work of Richard Hooker.
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From the Bishop’s Desk ÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=O
Our faithful best Thus it seems clear that Anglicanism at its faithful best is: Evangelical—having been evangelized, each of us is commissioned to “go . . . make disciples”; Catholic—faithful to Christ, the faith once delivered to the Apostles, the early Church Fathers, and the experience of the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit since the original Pentecost—and avoiding denominationalism and its tendency toward particular, rather than universal, emphases;
Theology and Prayer ÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=NR
THE PRAYER From the Collect for the Nativity of Our Lord, BCP, page 212: O God, you make us glad with the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ . . .
THE DOCTRINE (teaching) ABOUT THE INCARNATION Theologically all of time is affected by the Incarnation. Every year is a year of the redemptive activity of God in history. We call each year “a year of our Lord” (Anno domini). The value to God of Creation and human life is affirmed by the Incarnation —this single act of God setting in motion the power of redemption in Christ Jesus. We believe that time is affected by loving grace, and, as other theologians have said, “Matter matters.”
Reformed—correcting the corruptions which occurred in the Church during the Middle Ages; Charismatic—enlivened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; and Liberal—by the grace of God, a servant-minded people with God’s mercy at our heart and motivating our life together as the Body of Christ—with Christ as the head of the Body—and the Great Commandment and Great Commission essential to our common life. (I cannot view this list of inherent characteristics without thinking of the spiritual vision statement of Upper South Carolina: that we strive to be a people who “love with the heart of Christ, think with the mind of
THE PRACTICE Regular worship is thankful response for the Incarnation. We worship not by requirement (commandment), but in the joy of praise and gratitude. Keeping the Sabbath holy is not the same as rejoicing on the “first day of the week”—Resurrection Sunday. We worship to sing and praise God for Creation and God’s redemptive part in it. Engaging in the care for human relationships and the care of the earth are serious moral actions (praxis) by which you and I respond to the gift of Creation and the incredible gift of love inherent in the Incarnation.
THE PRAYER For Holy Scripture, Proper 18, BCP, page 236: Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us to hear them . . . that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ.
THE DOCTRINE (teaching)OF SCRIPTURE
“[W]e are sustained by the grace and gifts of baptism and confirmation, while being spiritually fed in the Holy Eucharist” (photo: Donovan Marks for National Cathedral).
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Theologically, consistent with Anglicanism, this prayer for Holy Scripture asks that we may study Holy Scripture to glean the richness of the blessed hope of everlasting life. This prayer affirms a Reformation principle that Scripture “containeth all things necessary to salvation” (Articles of Religion VI, BCP, page 868). Convictions having to do with the hope that is in us, and the concern for everlasting life, have absolutely nothing to do with taking Scripture literally. The word of God is conveyed to
Christ, and act in the world as the Body of Christ”.) There—that should get the juices flowing. God bless you—indeed, all of us—as we seek to be true to Christ, the Living Word and our ultimate authority, and to Christ’s call to unity, mission, and faithfulness.
Faithfully yours in our Lord,
Upper South Carolina VII
us through the words of human beings. This is something we should gladly embrace! As with the doctrine of the Incarnation, the teaching about sacraments, and other doctrines of the Church, God uses human, frail, limited, and earthly means to convey God’s saving purpose. There are contradictions, inaccuracies, misinterpretations, opinions, and biases in Scripture and in holy practices. But there is also truth. Whenever Scripture is read it is to be read as event, offering, it is hoped, to those who hear, not inerrancy, but an authentic witness to God’s saving activity in history and in Jesus Christ.
THE PRACTICE The Church community preceded its scriptures. This means that t Scripture has authority, but that authority rests in the responsibility to affirm the good news of salvation in political communities that are everchanging by forces that can only be described as political, cultural, social, economic, technological, and military. As an example, Scripture speaks truth when it says, “In the beginning . . . God created . . .” (Gen. 1:1). Scripture does not speak scientific truth, which is left to discoveries by the scientific community. God has given us the gift of the mind. That gift allows such avenues of truth as physics, geology, and the evolution of natural life. We must be forever alert to the ways the gospel can be received and believed in a changing world. For this Anglican theology is informed by the healthy interplay among Scripture, historic tradition, and reason.
A closing note: Anglican theology and Anglican practice represent together a marvelous way to present the mystery and beauty of the Christian faith in a balanced, full, richly symbolic, historically informed, socially involved, and culturally challenging way. We do not wait for the legalist’s manual or the reformer’s final word. We wait only for a time to pray meditatively, to gather together weekly to participate in the great liturgies of the faith, and then, in humble conversation and camaraderie, to share what truth we have heard between the lines of Scripture and prayer. qÜÉ=oÉK=aêK=mÜáäáé=eK=tÜáíÉÜÉ~ÇI=~=ãÉãÄÉê=çÑ=íÜÉ Ñ~Åìäíó=çÑ=íÜÉ=ÇáçÅÉë~å=pÅÜççä=Ñçê=jáåáëíêóI==áë=~=êÉíáêÉÇ éêáÉëí=çÑ=íÜÉ=ÇáçÅÉëÉ=ïÜç=ëÉêîÉÇ=ãçëí=êÉÅÉåíäó=~ë=êÉÅíçê=çÑ píK=jáÅÜ~Éä=C=^ää=^åÖÉäëI=`çäìãÄá~K
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Crosswalk Benedictine influences ÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=T “Prayer shapes belief ” Benedict understood that “prayer shapes belief,” and The Book of Common Prayer, through the gifts of 16th-century Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, who produced the first BCP, synthesized the monastic rounds of prayer into a secular rhythm (that is, for non-monastics) of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. These offices (from the Latin for “duties”) bookend each day with the remembrance of God and reinforce our baptismal identity, even as we toil in the world. Again, doing the Daily Offices usually does not fall under the category of “fun.” Yet, neither does going to the gym regularly or seriously practicing the piano.
The Anglican Communion ÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=V Demographics at a Glance Millions of Anglicans in thousands of parishes in hundreds of dioceses in nearly 40 independent Anglican churches comprise the Anglican Communion. Nine such national churches have more than a million members: Church of England
25,000,000
Church of the Province of Nigeria
15,000,000
Anglican Church of Australia
3,998,444
Church of the Province of Kenya
2,500,000
Episcopal Church in the USA
2,500,000
Church of the Province of Southern Africa 2,400,000 Episcopal Church of the Sudan
2,000,000
Anglican Church of Tanzania
1,379,366
Church of the Province of Rwanda
1,275,000
Acknowledging the archbishop of Canterbury as a spiritual leader draws Anglicans together. But Canterbury does not have the authority to make unilateral decisions as does, say, the pope. He is the honorary authority figure and spiritual leader. Thus, when Anglicans disagree, Canterbury cannot simply make a decision and end the matter. Anglicans hold common beliefs. We are Christians who learned about God’s kingdom through the Church of England. Episcopalians subscribe to the four points of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of
qÜÉ=^åÖäáÅ~å=`çããìåáçå=áë=åçí ~å=çÑÑáÅá~ä=äÉÖ~ä=Éåíáíó=ïáíÜ=~ Ñçêã~ä=ÖçîÉêåáåÖ=ëíêìÅíìêÉ=xÄìíz ~å=~ÑÑáäá~íáçå=çÑ=PU=å~íáçå~ä=çê ãìäíáå~íáçå~ä=ÅÜìêÅÜÉë=çê éêçîáåÅÉë=íÜêçìÖÜçìí=íÜÉ=ïçêäÇK
However, the fruit of this prayerful and corporate rhythm, this “work” (liturgy means “the work of the people”), results in developing a strong spirit and in possessing a reliable spirituality. Again, the spirituality developed in Benedict’s Rule echoes within the life of the Prayer Book, as well.
Remembering God, reminding ourselves
Spirituality (that is, how we are connected to God) and the life of faith can be rather simple. We can reduce them to two steps, in fact. The first is remembering God. The second is doing regularly those things that remind us of God. The genius of Archbishop Cranmer was to take these monastic 1886 and 1888: Scripture as the revealed word of God; the Nicene Creed as a sufficient statement of faith; the essential two sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist; and the historic episcopate (bishops in the line of apostolic succession). While we hold basic common beliefs, we often differ on issues, such as how to interpret Scripture and how to discern God’s will in the world. Although we may have common Anglican roots, most Anglicans today live in Africa or South America, interpret Scripture more literally than is usual in the Episcopal Church, and are more conservative, charismatic, and evangelical. Is it any surprise, then, that we don’t always agree?
Coming together (?)
Pentecost 2006
principles and practices and translate them for those of us in secular society, so that we, too, could keep our identities as followers of Christ. Many of us remember the painful turmoil that the Church endured during the time of the most recent Prayer Book revision. One thing most of us ignored then—and still do now—is to recognize the spirituality reflected in the Prayer Book. The Book of Common Prayer presumes a certain awareness of God, a certain desire for God; and its structure indicates a “rule” of life for those us who “seek God and a deeper knowledge of him.”
The Rev. Michael Anderson Bullock is rector of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, Columbia. been essentially autonomous. In 1066 William the Conqueror imposed papal authority when he conquered England.
The value of autonomy Early in the 16th century, the Reformation began to affect most of Europe. Eventually it had an impact on England as well. People often associate England’s King Henry VIII and his desire for an annulment of his marriage with the founding of the Church of England. Ironically, Henry VIII so ardently defended the rest of Christendom against the reformers that the pope gave him the title “Defender of the Faith”—a title still used today by Queen Elizabeth II. The circumstances of Henry VIII’s quest for an annulment may have been the occasion for the Church of England’s break with Rome, but it was not the cause. The real issue was the bishop of Rome’s—the pope’s—claims to universal authority over the whole church. The Anglican Church has always valued its autonomy.
One might argue that the Anglican Communion began in the sixth century, when St. Augustine (who died between 604 and 609) evangelized and ministered as the first archbishop of Canterbury), or that the Communion is as old as the Roman occupation of Duncan C. Ely is a member of St. Philip’s, Greenville. Britain. British bishops participated in the Council of Arles, summoned by the Emperor Constantine in 314. The Roman Britons •Historically Canterbury only •The first woman priest in the gave us Celtic Christianity, recognizes one Anglican church Anglican Communion was particularly from Scotland, Ireland, and per country. Florence Li Tim-Oi, ordained in Wales. (See the related 1944 by Rt. Rev. Ronald Hall, article on page 6.) At the •Until 1855 no colonial bishop bishop of Hong Kong. Protest was Synod of Whitby in 664, was consecrated outside of the so great she was not able to the Roman and Celtic British Isles. exercise of ministry until near the churches combined to end of her life. form a single church—the •Until 1874 no bishop could be Church of England—with consecrated in England without •The first female Anglican bishop archbishops of Canterbury swearing the oath of obedience to was Penny Jamieson, consecrated and York. Over the next in 1989 as the seventh bishop of the archbishop of Canterbury. 400 years, the Church of Dunedin in the Anglican Church England continued in •No church has ever been of New Zealand. Later that year, communion with the suspended or expelled from the the Episcopal Church consecrated church in Rome, but not Barbara Harris, an African Anglican Communion. under its authority. Thus American woman, as its first for half of its existence, the bishop. Church of England has
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Pentecost 2006
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Culture of Anglicanism ÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=NM I mention this, not to advocate the return of the 1928 Prayer Book, but to illustrate the willingness of the Episcopal Church to eradicate Anglican ethos. Consider the rubric on page 13 of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer that coerced the abandonment of Morning Prayer as the primary service on Sunday. I am an Anglo-Catholic, and my parish was the first in this diocese to have the reserved sacrament in its chapel. But depriving my brother and sister Episcopalians of their offices of Morning and Evening Prayer at a prominent Sunday Service, when they feel particularly called to those offices, is an action of unjustifiable offense.
Inclusive or not? The Episcopal Church constantly represents itself as a Christian organization that is inclusive and accepts all manner of people. But in the last 30 years, it has so often been at war with so many people. At this moment of my life, as we live through the tempestuous events of our Church, I continually tell myself that I am not an Episcopalian. I am an Anglican who happens to live within the Episcopal Church jurisdiction of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion is not merely another generic Christian franchise. Anglicans are the third
The Church catholic ÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=NN Pointers can be found in several places. The documents of Lambeth Conference in 1978 “called upon the Archbishop of Canterbury to work with all the primates of the Anglican Communion ‘to initiate consideration of the way to relate together the international conferences, councils and meetings within the Anglican Communion so that the Anglican Communion may best serve God within the context of one, holy, catholic and apostolic church’” (WR, para. 104). The preamble of the Episcopal Church’s constitution identifies us as “a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, a Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, of those duly constituted Dioceses, Provinces, and regional Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury.” Anglicanism, if it claims anything, claims to be in the line of the Church catholic. The Anglican
Bonds of affection ÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=NM
Life-changing relationship “God has no enemies, only family.” Such a thought can bring about transfiguration—a moment when God transforms us and our lives for the service of others in God’s name. For me our sense of community in the Anglican Communion is about transfiguration. It is encountering Christ in the Other as a theophanic moment—a true life-changing experience of Jesus in our midst, in our mission action, as the recipient of our action, as the reason for our action, giving us the
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^í=íÜáë=ãçãÉåí=çÑ=ãó=äáÑÉI=~ë=ïÉ äáîÉ=íÜêçìÖÜ=íÜÉ=íÉãéÉëíìçìë ÉîÉåíë=çÑ=çìê=`ÜìêÅÜI=f Åçåíáåì~ääó=íÉää=ãóëÉäÑ=íÜ~í=f=~ã åçí=~å=béáëÅçé~äá~åK= largest Christian denomination in the world, global in organization, and occupy a prized position within the ecumenical Christian community as being at once “Catholic and Reformed.” In no other Christian body today, nor in the history of Christianity, is there the breadth of worship that embraces simultaneously sacramental worship, which is so important to human spiritual health, and reformed evangelical zeal, which preaches and lives the Bible as God’s Holy Word, and together embraces the Creeds as our profession of our unaltering faith. It is the perfect marriage of Word and Sacrament; the life-giving food of Book and Bread.
“That we all may be one” The Episcopal Church now seems determined to, in the words of The Windsor Report, “walk apart” from the Anglican Communion. I wish those among us who believe the Holy Spirit is leading the Episcopal Church to a new place would consider: “How does the Episcopal Church show the love of Christ by causing Communion is simply the form and embodiment of that claim. The Communion is our home in catholic Christianity.
The Church catholic I am a convert to Anglicanism. What I didn’t have by lifelong church education (an uneven resource), I sought through study driven by the zeal of a convert. One difference from the tradition of my birth is that we held the clause about “the catholic Church” in the Apostles’ Creed as a spiritual ideal. Anglicanism can claim an actual, historical link to the Church catholic. My conversion happened in Cambridge, England. I was the founding pastor of a church that had grown very well for its first seven years. One day in England I walked to the village of Grantchester and found the village church, complete with thatched roof and iron door-pull. On the back wall was a plaque with the names of all their vicars, extending back to the 1300s. I did the math. The faithful of that congregation had power, grace, and ability to carry out our action, and receiving his love unconditionally through the
±dçÇ∞ë=äçîÉ=áë=íçç=ÖêÉ~í=íç=ÄÉ ÅçåÑáåÉÇ=íç=~åó=çåÉ=ëáÇÉ=çÑ=~ ÅçåÑäáÅíK=K=K=K=dçÇ=Ü~ë=åç=ÉåÉãáÉëI çåäó=Ñ~ãáäóK≤ μ^êÅÜÄáëÜçé=aÉëãçåÇ=qìíì
thousands and thousands of Episcopalians to be ejected from the Anglican Communion against their will?” The gay community is not the only group that has been treated badly by the Episcopal Church. I do know, however, that when we pray Form III of the Prayers of the People on page 387 of The Book of Common Prayer, the intercession begins, “Father, we pray for your Holy Catholic Church.” And the echoing response is, “That we all may be one.” I could fill these pages easily with the positions embraced by the Episcopal Church or individual Episcopalians with whom I disagree. But I stay, not because I acquiesce to them, but because of a serious commitment to be a part of the whole. If making sacrifice to preserve the international Anglican Communion is not worth the effort, then that sacrifice is not worth the effort at the national level, the diocesan level, or the parish level. A split that occurs at the top of the Anglican structure will go right down into the pew we sit in on Sunday. The pews of our churches will not be filled as a result of forced changes any more than they have been filled by the coerced elimination of Morning and Evening Prayer on Sunday. We will not prosper as a quirky little independent niche denomination that worships in the “Anglican Style.” Robert Clawson, who served as an alternate deputy to General Convention, is a member of Good Shepherd, Columbia.
tÜ~í=ãáÖÜí=^åÖäáÅ~åáëã=~ë=~ ï~ó=çÑ=íÜáåâáåÖI=éê~óáåÖI ÄÉäáÉîáåÖI=~åÇ=ëÉêîáåÖ=ë~ó=~Äçìí íÜÉ=êçäÉ=çÑ=íÜÉ=^åÖäáÅ~å `çããìåáçå\=mçáåíÉêë=Å~å=ÄÉ ÑçìåÇ=áå=ëÉîÉê~ä=éä~ÅÉëK been saying their prayers together in a discernibly similar form for 700 years—100 times longer than the church I served. I had to sit down. The actual link to the Church catholic hit me and became part of my conversion. An actual connection to the Church catholic through the Anglican Communion (embodied in its organizations) is an essential part of Anglicanism and has become essential to me. The Rev. James K. Workman is rector of St. Michael’s, Easley. reciprocal relationship established, be it with another Christian, another Anglican, or another human being. As Fr. Mac taught me so long ago, being a member of the Anglican Communion opens my “eyes to see [God’s] hand at work in the world around us.” The Anglican Communion represents the “rainbow people of God”— one of Archbishop Tutu’s favorite images— a global connection to the Body of Christ, to neighbor and brother and sister in God’s family, the human family, made in the image of God, all of us persons of beautiful, vibrant color. The Rev. Timothy Dombek is rector of St. James, Greenville.
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Around the Diocese 2006 StaffersμÅçåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=é~ÖÉ=O Robbins is described by his peers as “a total asset” and “good Christian example” who “always has a way to put a smile on a camper’s face.” He is “caring, creative, responsible, and kind,” and “his campers adore him.” Woodrum is described as “extremely positive, very giving, and always willing to listen.” “An awesome leader among the staff,” she “puts campers first” and they “love her. She is exactly what a counselor is supposed to be!”
Diocesan youth help with Katrina recovery _ó=íÜÉ=oÉîK=`~åçå=pìÉ=îçå=o~ìíÉåâê~åò Smelly, sweaty, hot, tired, sore. These words describe what I felt while working, but that’s not what I will remember most. I will remember the friendship, love, and determination. —Sam Baker, Grace Church, Anderson It was an amazing experience and there will be more like it in the future! This summer for the first time Diocesan Youth Ministry offered a mission trip for high-school youth. Our group included young people and adult sponsors from eight different congregations. We spent a week working on the Gulf Coasts of Alabama and Mississippi with residents whose lives were forever changed by Hurricane Katrina. Our work was organized through Volunteers of America (VOA) and the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.
I didn’t think the people I was helping would actually end up helping me too. —Phylicia Burley, St. Matthias, Rock Hill later. Volunteers of America is beginning a new phase of seeking work crews now that summer vacation is over. If you have a group of folks who would like to continue the work during the school year, contact Sue and she will put you in touch with the folks we worked with (803.771.7800; suevon@edusc.org). During the summer of 2007, senior high youth from the diocese will have another opportunity to be involved in Katrina relief on the Gulf Coast. The Provincial Youth Event (PYE) will take place July 17–22 and bring together youth from all the dioceses of Province IV. Talk with Sue and watch for information in the Youthspace newsletter about getting youth from your congregation involved.
Joy on an older woman’s face; As finally we have finished the race True love, true friendship observed As we all have served Thanksgiving for our blessings For our opportunities for serving —Zach Braddock, St. Michael & All Angels, Columbia
Trinity Cathedral youth mission trip changes lives _ó=`Üêáë=tÉëíçå “Verily I say unto you, In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25: 40)
Our diocesan group was small, but we joined with a much larger group from the Diocese of Georgia and together we were a mighty force, each day heading to eight different work sites along the coast. We did demolition, yard work, replaced floors, installed carpet, hung drywall, taped and mudded, and sanded and painted. Most skills were learned on the job. The folks from VOA commented that we were a group who was “noticed and admired for our flexibility, willingness, and sacrifice to do anything we asked of you.” I will never forget the people we met or the stories of survival, nor how devastated the area still is, one year
Having an open mind and an open heart is the key to being a true Christian. —Chelsea Robinson, St. Bartholomew’s, North Augusta
It was early on Saturday morning, July 22, and 32 Trinity youth and friends along with a number of committed adults departed on a transformative experience, an eightday mission trip to the rural islands of the South Carolina Lowcountry. After nine hours of salt water fun on Edisto Island, an overnight stay in the gym at Edisto Presbyterian Church, and morning worship at Trinity Episcopal, Edisto, the crew joined another 70 plus young people who, like ours, were committing their week to serve. Their home away from home for the next week: the Family Life Center of St. Joseph Church, Charleston; their leader: Mr. Hank Chardos of Home Works of South Carolina; their goal: to bring hope to
impoverished residents of Johns Island and Wadmalaw Island; their accomplishment: a new and personal experience of Christ in the world. The daily wake-up calls for the gym packed with air mattresses, sleeping bags, and gear were 6:00 a.m., not exactly a young person’s typical summer time of rising. There was Morning Prayer at 6:30, interactive worship focusing on the rewards, the challenges, the joy, and the pain of serving as God’s hands. We greeted one another in peace, received the blessing of water, and prayed together for our ministry. After a quick breakfast and tool gathering, we were off to our 11 different work sites—our first order of business always being to invite our homeowners into prayer and then labor with us. Some eight or nine hours later we would find ourselves back at the Family Life Center, soaked to the skin in perspiration, black with dirt, and already preparing mentally and physically for the next day’s task. Evening worship took several forms: simple prayer led by groups, labyrinth walking, Bible study, and corporate worship culminating in the ultimate symbol of Jesus’ service, the washing of the feet. Bedtime was early, a necessary adaptation to energize ourselves for the next morning which seemed only hours away. Our final time of full gathering was a special Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday at which we hosted our homeowners and spoke individually of each child and his or her contribution to the work completed. Our new friends, young and old alike, were moved to tears of joy and gratitude, and they shared with us their faith and their belief in God’s graciousness. Imagine that— people with so little teaching those of us with so much about God’s abundant love! “What exactly is Home Works?” you might ask. Home Works is a nondenominational Christian organization open to all teens and adults interested in expressing God’s love through service to others, on the Web at homeworks-sc.org.
MONEY
TALK
Heads up! Upper SC Financial Report Parochial Report deadline: March 1, 2006 Audit deadline: September 1, 2006. Please remember that the insurance portion of the audit packet mailed to churches in February must be completed by all churches. Current IRS mileage rate: 44.5 cents per mile Social Security Administration cost of living allowance for 2006: 4.1%
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