What is Anglicanism: The Liturgy article 6 of 12

During the upheaval of the Reformation, Anglicanism was shaped heavily under the reign of Elizabeth I.  Known as the Elizabethan Settlement, the queen’s parliament passed acts controlling the role of government in church matters and the uniformity of worship for the church.  The former subsequently failed under various successive monarchs while the latter still exists in theory today with the use of the Book of Common Prayer.  What the queen was striving for at the time was outward visible unity of worship without delving into conformity of belief.  This was in a context in which the church and state in England was greatly divided between Roman Catholic and Reform Protestant thought.  It’s important to understand that at that point in history, the idea that there could be more than one church was inconceivable.  This resulted in strenuous efforts to hold competing ideologies together under one roof.

The Book of Common Prayer establishes that unity-of-worship within the church so that wherever one goes to worship, he or she can participate in the liturgy.  Liturgy is taken from a Greek compound word (ergos+laos) which means “The Work of the People.” 

Before I write about what liturgy is, it’s important to understand what it ought not to be.  Liturgy can easily become rote.  We can fall into the rut of going through the motions without it having any meaning.  We can worship the liturgy itself instead of the God that it is directed toward.  We see this happen when change is made to the liturgy and people become up-in-arms.  It must be made clear that the liturgy is there to provide us with a way to worship God corporately (together), as opposed to individually.  It is the means to God and not the end itself.

When liturgy works well it impacts the spiritual growth of a person and it connects people to God.  The shape of the service did not just happen by accident.  Consider the Sunday liturgy: The entry into worship with processions (coming into God’s presence), the reading of Scripture (God speaking to us) our responses in prayers and declarations of faith and trust in God, God’s absolution and affirmation of his love for us all, finally culminating in the re-presentation of God’s sacrifice reminding us of God’s love on the Cross and our participation.  At the end we are sent out to spread that Love into the world. 

All of these actions are microcosms of the Incarnation, bringing to Life the story of our faith in the current moment.  So that when we say, “Therefore with Angel and Archangels and all the company of heaven we sing this hymn…” we are actually mindful that we are standing at the foot of God’s throne and joining the whole Communion of Saints in realms above and here on earth to sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy…”  When we engage our heart, mind, body, and spirit we are in the presence of God.

The liturgy expresses the place where God’s people are and attempts to move them closer to God.  It is the reason why regular attendance in corporate worship is critical to the development and growth of the Christian person. It is also the reason why it is necessary at times for liturgy to change or adapt.  People change, the liturgy must adapt to theirs changes while at the same time stay connected to God, who does not change.

Finally, liturgy is the foundation for our way of life together.  Liturgy is shaped by our beliefs and at the same time it shapes our beliefs.  It is what we do together to worship God.

What is Anglicanism: Church and Sacraments article 5 of 12

For a thousand years (from the 4th century to the 1500s) the Church was closely tied to European political powers. On the continent, 16th Century Protestants attempted to reform the church which they deemed corrupted by worldliness and papal abuses. Ultimately these reforms lead to doctrinal differences and were followed by splits in the Western church. At that time in England, King Henry VIII, a proponent of hierarchy, defended the papacy. That is, until he infamously declared himself Head of the Church in England. Contrary to what is widely taught as a divorce, Henry had requested an annulment on theological grounds; this request was rejected by the pope due to international political pressures. Theologically, Henry was very much a catholic and his only intention was to remove England from under the authority of the Pope in Rome.

Subsequent heirs of Henry were influenced by Reform and Roman Catholic theologians resulting in a tug-of-war between ideologies for power. Decades of back-and-forth, was often violent resulting in years of civil war involving the church, the crown, and the right of the people to rule the nation. When the smoke finally cleared a constitutional monarchy was established and greater lenience was given in religious life.  

Decidedly, the church would be more Reform in its doctrine and practices and retain the catholic structures of priests and bishops. Reform influence significantly deconstructed the liturgy and sacramental life of the church in England. Worship emphasized preaching, prayers, and reading of Scripture but neglected much of the ritual of the church regarding it as "popery."

By the 19th century many perceived a considerable apathy in the life of the church. In response the Oxford Movement arose writing tracts defending many traditions of the church that had been rejected at the Reformation. These “Tractarians” began to emphasize the sacraments and liturgy as the way that God conveys grace to his people. As this was a recovery of catholic theology and practices, it was met with resistance within the Church as well as the state. The Tractarians worked to restore Liturgical Beauty in the worship of God, hoping to reflect God’s Kingdom here on earth. Their theology embraced the belief that the Church itself is a sacrament of God.

In the same way that Christ is Present in the Bread and Wine of Holy Eucharist so he is also Present in his Church, the Body. This has tremendous significance for each Anglican person because together we are the Body. So it follows, that when others see the Church they should see Christ. This is the nature of a sacrament; it is the presence or grace of God in common things. The Church, the people of God, is the continuing Incarnation of Christ on earth until his return.

The Church, being the first sacrament conveys God’s grace to the world. Of the Sacraments, Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist are cardinal, both given to the Church in Scripture by Christ Jesus himself. Baptism is the entrance into the Body of Christ, and in it we identify with Christ in his death and his resurrection. Through the waters of baptism our old lives have died and our new life is in Christ Jesus. In the Eucharist we are re-presented with the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf. We are joined with him and given freedom from our fallen state.

Anglicans accept that there are other sacraments known to the church, confirmation, reconciliation (confession), Holy Matrimony, unction, and ordination. These rites are found in Scripture as well and are outlined in the liturgies of the Book of Common Prayer

Anglicans also accept that God works his grace in other ways that reflects sacramental theology. As the church is the first sacrament then those blessings such as the life of a child or the joy in creation also have been known to be called sacramental.

What is Anglicanism: The Incarnation article 4 of 12

In the 20th century, a famous Lutheran theologian quoted many-times-over stated, “the Anglican heresy is the Incarnation.”  Whether the statement was intended to be an insult or an objective declaration it points out that Anglicanism is trying very hard to bring Heaven to earth.  "Thy kingdom come...on earth as it is in heaven."  

When we consider “heresy” in the ancient church it usually involves elevating a certain teaching of the church at the expense of other teachings.  “…at the expense” is the key. Heresy was often an imbalance of teaching in the church.  The critique here is that Anglicans are prone to elevate the Incarnation over perhaps the Atonement that is Christ’s sacrificial work, redemption on the cross.  In contrast other denominations elevate the Atonement at the expense of the Incarnation.   For example, the imbalance looks like this:  Missionaries go to convert individuals to the Christian Faith but are not concerned with whether the people have running water, food, or medicine.  The criticism of Anglicanism is that we focus on temporal justice and needs at the expense of personal conversion to faith.

But what is the Incarnation? Most Christians turn specifically to Christmas and the Birth of Jesus.  In Anglicanism the Doctrine of Incarnation is a broad image of God’s purpose for Life.  Rather than that singular moment in history the Incarnation is about the process that brings diverse life to God’s creation. 

The Creation story itself is the initial act of Incarnation in which God speaks into the dark void and from that comes Life. (Genesis 1)  The Christmas event is the second most significant moment in which God speaks into the darkness and from it Life emerges and the Life is the Light of man. (John 1) Anglicanism support the Christian doctrine that God’s Created Order is good (as God states in Genesis), and according to Genesis there was a fall from that goodness. 

Believing that Creation was good and brought forth life, then acting in opposition to that reality is what we call sin.  Sin takes on individual as well as societal forms.  We can commit some act against God’s design as a person but also endorse actions that harm others.  Sin is rebellion against God and God’s purpose of Life.

The Incarnation recognizes sin as evil in the world.  In fact, the world itself has been corrupted by evil and yet God steps into the darkness and shines light with the intention of restoring the world.

For Anglicans speaking into darkness and acting as Light in the world reflects our work to bring about Life.  This is important because the modern world functions in an opposite way.   The modern world takes life and uses it for work.  This is backwards.  Our work should bring the sense of fulfillment, joy, satisfaction all the positive attributes of life.  The purpose of our life is not meant to uphold work and the systems of this world that exploit work.  Modern people today are enslaved by the unhappiness of life because their actions do not work toward life, rather theirs actions are geared toward going through motions of life and not receiving the benefits of it. God created us to enjoy him  and his creation, not to be enslaved by the expectations of this world.

Finally, as Anglican followers of Jesus our role is to turn that way of living around.  Jesus himself is the model for life.  The work he accomplished during his life on Earth from conception to the cross was for the purpose of life (the resurrection).  From Christmas to Easter the Logos (Word) of God embraced life in this world.  The Supreme Being walked amongst creatures as one of them, participating in the humblest ways from bodily functions and smells to hunger, anger, love, betrayal, joy.  Jesus (the Word of God) experienced every aspect of what it means to be a human and it culminated in unjust punishment and death. Anglicanism acknowledges and dare I say embraces the fullness of humanity to accept the Incarnation (the good of Creation) and the Cross (the pain of Creation) as the models for how humans live between joy and sorrow, happiness, and toil until that Day when God fully restore the Creation described in the Book of Revelation.

Our work then is to live a life that enjoys and reflects God's glory and beauty while still living in this broken world with all of its flaws. 

Rector's Annual Address and Report January 24, 2021

20+C+M+B+21

The Lord be praised.    Last year I began this report with the sentiment that we had endured several struggles in the latter part of 2019 specifically, staffing changes and the beginning of our remediation work.  Having solid plans on how to address those issues as well as new relationships in the community and early stewardship preparation, it appeared that 2020 was only going to get better...

Well...the Lord thinks very highly of our parish's ability to endure.  2020 has been a year of memories that we will never forget, no matter how badly we want to, or how hard we try.  But 2020 is now hindsight.

I will not try to prophecy that 2021 will be better.  But by the grace of God and the love of Jesus Christ, and the faith of St. Peter we have come through this unprecedented year with flying colors.  Once again I praise God to be your rector and priest.  

We have accomplished so much together.  Unfortunately, our proximity due to COVID has not allowed us to see much of it.  But let's touch on these things.

In 2019 we established a Music Director Search Committee which found and promoted Gavin Craig to me in order to appoint him as our Interim Music Director.  Gavin was a great person with flexibility to help us make transitions during the onset of COVID from in-person worship to online.  We pivoted from pipe organ and nave to piano and parish hall. He was professional, faithful, and a pleasure to work with.  And he was very knowledgeable about the Anglican musical tradition.  Gavin let us know early that he would not be able to make this position his permanent calling.  And so the committee reconvened as much as possible during the COVID pandemic to renew the search for the permanent position.  Having looked at several quality applications, God dropped a pearl into our email inbox.  Jo Clark applied for our permanent position in the middle of the year.  With her experience and qualities of musicianship our search committee found in her an incredible fit to the variety of choral and instrumental musicianship that will continue in the tradition that St. Peter's is accustomed.  She jumped to the top of the list and never left.  With their recommendation I appointed Jo as Music Director of St. Peter's and we work very well together.  I express my sincere appreciation to the committee:  Dr. Wendy Bergin, chair, the late Lloyd Behm, Beth Appel, Roger Ross, Amy Schramm, and Chris Hilton.

Also carrying over from 2019 was the beginning of this epic remediation and renovation journey.  We held off starting that work until after January of 2020.  Preparations were made and begun to clean the church facilities.  As we entered the project we started to see glimpses of the pending COVID pandemic with its restrictions and limitations.  After three Sundays in Lent (two of which were online Morning Prayer) St. Peter's closed the nave and shifted worship to the new parish hall. With this came the necessary and rapid familiarization with Audio/Video Equipment, Facebook and YouTube platforms and streaming software.  Without the wisdom and knowledge of Chris Hilton we would have floundered.  I've reviewed our Service Book and found that we completed a great number of Morning Prayer and Liturgy of the Word services as we worked to prepare a COVID protocol of safe health practices.  Dcn Carol was instrumental in helping provide that document and I value her wisdom and experience.  We submitted that document to the bishop's office for approval.  It was very difficult to not have Holy Week and Easter Services.  We suspended many of our beloved traditions in light of concerns of reducing spread of the virus.

The vestry determined at that time to unfetter our contractors to work throughout the church in order to more thoroughly clean our building.  As they did so we unfortunately discovered a deeper need for cleaning that necessarily expanded the scope of our remediation project.  What we thought would be a remediation and restoration project unexpectedly became a major renovation project.  There are many people to give thanks for.  For their hands on work: I express my appreciation to Charles  L. Schubert as senior warden who has steadily guided this process with a strategic governance keeping the project moving and protecting the resources of our parish.  He has often talk me down from anxiety.  I thank Pam Schubert for lending Charles to us when he could have been home more.  I thank Brenda Squyres as Treasurer of St. Peter's who has guarded our financial bookkeeping between our operations budget, renovation budget, diocesan and federal grants to bring us to the end of a very difficult year with a budget that is very close to balanced.  To Jeff and Beth Appel who have poured more sweat equity into the renovation work than any other, my eyes swell.  When we discovered the dangerous electrical situation with our church lighting Chris Hilton dedicated his time to build a lighting plan that would be efficient and flexible. He spent many hours forty feet in the air giving his time to our church.  Thank you Molly and John Henry for lending him to us. For the thousands of little things that have been done and that are still needed to be completed I am thankful for those who volunteer their time to make St. Peter's a beautiful church inside and out.

There are still some things that need to be accomplished.  As I write we are resetting the nave for worship.  I express my deep appreciation to Mary Mabry and the altar guild.  They have kept us in order with the most basic things needs for our worship.  God has been praised because of their service.  I thank Cornelia Estey for her faithfulness and patience in assigning lectors and LEMs even when there were moments when we have had to change our worship plans she has been faithful.

We are resetting the parish hall for groups that meet such as AA and Exercise Group.  The beautiful and clean classrooms are being set up.  The Activity Hall (Old Parish Hall) has been used as a clean storage room.  That area will receive a new ceiling.  Some areas will need to be refloored just as general maintenance demands.  We have made great strides in improving our campus.  But there are still many smaller things to do.  COVID restrictions make these tasks more difficult to accomplish as we are not able to have general invitations to help with these things.  So the weight of it falls on a few individuals.  I would like to thank Amy Schramm and my wife Kate for taking on many of these items.  Like others, both are doing this in addition to their daytime ministries and out of love for our parish.  

Pastor's wives rarely get the recognition that they deserve.  Out of a sense of humility we do not wish to bring inordinate attention nor to unseemly inflate a sense of importance.  But I will take this paragraph to tell you what a servant of God Kate Whaley is. Not only does she sing in the choir and help in these efforts of building restoration, she prays daily, reads scriptures daily.  She is mindful of the concerns of parishioners and lifts them up.  And most especially she prays for and tolerates me when I am frustrated at how long these things take.  She listens to my concern over the processes of capital campaigns and stewardship campaigns and operations budgets...

And so to budgets...In 2019 I asked you to put St. Peter's first in terms of Stewardship.  In January 2020 we saw strong pledge numbers and commitments that reflected positively on that message.  By April and May with the anxiety presented by COVID I honestly did not know what to expect for the remainder of this year.  We anticipated and realized a shortfall in unpledged income that was offset by a diocesan required PPP Loan application and two diocesan assessment relief grants.  But your pledges remained very strong and very faithful through the end of the year.  At the time of this writing we are within two percentage points of our committed revenue.  In a year like this it is a testimony to your faith and obedience.  Thank you for those attributes; I hope that they are seeds that grow your faith.  At the same time we have managed to mark over a $160,000 toward our capital campaign for the renovation work.  All of this has been under the isolation of COVID.  I see God's hands have moved around us.

Building on the financial procedures put in place by Martin Coles we had hoped to get a jump start on our stewardship work for 2021.  We wanted a budget to present by August/September with the stewardship drive in October.  With all the additional financial balancing we were not able to match that schedule.  Subsequently materials went out in November and follow up materials went out in January for stewardship.  That delay was also due to me acquiring COVID in late December.  We are entering 2021 with some uncertainty as to committed income.  The vestry is monitoring this closely and will make budgetary adjustments at the first quarter as needed.  It is the desire of the vestry to balance the budget and honor the contributions that are made both toward the operations of the church as well as our renovation expenses.

 

There is so much to be thankful for at St. Peter's.  I continue to feel the prayers of the Daughters of the King and others who pray for me and our church.  Thank you to our vestry for their prayers and hard work in all of this upheaval.  For the few special events we were able to have such as the Pet Blessing, I'm thankful to Cathy Dawson for organizing that effort.  I wish to thank the staff in other ways.  Carol Muegge continues to send out information about the parish to stay in the consciousness of our town.  Pam Knebel has tried to stay connected with our youth which has been very difficult, even our Baptist friends have struggled at this.  She managed to coordinate a socially distanced gathering.  And Suzzanne who continues to keep our financial numbers in order and reported has stayed faithful to that task.  And I'm sure that as I write this, I am forgetting something or someone that has helped in some way.  I wish to say thank you.

As we move into 2021 I hope that we stay connected with one another.  I look forward to seeing your faces each Sunday especially as vaccines are more widely available.  

Iwant to close with a growing point for St. Peter's.  My biggest area of concern for our church as we move forward is a transformative need to become a church not simply of welcome, but more of a church of invitation.  As people emerge from their COVID foxholes, shell-shocked from isolation and perhaps fear, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the balm that brings peace and restoration. I hope that as we rise from this period we become more than a friendly or welcoming church.

I hope God makes us a "Come with me to my church" type of church.  People will meet Jesus here when we bring them.  And that is the greatest gift we have for the world.

 

The Lord bless you all.

Faithfully in Christ,

Fr. Stephen+

Necrology

It is with faith in Jesus Christ and his resurrection we say farewell to those who have died in 2020

Gordon Moore

Marilyn Sanders

Bess Burch

Billye Faust

Quin Kroll

What is Anglicanism: The Bible article 3 of 12

 

When approaching biblical interpretation Anglicans (as well as others) have incorporated literary techniques that aid in the study of the bible.  Historical criticism is a structure that attempts to explore the variety of experiences within the writing, recording, and editing of the Old and New Testament.  Exploration of the history of a geographic region is likely to have an impact on how a biblical writer tells the story.

These same techniques of study help to makes sense of biblical texts when the quality of writing changes from very formal language to more colloquial language in the same manuscript.  This form of critiquing the text allows us to see that some texts were spliced together over time to become one larger text such as the Prophet Isaiah.

The ability to study scripture in this way gives us insight to who is writing the text and to what type of people the texts are written.

Historical criticisms allow us to hold in tension those aspects of the bible that seem to conflict internally.  For example, in creation we are told that Adam and Eve have three sons.  And later they are expected to be fruitful and multiple.  Where do their wives come from? We are left without a clear answer if we are only allowed to believe that this text is a history of human reproduction.  (We may find that the bible is not trying to answer questions that we have for it.)

The bible also records the culture around the time that it is written to persuade and convey the listener.  The use of the word, “Logos” in John’s gospel is thought to appeal to the Greek philosophical tradition that put high importance on the reason and logic of the gods.

Taken in this perspective the bible is not merely a rubric of to-dos that faithful people must follow to gain relationship with their Creator.  It is more akin to a tapestry of experiences of the God of creation that express a broad picture of the diversity of humanity across an expansive geography and centuries of time.  The tapestry presents a uniform revelation of God and humanity’s place next to that God.

Anglicanism takes in all of these different perspectives that at times reveals logical conflicts or presents paradoxes.  At the same time Anglicanism doesn’t surrender to the extremes of throwing out the texts as archaic or superstitious nor embracing such a literal application of every text that we amputate our hands or pluck out our eyes when these things cause us to sin as recorded in the gospel.

It is because the Scripture contains such breadth about God and humanity the Anglican custom is to be familiar with the entirety of the bible.  Where as some theological traditions may focus on doctrines supported within Paul’s letters or to study holy living in accordance with the Mosaic Law. Anglicanism is inclined to read routinely the whole of Scripture in course through the Sunday and Daily readings of the church calendar.  In the wholeness Anglicans are then shaped as an orphaned, adopted, fallen, redeemed people and person of God.

At the heart of an Anglican’s approach to the bible is that the story of God and his people has the ability to change the lives of the people who read it.

What is Anglicanism: Authority in the Church Article 2 of 12

“Authority” in the Church is the system we use to make decisions when confused about God’s work in the world and how we fit into that work.  Differing Christian traditions use different systems and they vary. 

In the Roman church with its “magisterium,” the Pope and bishops are empowered within the bounds of Scripture and tradition to declare new teaching.  In some Protestant traditions, the individual Scripture reader guided by the Holy Spirit is given a form of authority. In more charismatic Protestantism the individual guided by the Holy Spirit alone is given a direct authority. 

Anglicanism is distinct from these examples though each of these expressions can be found within modern Anglicanism.  Classical Anglicanism articulated by Richard Hooker in the sixteenth century upholds an inherited structure whose authority balanced the voices of Scripture, Traditional interpretation, and contemporary reason.  If we think of this union as a musical chord: Scripture is the melody, while tradition is the dominant, and reason is the subdominant harmonies.  They work together making music; at the same time there is hierarchy in the authority.

Holy Scripture is accepted to be the received self-revelation of God testified through God’s relationship with his people.  It is authoritative in conveying God’s intentions for creation and it describes the fallen nature and subsequent restorative plan of creation.  This self-testimony from God is given with the purpose of teaching God’s people how to relate to God. Classical Anglicanism therefore would not teach anything contrary to Scripture.  However, this does not mean that Anglicans reject things that exist outside the influence of the biblical record. For example, the Amish do not drive automobiles.  Anglicans are not likely to reject driving an automobile simply because Jesus walked everywhere.

Tradition in its place of authority is intentionally secondary to Scripture.  Tradition is something that emerges from the experiences of God’s people and is then captured in the practices and understanding of the church.  Tradition is time dependent. It walks for decades and centuries within and alongside Scripture but might not be specifically articulated in Scripture.  For example, the dogma of the Holy Trinity is alluded to in Scripture.  It is present in words like Father, Son, Holy Spirit, One God.   It is the center of our understanding of the nature of God, but it was not articulated and received universally until the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople.

Reason is critical to articulate in this chord of authority because reason or logic is very much a part of God’s stamped image in us.  To be reasonable beings is to make use of that seed of self-awareness that God implants in every human.  It is from God that proceeds our creativity, consciousness, and cognition…our ability to rationalize.  Reason allow us to look at nature and see God's handiwork and contemplate our role in that handiwork.  With reason comes caution.  Reason can often be corrupted by opinion, bias, emotion, the fallenness of humanity.  Therefore, it finds its proper place relative to Scripture and Tradition.

It is through these attributes of authority that Anglicans seek to work alongside God in his creation.  It means subordinating ourselves to a shared system that helps move us all walking in the footsteps of God.

What is Anglicanism: Anglican Consciousness (Identity) article 1 of 12

I recently rediscovered a text written by Urban T. Holmes  III Dean of the School of Theology at Sewanee.  I was captured by the title many years ago for its simplicity, What is Anglicanism? In this series of articles I’m attempting to give a synopsis of each chapter that conveys the most important parts of our heritage as Episcopalians and Anglicans.

Anglican Consciousness(Identity) is what sets us apart.  Anglicanism is a method/expression of Christianity that attempts to describe us in the experiences between God and humanity in light of a biblical, historical, and modern perspective. 

This synthesis of Anglicanism takes these experiences of God and integrates them in such a way that produces a spiritual life that enables us, a people of the current age, to remain connected to the past while at the same time engage the modern struggles of the age in which we live.

This way of being Christian evens out the ups and downs of history, leveling the triumphs and more importantly raising the valleys of the human experience. It keeps us even keeled.

Within this religious construct Anglicanism strategically sees God’s work of creation and preservation in all its diversity despite the destructive characteristics of that same created and preserved universe.  We acknowledge God’s sovereignty in this chaotic world, even though the chaos appears to be out of anyone’s control.

To help understand Anglican Consciousness  we know that in the world there are modes of describing thinking processes.  We have heard of left and right brain thinking.  We have heard about the two hemispheres of the brain, one is more skilled in logistical processes while the other is adept in creative processes.  Anglican consciousness tends to align more with the right brain of creativity while leaving the left brain to more systematic endeavors.  This is not a slight to the left brain; both are required. 

This helps us to understand why Anglicans appear to be capable of absorbing the conflicting natures of life while remaining steady through those conflicts.  For example, we understand that good and evil exists at the same time in this world.  Anglican consciousness acknowledges that reality but does not spend a lot of effort attempting to explain the paradox.  Instead it puts its efforts into restorative work establishing God’s Kingdom on earth trying to support and build up the good.

Holmes writes more about Anglican consciousness in his book related to miracles great and small.  You might take a look.

Blessings,

Fr. Stephen+