Things at the General Convention, from a certain perspective, certainly didn’t look good. My fellow deputies ”” I admit to serving as an elected member of this naughty assemblage ”” endorsed pretty much the same menu that hooked Episcopal appetites during the wild and woolly ’60s. We’re a church whose worship and formularies presuppose the ancient Christian truths; except the way we have come lately to express these truths often makes it seem our principal interests are “social justice,” cultural diversity and the liberalization of sexual norms.
We slammed “colonialism,” patted the Palestinians on the head, urged new government programs to create jobs, called for a carbon-unfriendly energy policy and instructed priests desirous of doing so to confer the church’s blessing upon same-sex unions. I mean, are we the churchy version of The New York Times editorial page or what? Can’t you see millions of Americans beating our doors down to hear us address the worst of modern anxieties ”” family disintegration, the loss of meaning in life, the burgeoning of government supervision and control over daily existence?
Actually, that’s not what the church itself, at a slightly less exalted level, was saying. A report by the Standing Commission on the Mission and Evangelism of the Episcopal Church noted bleakly….
[blockquote] “As the keepers of the current flame — baby boomers relying on the insights and activities of their youth — fade from view, younger tenders of a new/old flame — the strong, scriptural faith of older centuries — take their places. In my own vital diocese of the Episcopal Church — Dallas — this happens with greater and greater frequency. The new priests and laity coming on now don’t have to be assured the faith is worth fighting for and preserving intact. They know that to be the case. It’s why they became priests.” [/blockquote]
Hmmm, so I find an Episcopalian lay person who is both positive and realistic, and he turns out to be one of those pesky orthodox types from Dallas!
“beating our doors down to hear us address the worst of modern anxieties”
The work of Convention presupposes the reality of the church, which is that anyone who enters the doors of virtually any Episcopal Church will hear the Bible, the words of the Book of Common Prayer (“We celebrate the memorial of our redemption, O Father, in this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Recalling his death, resurrection, and ascension, we offer you these gifts.”), and hymns from the hymnal. Whether it’s May of 2012, August of 2012, or, for that matter, January of 1980, that’s what most people will hear if they go into the nearest TEC parish.
No, they get a reinterpretation of biblical truth to quiet their angst.
#2–I am unsure what you mean. Are you saying the churches are orthodox and what GC doesn’t matter? Or are you saying something else? I honestly am unsure what you menat. BTW, many churches in TEC no longer use masculine pronouns, so you might not hear what you quoted above. The last time I was at a service at VTS, several years ago, I was the only person present actually saying the words printed in the BCP.
#4, thanks for asking. My point wasn’t intended to be partisan, just a reflection of my experience (which is focused in PA, FL, and liberal old VT over the past 5 years). I think if you walk into whatever is the nearest TEC on a given Sunday, you’re very likely to experience worship which is overwhelmingly unchanged from 30 years ago.
Now, some caveats:
1. You may not like the sermon, because you find it shallow, or Democrat-leaning, or whatever;
2. You may hear things that imply more to you (if you are a veteran of the Anglican/Episcopal church wars) than they say on the surface. So, if the closing blessing is in the name of the “Creator, redeemer, and sanctifier”, that may seem part of a bigger battle about the Trinity, whereas a random visitor would just hear it as another way to talk about God (nobody denies that God creates, redeem, and sanctifies — the issue is replacing the Trinity with this formula, which a single use can’t demonstrate).
I’m not denying that there are churches where big changes to the liturgy have been made (and, of course, a seminary chapel is a special case). I’m not saying TEC is the place for you if you’re a conservative/”orthodox” Christian. I’m not saying GC isn’t important. I’m just saying that the impression we get from reading about GC every three years isn’t carried down to the local parish level. I’d love to test this if I could — all I have is my own anecdotal evidence, — but my experience leads me to believe that if a random person walked into a random TEC parish in a random part of the country on a random Sunday, they’d likely walk out saying “hm, church” — nothing radical or remarkable. Now, that may be indictment enough, but it’s a different kind of indictment.
…sorry, I forgot to say that I don’t think you’d find that the thoroughgoing removal of masculine pronouns is very common, either. Some modifications are very common (“… and blessed by God’s Kingdom”, say, instead of “His Kingdom”, or “it is right to give God thanks and praise” instead of “Him thanks”), but not much more than that. Again, this is my experience — I wish somebody would do a study!
OK. Thanks for clarifying.
[blockquote] “I think if you walk into whatever is the nearest TEC on a given Sunday, you’re very likely to experience worship which is overwhelmingly unchanged from 30 years ago.” [/blockquote]
That makes sense. It explains why many in TEC (foolishly) seem to believe that the public pronouncements by their leaders in GC don’t affect them, and it will just be business as usual this year, and next year, and the year after that…
Oh well, they have made their bed and they shall lie in it.