Inquiring Minds Want to Know
The Episcopal Church represents many things to many people. Some folks relish it. Others dislike it. And a whole bunch more have never imbibed. Perhaps it is an acquired taste.
Here in Greenfield, Massachusetts, a perception lingers that Saint James’ Church was founded as a kind of revolt against the majority religion of Christian Congregationalism. Congregationalism in its turn had emerged in 16th and 17th century England and its realms, as a movement of dissent against the Church of England, an institution viewed by many Protestants as too “catholic” in its worship and doctrine. By the 1620s congregational churches were planted here on these fair shores as the avant-garde of a Christian “protest movement”: a holy experiment in complete and utter departure from Roman Catholicism, as some would have it. So, in Greenfield round about 1812, some Episcopalians, or would-be Episcopalians, got together and said: Enough of all this religious dissent, let’s dissent (against the dissent) and establish an Episcopal community of faith with marked affinities to the Church of England. In fact, let’s go Gothic in our building design too. Brilliant (if you like the tensions of irony).
Our parish’s living memory that our Congregationalist neighbors hurled rocks at our stained glass windows in the early years only adds to the drama of our birth. We can suppose the local reasoning was: if you cannot have clear glass windows in your church like the rest of us, then you should not have any windows at all. More adventures in theological clarity, not to be confused with theological charity. And not so helpful for pro-Anglican worshippers intending to gather for prayer throughout the long New England winters.
Thankfully the religion of Greenfield and its environs has changed a great deal since the 1800s. The older territoriality has softened. Ecumenism swept in by the middle of the 1900s and now we have rather vibrant expressions of religious pluralism. Most churches and religious organizations not only want to live in peace but even desire to cooperate with one another. So where is the Episcopal Church today? Where should it be? And how is Saint James an expression of the greater Church? Rather than respond to these questions here and now, let me invite you to come and find out.
In April and May we will be offering a series of meetings in All Saints’ Chapel called an Inquirers’ Class, in order to present the teachings and practices of the Episcopal Church in historic perspective. The sessions are designed to prepare folks who so desire to make a decision about full membership in our church, as well as to allow others to investigate our faith identity simply for reasons of self-edification. We welcome those who want to be confirmed in their faith, or received into full communion, as well as seekers and the intellectually curious.
To speak to the gist of the matter, the Episcopal Church still recognizes the sources of its spiritual life in Holy Scripture (the Holy Bible), in the English Church tradition (as received in The Book of Common Prayer, and in the worship and ministry habits of the English heritage), and in “reason,” conceived of as the on-going critical and sympathetic review of its belief in the light of the experience of the present generation.
In broad-brush strokes we tend to be traditional in worship (we present as catholic), moderate in doctrine (we sound middle of the road theologically), and rather open-minded in our views toward culture and society (we aspire to live thoughtfully). And so our little walk down memory lane known as an Inquirers’ Class will start with “Basic Bonehead Bible: Welcome to the Strange World of Sacred Text,” continue on with “Walk This Way, Talk This Way: An Introduction to the Prayer Book,” and conclude with ruminations on “Where are We and Where should We Be? The Church in the New Millennium.”
If any of this, or all of it, is of interest, then join us on Saturdays, April 10, 17, 24 and May 1, 8 from 11 a.m. to 12 noon in the chapel for a theological good time. This will be a wonderful opportunity to learn more about your church, or the church that wants to be your church. The bishop of our diocese will confirm youth and adults, and receive members of other Christian traditions on Saturday, May 22, 2010 in the cathedral in Springfield. Saint James will be presenting its candidates at that time, granted that they have attended the Inquirers’ Class and have prayerfully decided to make the commitment.
Like the title suggests, an Inquirers’ Class is a chance to inquire: to ask questions, to explore, to discover. Yes, the Episcopal Church welcomes you and yes it is in fact flourishing in Greenfield. Perhaps enjoying it is an acquired taste. Certainly it is an inquired one. Come and see. v
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