While visiting my Dad in Shreveport this weekend, I had a chance to return to the church of my youth – St. Marks Cathedral. As I sat in the service, I realized that The Episcopal Church (nee: “ECUSA,” herein referred to as “TEC”) makes a dandy analog for the Federal Government, and the current events vis á vis “States Rights” versus “Federalism.” Allow me to explain… [Read more…] about The Feds and the Episcopalians – Compare & Contrast
Anglican
How to Hijack a Religious Denomination.
I’m an Anglican, nee: “Episcopalian.” At one time, those two words described the same thing. Not today. As I’ve previously recounted on these pages, in the late 60’s and early 70’s, a new breed of Episcopal priests – all of whom espoused theology that was far to the left of the mainstream – infiltrated the Episcopal Church hierarchy and eventually took over. They subsequently enacted changes to our denomination such as the ordination of women, followed by the ordination of openly homosexual priests, culminating in the ordination of a practicing homosexual bishop and support for homosexual marriage with the blessings of the church. This has resulted in a cataclysmic schism within the largest group of Episcopal churches in North America, and the virtual excommunication of those that support this group, by Anglicans in the rest of the world. That much is fact. In the last week or so, another large diocese – this time in Fort Worth – has chosen to leave the mothership (a.k.a. “The Episcopal Church” or “TEC”) and align themselves with other Anglicans who cannot stomach this endorsement of theological liberalism. Predictions are now that, within the next year, there will be a new organization of affiliated Anglican/Episcopal churches in the U.S.A. – a group that will have the blessings of the worldwide Anglican community, and one that will offer an alternative for communion to the liberal TEC bunch.
The larger question is, “what happened?” How did one group – the secular/progressive/liberals – stage what amounted to a very quiet coup, and hijack an entire denomination? I’ve wondered about that for years. And now, thanks to the Reverend Dr. Peter Toon of the Prayer Book Society, I have the answer.
They rewrote the Book of Common Prayer – and used it as a tool to attempt to remake our faith. [Read more…] about How to Hijack a Religious Denomination.
Getting churched.
From the time I was in 4-year-old kindergarten, I’ve been an Episcopalian Anglican. Today, I had the rare privilege to serve as a lay reader to conduct a Morning Prayer service at my church. Our rector, Father Doug, was out of town, and it was my turn in the bullpen to help out.
For those of you who have never experienced the beauty and majesty of the Anglican liturgy, I suggest that you hie thyself to thy nearest Anglican church and check it out. Of course, even if you’ve never set foot in an Episcopal church, you’ve almost certainly sat through at least part of a service. If you’ve watched a movie or TV show with a wedding ceremony in it and heard the words, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here…” then you’ve heard the Anglican rite we know as the Sacrament of Marriage. [Read more…] about Getting churched.
The New! Improved! Episcopal Church! (Not.)
On my recent sojourn to the place of my birth, I had the opportunity to revisit the church of my youth. I grew up in the Episcopal Church – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church of Shreveport, Louisiana, to be exact. As a child, my parents had been searching – unsuccessfully it turns out – for a church home, when they enrolled me in the Kindergarten class of the school run by St. Marks. I came home spouting Episcopal theology. It occurred to them that the Episcopal faith was the only thing they’d not really explored among the mainstream Christian denominations. Soon, we all became card-carrying Episcopalians. [Read more…] about The New! Improved! Episcopal Church! (Not.)