Tag: The Episcopal Church

What I Like Most About The Episcopal Church

Eight years ago, I launched a Facebook page called "Unapologetically Episcopalian." My motivation was to provide a safe place where people could share good things about The Episcopal Church during a time when our Church was experiencing quite a bit of conflict. As of today, almost 61,000 people have "liked" this page and shared their love of this Church. Our covenant of conduct there is simple. It comes from St. Paul's letter to the Church at Philippi. "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Phil. 4:8).

Recently, when I was discussing Unapologetically Episcopalian with someone, I was asked what aspects of the Episcopal Church I value and find life-giving and what about it calls me deeper into my relationship with God. I'd like to share my answer with you.

The Episcopal Church fosters communities of followers of Jesus Christ where “all sorts and conditions of people” are welcome and no one is an outcast. Those communities encourage each person to be transformed by openness to the wonder and mystery of God’s hand at work in the universe in which we live. Our corporate worship and sacramental life give us sustenance for the spiritual journey and for service to the world. By promoting the dynamic relationship of scripture, tradition, and reason, the Episcopal Church provides a broad “middle way” that allows diversity, resists dogmatic certainty, and encourages thoughtful conversation about what God is calling us to be and do. Our oneness and our mission are not grounded in uniformity of belief, but in gathering for a feast at the invitation of the One who is the Way, Truth, and Life we seek.

Because of our roots in The Church of England, The Episcopal Church is also an Anglican Church. As Anglicans, our descent from the Early Church is as direct as that of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. At the same time, we share a common heritage with Reformed churches. There are many desirable aspects of this “middle way” and three of them are especially important in my own journey to find and be found by God.

The Book of Common Prayer – The Book of Common Prayer is unique to our Anglican heritage and central to our structure and practice. The Book of Common Prayer provides a framework for our common life by providing central instructions in the Christian faith, requirements for our liturgical and sacramental life, and guidance for living as Anglican Christians. Certainly, we have canons that govern many aspects of our corporate life. But our unity is grounded not in polity but in common prayer. The Church forms and shapes us individually as Christians and the prayer book provides the necessary cohesiveness that preserves corporate faith and order.

Our approach to reading and interpreting the Holy Bible – Avoiding biblical literalism and affirming the necessity of looking at scripture through the lenses of reason and tradition are hallmarks of our Anglican heritage. We read and interpret the Bible for ourselves, but within the context of a gracious and redemptive community where our interpretations are tested and refined using this approach. This helps us avoid not only error but also the narrow judgmentalism and pharisaism that has driven many away from life in Christ. Our approach to scripture helps us explore both ancient truth and God’s unfolding self-disclosure in our own place and time.

The possibility of following a spiritual path within an organized church – I find myself in company with many souls in this emerging era who are seeking to be a part of a diverse, inclusive, authentic community of believers with whom they can approach spiritual concerns, wrestle with doubt, live with mystery, and cope with ambiguity. People are not looking so much for answers as for other souls with whom they can explore their own stories at the intersection with the story of humanity and with the ancient story of faith in God. The openness of the Episcopal Church to questions, fresh revelations, and ancient teachings is inviting to me and will be inviting to the emerging generation of people on their spiritual journeys.

It's not a perfect Church. But it has a lot to commend it for anyone seeking an open minded, inclusive, non-dogmatic approach to being a Follower of Jesus Christ.

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

April 25, 2018
The Episcopal Church: The Original Discovery Channel

An inclusive and authentic community of faith ought to stand by us and encourage us through all the stages and struggles of faith. I am reminded of this every year on the Second Sunday of Easter when we always read the account of the experience of St. Thomas the Apostle with the Risen Christ (John 20:19-31). This incident shows us that even the most empirical evidence is incomplete without the evidence from personal experience. One role of a faith community is to be a safe place where we can explore and seek understanding of all our experiences, especially those that puzzle and confound us. While the biblical revelation is primary in our faith journey, we believe tradition, reason, and experience are necessary lenses through which we discover the way forward together.

What are the five senses without experience? A scientist must rely on experience of the evidences that are seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelled in conducting an experiment. How is the experience of the presence, the love, and the power of the living Christ in a person’s life any less real? No experiment is complete or valid, no philosophical argument is authentic, apart from the existential fact of human experience. After all, the words experience, experiment, and expert all have their origin in the Latin word experimentum, from experiri, which means to “test” or “try.”

One of my seminary professors used to say, “One can neither confirm nor deny in the armchair what has been established in the laboratory of the human soul.” Without experiential evidence, faith cannot survive and the doubts that live on the edge of our lives will consume us.

I’m grateful to be in a Church that recognizes that doubt plays a role in the quest for truth. Honest doubt is the forbearer of discovery! A questing spirit is normal and necessary in the development of a growing person. Thomas expressed his doubts in the security of the community of those whom Jesus had called along with him. He could have chosen other friends. Instead, he chose to remain among the friends of Jesus.

Never did one of them say, “Thomas, you’re through here. Out you go. You can’t stay in our midst because you are a heretic, a skeptic, and an unbeliever.” The disciples stood by Thomas in his struggle to believe.

Fundamentalism has gained a stronghold in our culture and, I suspect, driven more people away from faith than it has attracted. Our Church offers a healthy alternative. My friend Bill Cherry described The Episcopal Church this way: “Here's the deal about being an Episcopalian. You get to tinker with what you're taught until you get a personal encompassing belief that you're comfortable with. Meanwhile, your Church doesn't scream at you that what you've just done is the work of the devil. Consequently, you love being an Episcopalian and can't imagine being anything else. I'm one of those.” Me too!

If you have doubts about the Resurrection, about your relationship with God, about life eternal, take heart! You are not the first and you will not be the last. You’ve come to the right Church. All are welcome here in the company of others who have been lovingly guided through doubt to faith. It’s the original Discovery Channel.

I’ll see you in Church!

P.S. Join us for a Discovery Weekend, either May 8-10 or June 12-14.

April 15, 2015
Unapologetically Episcopalian & Forward Movement

May 1, 2012, marked the second anniversary of the founding of the Unapologetically Episcopalian facebook page. In these two years, we’ve gathered an online community totaling over 20,000 friends.

I founded the page to provide a gathering place for people who have good things to say about The Episcopal Church and who have positive stories to share about its life, worship, and spirituality. We describe this community as “a gathering place to celebrate the many positive ways Episcopalians in 16 nations are unapologetically spreading the gospel of Christ.”

It seemed to me then, and still seems to me, that critical voices often drown out the voices of those who are basically proud to be members of this Church and happily engaged in its ministries. Conversation about the issues that often divide us is necessary, but there are numerous other places for those conversations. We hope that the way we speak and listen to one another in our conversations on our facebook page will influence the tone of other conversations in our congregations and in other online forums.

St. Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians expresses the heart of how we seek to relate to our Church and to one another, “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8).

In thinking about a way to express gratitude for what this page has meant in the lives of so many, I sought out The Rev. Scott Gunn, executive director of Forward Movement. Together, we have identified several initiatives that are consistent with the spirit and purpose of Unapologetically Episcopalian, will benefit the entire Episcopal Church, and can be launched by Forward Movement within weeks. HERE is a link to the page that provides all the details.

The objectives of both Unapologetically Episcopalian and Forward Movement are about spreading the Gospel and transforming lives. Both are devoted to building up The Episcopal Church. Both came into existence out of a desire to move us in a positive direction. So,
Forward Movement seemed like a logical place to turn when the time came to celebrate the second anniversary of our online community.

The total estimated cost of all these projects is $200,000. We'd like to raise that much or more during the month of May. That’s only $10 for each of our 20,000 friends. In addition to our Unapologetically Episcopalian community, we are hoping that others who are grateful for Forward Movement will see this as an opportunity to demonstrate their gratitude with a thank offering for these initiatives. The link will give information about each of the initiatives and about how to contribute. Or, you can use the button below to make your thank offering to Forward Movement online, by credit card, debit card, or PayPal.

(You do not need a PayPal account to use this feature!)

Gay and I have made the first gift of $1,000 in thanksgiving for what this Unapologetically Episcopalian community has meant to us. From the very beginning, we have been inspired daily by the comments, responses, photographs, and faith journeys shared in this community. One of our friends who has a position that takes him into some of the more difficult challenges of this Church recently said, “I visit Unapologetically Episcopalian at least once a day to remind myself what The Episcopal Church is supposed to be like.” That about says it all.

The impact we can make through a small thank offering is enormous. The projects are innovative and compelling. This collaboration between Unapologetically Episcopalian and Forward Movement gives us a unique opportunity to offer a measure of this glad spirit for the transformation of lives. I hope you will consider participating!

May 4, 2012