Get there, Rowan...

This is the Advent Letter from Rowan Williams, the AB of C, sent out to the primates of the Anglican Communion. This letter expresses some of the reasons why I have felt deeply ambivalent about the split in the Episcopal Church, and why the separation has been a source of great anguish for me. He writes, "Where one part of the family makes a decisive move that plainly implies a new understanding of Scripture that has not been received and agreed by the wider Church, it is not surprising that others find a problem in knowing how far they are still speaking the same language. And because what one local church says is naturally taken as representative of what others might say, we have the painful situation of some communities being associated with views and actions which they deplore or which they simply have not considered."

I respect Rowan for not allowing his personal beliefs to dictate his advice and recommendations to the larger Church. He is clearly dedicated to maintaining unity and civility in the midst of this theological Cold War. And there is a recognition that individual belief is not worth the sacrifice of Church history and tradition, not to mention the integrity of the Scriptures. This is coupled with the understanding that Scripture is interpreted through the lense of a community which is guided by the Holy Spirit.

He writes in his letter, "Our obedience to the call of Christ the Word Incarnate is drawn out first and foremost by our listening to the Bible and conforming our lives to what God both offers and requires of us through the words and narratives of the Bible. We recognise each other in one fellowship when we see one another 'standing under' the word of Scripture. Because of this recognition, we are able to consult and reflect together on the interpretation of Scripture and to learn in that process. Understanding the Bible is not a private process or something to be undertaken in isolation by one part of the family. Radical change in the way we read cannot be determined by one group or tradition alone."

Sigh...what a mess. They were dealing with this stuff right from the beginning of the Church, I know. And the Church is still standing, some 2,000 years later. But it doesn't make it any less painful. Below is a short statement I wrote for my Duke Divinity application aptly named, "Regarding Denominational Affiliation."

Four years after the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay bishop ordained in the Episcopal Church, my home parish (Truro Church of Fairfax, Virginia) chose to severe its ties with the Diocese of Virginia and the ECUSA, associating instead with the Diocese of Nigeria and the larger worldwide Anglican Communion. As a born-and-bred Episcopalian, this schism has been very painful for me, as it has been for many people in the Episcopal Church. I feel much like the child of divorced parents, forced to pick from two sides that are mutually hostile.

I am having difficulty at this point in my life associating myself exclusively with either the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion. I fall most comfortably into a third camp politically and theologically, but the recent ecclesial fracture has not provided a space for those existing outside of liberal-conservative spectrum. I have identified myself as an Episcopalian in this application, but I feel it important to identify my ambiguous feelings regarding the present state of my denomination, especially as it may apply to my future direction towards ministry, ordained or lay.

A little revamping...

Spent some sabbath time today revamping the blog a little bit. Let me know if 1) you would like me to add your blog address or 2) have any interesting links (funny, thoughtful, whatever!) you want to pass along.

Happy Advent.