I swear I'll finish my other mini-series, as exciting as it is... I just can't think very well right now. Hence, a list:
Today I met with one of the priests from the Episcopal church I've been attending with my former roommate for a few months now, talking about seminary funding, as well as ordination, and I've come to a conclusion:
I love/hate (or today, hate/love) denominations.
LOVE having a church in fellowship with other churches with common goals.
HATE that we don't have more similar goals to begin with.
LOVE the institutional memory and tradition.
HATE the inflexibility and red tape.
LOVE the theological depth.
HATE the lack of continued questioning.
LOVE the idea of raising my kids in one particular church.
HATE the box you put yourself in if you can't find (a good congregation in) that church in your area.
LOVE the support they give to their own seminarians.
HATE the fact that I'm excluded from that because of birth and many circumstances beyond my control.
Today, in particular, I love the Episcopal church's
*liturgy
*emphasis on the Eucharist
*thoughtfulness and openness
*apostolic succession (supposed, at least)
*emphasis on justice
*ordination of women
But I also hate its
*seemingly inevitable continued spiral toward theological liberalism
*association with a country-- specifically, Colonizer England
*remaining lack of diversity- in people and style of worship
*elitism and affluence (which from my very limited experience in Chapel Hill seems in constant competition with its emphasis on justice)
*disengagement from the larger evangelical world (the evangelical Episcopalians out there never seem super-involved, but perhaps that's just the circles I've run in)
*its occasionally-a-pain government (heard a story today about a conservative priest placed in a liberal parish--asked not to be put there, was put there anyway, and in the end was fired because of theological disagreements with the Rector. GO FIGURE!)
I still haven't set foot in an Evangelical Covenant Church, but I'm very attracted for them for certain reasons... But I have another set of things that make me unsure about it. It's inevitable, huh? Who would have thought a church could be imperfect? ;o)
Don't even get me started on the plentiful advantages and disadvantages of even deciding to pursue ordination...
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4 comments:
Denominations are like local churches, just writ large, with all of their own pros and cons. Your list of loves/hates is pretty on target! There's no perfect denomination, just like there's no perfect church, but you find the one that seems closest to "home/family" and live there, for better or for worse.
My grad school prof/mentor Bob Webber was in the Episcopalian church for a long time, but eventually moved to Anglican renewal movements. His book Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail was influential for me and is still good reading for any evangelicals exploring Episcopalianism/Anglicanism.
Many of my friends and colleagues at both IVP and Christianity Today are also Anglican. A few are in Episcopalian churches, though the majority are in Anglican Mission in American churches. Of course, here in the Wheaton area, it's a bit easier to be an evangelical Episcopalian - there are lots of likeminded folks around. But even many of those have given up on the Episcopal church and are joining AMiA or CANA churches.
I have lots of friends in the Covenant church too (I went to one long ago, when I was in elementary school), and the Covenant is doing great things in social justice. North Park even has a master's in justice studies, I think. If you weren't headed to Fuller, I think North Park would be another good fit for you.
My top schools (and really, the only ones, ultimately, that were anywhere close to being in the running) were Fuller, Duke, and North Park.
I've been looking a LOT at Evangelical Covenant related stuff this week, and I've gotten more and more excited about it-- it's not perfect, and there are things that I really like about Anglicanism, which make it had to "choose." I may not ever, I may value both and be open to attending either, based on whatever works where I live.
I'm so glad there are lots of positive things and cool people hanging out in Anglican circles-- and that they're connected with the broader evangelical world as well. It's been so great getting to know that side of things a bit better, and I want to remain connected to it in some way.
I think evangelical Anglicans aren't just connected to the evangelical world - they're shaping it. It's pretty significant that CT editors like David Neff, Mark Galli and Ted Olsen are all Anglicans. And folks like N. T. Wright, J. I. Packer, John Stott and Alister McGrath have all left their Anglican stamp on evangelical theology. Not to mention that fellow C. S. Lewis!
BTW, FYI, I just tagged you with a meme. Have fun!
It's true! I think I've become a lot more aware of the evangelical Anglican presence during college. However, I also think it's on the rise. And there is certainly a lot of fabulous work being done by them in a number of areas. I'm consistently impressed. I do think there are many crevices within evangelicalism that escape their influence, though, which, of course, is a sad and unfortunate thing...
Kate saw I'd been tagged before I did! I will have to get to work thinking on my facts...
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