The following advertisement appeared on the NYT op-ed page today -- how proud am I on this Mother's Day Eve to be a child of this Mother Church of ours ... this Episcopal Church USA!!! I'm hearing that there will shortly be info on the Nat'l Church website about how to use this ad in your own community or diocese but for now ... let us rejoice and be glad in it!
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The Episcopal Church-Marking a Milestone, Moving Forward
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Somewhere near you, there's a blue-and-white sign bearing the familiar slogan: The Episcopal Church Welcomes You .. It represents some 7,400 congregations that trace their beginnings in North America to a small but hopeful group of English Christians who arrived May 14, 1607 at a place they called Jamestown - the first permanent English settlement in the New World.
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You may know us as Washington's monumental National Cathedral, site of historic services and ceremonies, or the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, still unfinished, but already the largest cathedral in the world.
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But the Episcopal Church is also Boston's Old North Church, founded in 1723 and made famous by serving as the beacon for Paul Revere's revolution-spurring "midnight ride." And Philadelphia's Christ Church, home parish of 15 signers of the Declaration of Independence, host to the first General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1785.
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It's Trinity Parish on Wall Street in New York, formed in 1698, and St. Paul's Chapel just down the street, frequented by George Washington and the spiritual healing center of Ground Zero since September 11, 2001.
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It's also Epiphany Church in Los Angeles, where Cesar Chavez rallied the United Farm workers. And Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Cumberland, Maryland, whose basement was a major stop on the Underground Railroad to freedom for enslaved African-Americans. And St. John's Church in Greenwich Village, a meeting place for gay and lesbian action following the 1969 Stonewall uprising.
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It's a parish in Iowa. A campus ministry in Georgia. A mission in Dinetah - the Navajo Reservation. A cathedral in Utah. Even a house church in Vermont.
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Wherever you find us, you'll find the Book of Common Prayer and a Christian faith that honors and engages the Bible, the tradition of the Church, and God-given human reason. Joined in prayer, you'll find people with many points of view - Christians who are progressive, moderate, and conservative - yet who value the diversity of their faith community.
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That's a heritage drawn from our deep roots in nearly 2,000 years of English Christianity, and shared by a worldwide Anglican Communion that unites nearly 80 million people in 164 countries through prayer and ministries committed to caring for "the least of these," as Jesus commanded, by reducing poverty, disease, and oppression.
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Episcopalians struggle with the same issues that trouble all people of faith: how to interpret an ancient faith for today ... how to maintain the integrity of tradition while reaching out to a hurting world ... how to disagree and yet love and respect one another.
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Occasionally those struggles make the news. People find they can no longer walk with us on their journey, and may be called to a different spiritual home. Some later make their way back, and find they are welcomed with open arms.
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Despite the headlines, the Episcopal Church keeps moving forward in mission - in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, as well as congregations in Belgium, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guam, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Micronesia, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Taiwan, Venezuela, and the Virgin Islands.
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We're committed to a transformed world, as Jesus taught: a world of justice, peace, wholeness, and holy living. We've grown a lot in 400 years, since that 1607 worship service from the Book of Common Prayer was held in Jamestown-inside and out.
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Come see for yourself. Come and visit. .. come and explore ... come and grow.
14 comments:
Susan, thank you for putting all these great history/Episcopal facts together here, as a history major and now proud to say an Episcopal, I love learning. Knowledge is powerful and I love our church and I have no fear as some other TEC people do. God is....... Mucho amor por tu y tu esposa con todo familia, Via Con Dios, Jesu Cristo y espiritu (my spanish is poor, we were not allowed to speak spanish in the 50's or 60's, till 1971, by that time I was joining the Navy, but that is the past, we must always live in the present, yesterday is history, today is all we have, tomorrow is not promised...
You understand that Ms. Russell did not compile these, right? This is the text from a self-serving ad in the New York Times.
anonymous ... I think Joe was just thanking me for posting the ad to the blog to get it wider readership ... readership I believe it richly deserves because it's GOSPEL-serving ...
(PS - And that would be "Rev Russell" thanks very much! :)
Anonymous, I was just grateful that Rev. Susan Russell posted/attached this ad from New York. I was joyful, excited and it was late at night for me. I did not mean to miscommunicate.
Also, anonymous, I know Rev. Susan Russell, she is my/our Priest from All Saints Chuch in Pasadena, where I attend, a member since 2/2004 and now received 5/12/2007.
Rev. Susan Russell, works hard and is dedicated to her/our Church (TEC), our parish, and the inclusion of all. She is also a great teacher, committed to the Holy Trinity. So do not fret Anonymous, and your tone is a little arrogant.
I love the Gospel.........
The style rules I read somewhere would suggest that the term "Rev. Russell" is incorrect - it should be "the Rev. Ms. Russell" or simply "Ms. Russell."
The Lutherans seem to have the right idea — I believe all their ordained clergy are referred to as, for example, "Pastor Doe."
(I can't help but think of the aphorism attributed to Churchill: "That is the kind of arrant pedantry up with which I shall not put!")
Awfully defensive, especially since I haven't said anything that is untrue.
As to whether or not it is "Gospel-serving" well, I suppose we shall see, won't we? If you are attempting to trick people into showing up, then it may work. It certainly doesn't present the full Gospel message.
Ms. Russell, in the priesthood of all believers none is greater than any other. At least in the Bible I read.
Quick question...is English Christianity really 2,000 years old? I do not remember that being taught at my seminary in Church history class! Interesting typo, hope they correct it to say 2,000 years of Christianity. Other than that I wish it had emphasized the salvation that Jesus Christ brought, Evangelism, the Sacraments [7 not 2], and faithful adherence to traditional Christianity [AKA Church fathers, ect...]
For anonymous 433pm: I
had the same question about the 2000 year old comment ... good question for the 815 blog ...
As for anonymous 353pm:
For future reference, when one starts out proclaiming a text "self-serving" one should not be surprised to find folks reacting defensively to such an obviously "offensive" position.
As for the "Ms" bit, #1 "tongue in cheek" is hard to detect in blogland and #2 I guess I'm just old-fashioned enough to expect respectful dialogue to include respectful use of titles as appropriate.
It's fairly remarkable that TEC is allowed to have mission churches within the CofE Anglican Diocese of Europe and yet there is loud protesting about Nigeria having mission churches in the USA.
James
For the record, yes, English Christianity is _nearly_ 2000 years old. It is at least 1700 years old, with the earliest Christian missionaries arriving in the British Isles by the 3rd century if not earlier.
Greetings from the Middle East!
I believe that Christianity in Anglia (England) goes back to the first Century, though it was not indigenous. That is, it was Roman Christians there due to the presence of the Roman Empire.
I know there were indigenous Christian bishops who were participating in synods by the fourth Century.
Na9mat irrab ma9kum.
Yes, Christianity on the Island of England goes back to the time of Saint Alban in the 300s; but technically English Christianity would only be 934 years old b/c most historians recongnize the Norman Invasion of 1066 as marking the official begining of the English nation [AKA Great Britian].
Goodness gracious! How far can a discussion get from the original point?
I read the posted ad which was published in our local Kingman, AZ newspaper, the Daily Miner and was impressed by the fact that it was a well written statement of who, what and where the Episcopalian church is and was in very few words.
When I Googled the first 12 or 13 words in the print ad I was presented with this site so was provided a digital version to send to my sister who is presently on Prince Edward Island in Canada.
Thank you, Ms-Rev.-Pastor-Bishop-subPrimate-Priest-Mother-Whatever, Susan Russell for copying, posting, plagiarizing or otherwise promulgating the text of the ad. The important thing is that you posted it!
I am not a Christian. However my sister is a long standing Congregationalist to Catholic convert finally to the Episcopalian church. At one time she actually worked toward becoming a deacon. Although not gay, she sympathizes with and often attends a gay congregation in Augusta and a straight church in Aiken.
Over time she has kept me posted and interested in the politics and divisions within the church - especially when one includes the more international ‘anal retentive' Anglicans presently concentrated in darkest Africa!
Despite my dislike of the mystical and socially manipulative nature of any religion, I have acquired a respect for at least the progressive side of the Episcopalian church which is almost as tolerant as the Unitarian Universalists and certainly more tolerant than we Secular Humanists on the flip side!
Goodness gracious! How far can a discussion get from the original point?
I read the posted ad which was published in our local Kingman, AZ newspaper, the Daily Miner and was impressed by the fact that it was a well written statement of who, what and where the Episcopalian church is and was in very few words.
When I Googled the first 12 or 13 words in the print ad I was presented with this site so was provided a digital version to send to my sister who is presently on Prince Edward Island in Canada.
Thank you, Ms-Rev.-Pastor, Susan Russell for copying, posting, plagiarizing or otherwise promulgating the text of the ad. The important thing is that you posted it!
I am not a Christian. However my sister is a long standing Congregationalist to Catholic convert finally to the Episcopalian church. At one time she actually worked toward becoming a deacon. Although not gay, she sympathizes with and often attends a gay congregation in Augusta and a straight church in Aiken.
Over time she has kept me posted and interested in the politics and divisions within the church - especially when one includes the more international ‘anal retentive' Anglicans presently concentrated in darkest Africa!
Despite my dislike of the mystical and socially manipulative nature of any religion, I have acquired a respect for at least the progressive side of the Episcopalian church which is almost as tolerant as the Unitarian Universalists and certainly more tolerant than we Secular Humanists on the flip side!
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