In response to concerns…

A few months ago I was in conversation with an Episcopal priest in Florida whose church had experienced a painful split before he was called to serve there.  Most of the congregation had opted to leave the Episcopal Church to be part of the Anglican Mission in America.  There had been good reasons to leave and good reasons to stay.  Each side had tended to villainize the other.  Both sides had experienced great pain.  This very gracious priest told me that he only had one word of caution for those who remained in his congregation:  you can be a lot of things in this church, but you can’t be angry.  Nothing could be done at that point to bridge the rift.  Forgiveness was vital for continued walk together with God.

Now, on many theological and ecclesiological issues I’d find more in common with the group that left than the group that stayed.  But this pastor’s words stuck with me.  I’ve seen the anger and even hatred with which some Anglicans and Episcopalians regard each other.  I’ve seen condescension and spite play out in sermons and court sagas.  I’ve seen enough to want nothing of it.

I am not an Episcopalian.  Never have been.  I was raised and ordained in the Church of God and stayed there until I was received into the Reformed Episcopal Church.  My views on scripture and worship and, yes, sexuality are too conservative to have gotten me far in the Episcopal Church had I entered it. 

BUT:

• It was the Episcopal Church that introduced me to the Prayer Book tradition.
• It was the Episcopal Church that taught me about the Eucharist.
• St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church here in Wilson was a haven for me and my wife during a painful and confusing transition with Father Chris, then rector, becoming an important friend.
• Father Phil Byrum of St. Mark’s and La Guadalupana is a dear friend and teacher to me and to some of our fledgling congregation.

Bottom line: we aren’t here to be angry at anyone.  We are Anglicans with some views and practices very different from the Episcopal Church, that’s true.  But we love and pray for and fellowship with Episcopalians here.  We aren’t trying to steal anyone away.  Anyone is welcome to worship with us, just as they are with the congregations I’ve mentioned.  There is certainly room in Wilson for more than one way to be Christian, and even Anglican.  We pray God’s best for all of our brothers and sisters in Wilson.  Why does Wilson need another church? Because were all of the population of this city to be reached for Christ, there are not enough sanctuaries to hold them.

The Gospel of Christ compels us to win the world to the Kingdom, not carve the Kingdom into territories.  We are here to serve the Lord and fulfill his Great Commandment to love and his Great Commission to make disciples.