Through the Proper Lens

The alleged turmoil in the Anglican Communion, and the Episcopal Church specifically, looks a lot more serious if you’re looking through the wrong lens. Using one that takes in a very narrow field – while making everything seem closer – certainly heightens the illusion that there’s a stampede on. The Rev. Ken Howard, rector of St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Darnestown, Maryland, makes just this point in his guest column currently running on the Episcopal Life web site. Speaking of those in his own congregation—which includes those of many viewpoints—he says, “Recognizing that human understanding of the mind of Christ is imperfect at best, they choose to make the love of Christ -- experienced in their common worship of the Living God -- the basis of Christian community, rather than agreement on a broad spectrum of doctrinal principles (unity, rather than uniformity). You can read the rest here.

If there’s anything that might be termed quintessential in Anglican tradition, it is this willingness to admit that we mortals don’t have all the answers, and that—as Jesus stressed over and over—being in community and loving one another is central to God’s plan for his people. The God whom we worship is a very present-here-and-now God, not a being fixed in the past. Begin from these two premises, and the rest falls into place pretty quickly.