Skip to main content

"I know who you are"


“So, what do you do for a living?” she said to me. Not in my usual clerical garb, I needed to answer, “I am an Episcopal priest.”  “Oh right, you guys are like Catholic priests but can get married,” she exclaimed.  Not wanting to get into too elaborate a discussion, I acknowledged the capability and then shared a brief sentence or two describing the Episcopal church as not really Protestant and not Roman Catholic, but holding a “middle way” respecting Holy Scripture, Tradition and Reason. I then told her about some upcoming events at Caroline church and invited her to come. 

As an Episcopal priest here in the Three Villages for many years, and Rector of the historic Caroline Church of Brookhaven, I am no longer surprised how many people have a rather narrow understanding of just what the Episcopal Church is all about.  Yes, as with all Christian denominations, Jesus Christ is the head of our church: that Church being one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.  The Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament are the rules and ultimate standard of our faith, that is Trinitarian in nature.  Our communal nature is a reflection of this relationship of God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we are Baptized and spiritually nourished at the Table of our Lord, we realize that we are called to follow the direction and teachings of Jesus Christ.   

From Medieval times there have been three separate general church divisions: Greek, Anglican, and Roman. Although the Reformation in the 16th Century became a time of Protest of the status quo, the Church in England, retained Catholic doctrine and practice, with Bishops and priests administering the sacraments, while eventually freeing itself from direct papal control. Many are familiar with Henry VIII’s reign and independent streak, although interestingly enough he died a Roman Catholic.   
The Episcopal Church in the United States which began after 1783 when the colonists won their independence is part of the Anglican Communion. Anglicans number about 80 million members worldwide in 38 different church organizations, including the Episcopal Church in America. Each Anglican Church is autonomous, interrelated and interdependent. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the recognized spiritual head of our branch of Christ’s church, though each church organization is self-governing under its own Presiding Bishop. 

In my rather brief response to the woman who asked me what I did for a living, I tried to sum up the essence of the Episcopal Church. I think what has given the Episcopal Church a unique flavor, is our understanding that life is often messy.  As an Anglian church, we have taken the middle way in policies and procedures. Meeting human needs and improving the human condition is a fundamental aspect of who we are as a church.  Centered in worship, with our Book of Common Prayer as our liturgical focus, we as a redeemed people live with and take seriously mystery, beauty, joy, love, suffering, goodness, sin, holiness, and all other human values and experiences.

I have been personally spiritually nourished over the years within this branch of the Christian faith as I have come to respect the diversity of all God’s people.
Cn. Richard Visconti

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Our Diversity is Our Strength

I was riding the subway with my husband.   We were headed towards Penn Station, returning home after seeing a Broadway show in Manhattan.   It was rush hour, the subway was crowded and I was lucky to get one of the last seats.   It was amazingly quiet for such a crowded car.   Most people were looking at their phones or listening to a device.   There were quite a few pairs of wireless earphones on people.   Their heads nodded slightly to the beat of noiseless music, or their eyes glazed over as a mystery book played in their ears.   There was a rich variety of humanity on that single car- multiple ages, ethnicities, races, ages and income levels.   I marveled at the diversity and the peaceful coexistence in this tiny piece of New York City. My eyes glanced over to the man sitting next to me.   He was holding a book and reading it very intently.   Reading an actual book is a relatively rare occurrence these days, but what truly caught my attention was the unusual prin

Advent Lessons

As we come to the last days of Advent, the season in Christianity of waiting, I am reminded of the words of Sr. Joan Chittister, a Benedictine Sister of Erie Pennsylvania, known for her social justice stance and working with and for the marginalized. “Advent is that unchangeable season when the same concepts, the same words rise over and over again, year after year, to challenge our hearts and plague our minds. Advent is the season of waiting. And who hasn’t waited? When we are little children, we wait for gifts from our parents. When we are young adults, we wait for the lover who will take us to the magic world of Everything. The problem is that the presents pale and the magic world sags all too quickly into reality. But then Advent comes, relentlessly and throughout life, with its words of hope and faith—shepherds and magi, crib and star, Emmanuel and glory—and stirs our hearts to pinnacles of possibility one more time. Ruben A. Alvez wrote, ‘Hope is hearing the melody of the future;
Compassion On the radio a few days ago there was a piece about refugees arriving by boat to the shores of a country that in the past had been welcoming, but this time people were yelling angrily and running into the water to block the boats from landing.   The boats were full and there were children on board. The turmoil and anger in the crowd was audible. I don’t speak their language, but the reporter said that people blocking the boats were shouting “Go back home. We don’t care about the babies.” I was repulsed. I could not stop thinking about it. “We don’t care about the babies.” What would it take for me to say that? For my friends to say that? My neighbors? Horrible thought, that people I know might be moved to yell at desperate people “We don’t care about the babies.” I started to ask myself how that could happen, what it would feel like to push away needy people and shout “I don’t care about the babies.” Please don’t stop reading when I tell you that suddenly my hea