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Episcopalians: Anglo-Catholics enjoy 'pickles, pop tarts and cutting-edge cathol
From
dmack@episcopalchurch.org
Date
Sat, 24 May 2003 11:40:18 -0400
May 23, 2003
2003-115
Episcopalians: Anglo-Catholics enjoy 'pickles, pop tarts and
cutting-edge cathol
by Christopher Epting
(ENS) "Catholic Evangelism" was the topic for the sixth biennial
conference of the movement known as Affirming Anglican
Catholicism, held May 19-22 at Christ Church Cathedral in
Montreal, Quebec.
Described as "the new catholic movement with the Anglican and
Episcopal Churches ... call(ed) to a mature, living Christianity
where Scripture, Reason, the Sacraments and Catholic Tradition
make sense of our lives today," Affirming Catholicism is under
the patronage of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, and in
the United States, Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold.
Affirming Catholicism conferences in North America have
traditionally begun with a brief retreat, and this year's was
led by Bishop Geralyn Wolf of the Diocese of Rhode Island. Her
dramatically presented meditations were drawn from her recent
experiences on sabbatical, during which she lived with the
homeless in an attempt to re-discover what she called her "first
love for Jesus, lived as an inner-city parish priest in
Philadelphia."
Wolf reminded participants that their Anglo-Catholic forebears
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries knew the lives of the
poor and homeless because they lived among them and engaged in
radical social action to change their conditions. "The people
saw that and followed them. Maybe that's what we ought to mean
by Catholic Evangelism,'" Wolf commented.
Pickles versus pop tarts
Dr. Ellen Charry, a systematic theologian teaching at Princeton
and a convinced Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian, gave the major
keynote address of the conference. She contrasted what she
described as an "atonement" theology of salvation with a
"participation" theology, while acknowledging that both are
biblical and part of the tradition. Drawing a trajectory from
Irenaeus through Richard Hooker, she described this
"participation soteriology" as fully Trinitarian, drawing the
one saved into the very life of God, while atonement soteriology
is more Christocentric and Cross-centered, often using the
language of substituting Christ's death for the one sinners
"deserve."
Believing that "participation" theology is more compatible with
catholic teaching and "atonement" with the more Protestant,
Charry playfully entitled this section of her paper "Pickles or
Pop Tarts." In this case, "pickles" describe the process of the
"slow God" who transforms us over time in a process of
sanctification. "Pop tarts" illustrate the activity of a "fast
God" who converts us instantly in the experience of
justification.
In her final section, Charry postulated that if the early
centuries of the church's life could be described as "the age of
bishops," and the medieval period as "the age of monks," then
the modern day is "the age of the laity." Since "all people are
theologians, the task of the church is to help them become more
sophisticated and theologically literate ones," she said. A few
practical suggestions for parish practice in this new age
included:
--Full immersion baptism in large fonts with running water;
--Processing the newly-baptized with their baptismal candles
around the church and outside to symbolize the new light kindled
for this darkened world;
--Celebration of baptismal (not birthday, or ordination)
anniversaries in church;
--Creation not only of a Book of Occasional Services, but a
"Book of Home Services" so that families and individuals can
celebrate liturgically events and ministry in daily life.
Cutting edge catholicism
Practical catholic evangelism was also the theme of a
presentation by Bishop Keith Whitmore of the diocese of Eau
Claire entitled "Cutting Edge Catholicism." Focusing
particularly on the "missing generation in our churches"
(sometimes called Gen X), Whitmore challenged participants to
make connections between the Church's rich tradition and the
thought world of these young adults in their twenties and
thirties.
"For a generation raised on Star Wars and now captivated by the
two Matrix movies, an alternative reality is not such a
stretch," Whitmore stated. "We need to remember that we 'Baby
Boomers' are the last vestiges of the Enlightenment. Gen Xers
want an experience of God, an experience of the numinous, which
they will reflect on and theologize about later. Our liturgy and
worship can do that if we make it accessible to them."
'Maternity ward' for new Christians
The conference concluded with a lecture by Canon Stephen
Cottrell from the Church of England and author of "Catholic
Evangelism," one in a series of books published by Affirming
Catholicism in the United Kingdom. Acknowledging the very low
church attendance and participation in the Church of England,
Cottrell said that it had caused his church to raise serious
questions about just how to be the church in a "post-Christian"
society--one which will be seen in North America as well. He
encouraged participants to learn from insights gleaned even in
evangelical circles today that evangelization does not occur in
a straight line from contact to conversion to church membership,
but rather from contact through nurture into conversion and
membership.
"Does your parish have a 'maternity ward' for the birthing of
new Christians?" he asked. Programs like Alpha and the more
catholic Credo as well as catechumenate programs will be
increasingly important in the coming years, Cottrell believes.
Worship highlights at the conference included Solemn Evensong
and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the Church of St.
John the Evangelist, Montreal, and a Solemn High Mass in Christ
Church Cathedral presided over by Archbishop of Montreal Andrew
Hutchinson.
------
Transcripts of the addresses and more information on Affirming
Anglican Catholicism are available on their website,
www.affirmingcatholicism.org.
--Bishop Christopher Epting is co-patron of the Affirming
Anglican Catholicism movement in the United States and serves as
the Presiding Bishop's Deputy Officer of Ecumenical and
Interfaith Relations.
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