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Why the Episcopal Church?
These are "interesting times" for the Episcopal Church. With churches leaving, lawsuits, controversial Bishops and more, it can be easy to wonder if the Episcopal Church--and Epiphany--are worth being a part of. While the controversies will certainly continue for the forseeable future, there are still at least three reasons why we can continue to be confident that God is present in what we do:
- The Prayer Book remains our standard for faith and practice. It is easy to take for granted, but it remains for us a healthy balance of Scripture and Sacrament, of historic worship and room for innovation, of traditional, evangelical Christian faith expressed in ways we all can understand.
- We are in a healthy Diocese. The Diocese of Dallas has a believing Bishop who supports us at Epiphany as well as a new camp, new churches being planted and talented resources at the Diocean level. Dallas stands out within the Episcopal Church as a healthy, growing Diocesan family.
- And THIS part of the Church continues to be blessed by God. Ultimately, one does not belong to a national church or even to a diocese, but to a local parish. Epiphany is living into its vision to be "Servants of God, our Parish and the Community"; we are growing, with people of many different perspectives and backgrounds gathering to find the Risen Lord present in our midst.
So when one reads about the Episcopal Church in the paper or on the Internet, the news often is disconcerting. But we need to remember that, while not news, the real story is that our church continues to be a place where we can find Christ and be transformed by his Spirit at work. God is not through with us yet!
Bill
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