Well now it is official. Our church is part of a Missionary Society. I'm not really sure what that is, but some people who understand church law made it happen so it must be good. After all this, I was wondering if we are still an Anglican church. It seems now-a-days everyone has claim to the Anglican faith. Well, not really everyone. The Catholics don't want to be Anglican. In fact, very few people have even heard of it, but who is right? Who is Anglican? Will the real Anglican Church of America please stand up? Seriously...stand up.
To simplify this, I look at it from a food angle. I love Chinese food. There are many Chinese restaurants in the area. What makes a restaurant a Chinese restaurant? There are four basic types of Chinese restaurants. First is the sit down and order type. Next we have the "New York style" take-out kind that shows you all the pictures of the food on the board above the counter. The third kind is the buffet. Last, but certainly not least is the food court "try my sample" kind. Can you pick which one is the true Chinese restaurant? They all claim to be Chinese restaurants.
Can we choose by the employees? Have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant, greeted by a teenager wearing trendy clothes? ("Welcome to PF Changs, how many are in your party?") Does the cook speak fluent Mandarin? A true Chinese restaurant would have an all Chinese staff, wouldn't they?
What about the food? I spent several weeks in Taiwan and visited China. There is no such thing as Egg Foo Yung on any menu there. An insider secret here. Most of our favorite dishes in America don't exist in China. They are made for Americans.
So what does a real Chinese restaurant look like? Nothing like you would see in America, but that's the point. The Anglican church is as American as rice noodles. Not to confuse you, but that means its not American. The Anglican Church originated in England as the official Church of England. It is the Queen's church. It has spread through the world mostly through missionaries from England (not really important to the story so if you think I'm wrong...tell wikipedia). You will find Anglican Church services in Africa that look nothing like our services. Sure they are similar, but similar as in Chinese take-out food is to Chinese buffet food. There are things on the menu we don't have. For example, I wonder if Chinese Anglican churches serve fortune cookies after communion. (fortune cookies also not found in China)
Figuring out who is Anglican is as controversial as naming which restaurant is truly Chinese, or Mexican, or pick your fare.
We have the 1979 prayer book Anglicans. We have the Reformed Anglicans. The Episcopal Church Anglicans. And now all the trendy acronym Anglicans like ACNA, CANA and AMiA. I read all (or some of) the blogs concerning Anglican churches in America. If you think it's just the common church-goers who are confused let me leave you with an example.
Our former Bishop is now the priest in charge of a small Anglican church by the beach, not part of our new Missionary Society. At the same time, he is also an assisting Bishop in another Anglican affiliation, and claims to be seated as a Bishop in our Anglican Missionary Society as well.
If you thought Bishops on a chess board were difficult to understand, this is inconceivable (shameless Princess Bride quote). Which rules do you follow if you belong to more than one organization? If they are all the same, then why aren't we all the same?
I always say God has grace for the human race. It didn't work out so well for some people in the Bible, but then Jesus came to die for us and our mistakes. Let's show a little appreciation folks. This debate over who is really Anglican is embarrassing. What happened to taking ground for God's Kingdom? We can work with the Lutheran church down the street but we can't play nicely with the other Anglican churches because we think they are posing as impostors. Really? Let's stand up....together.
To simplify this, I look at it from a food angle. I love Chinese food. There are many Chinese restaurants in the area. What makes a restaurant a Chinese restaurant? There are four basic types of Chinese restaurants. First is the sit down and order type. Next we have the "New York style" take-out kind that shows you all the pictures of the food on the board above the counter. The third kind is the buffet. Last, but certainly not least is the food court "try my sample" kind. Can you pick which one is the true Chinese restaurant? They all claim to be Chinese restaurants.Can we choose by the employees? Have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant, greeted by a teenager wearing trendy clothes? ("Welcome to PF Changs, how many are in your party?") Does the cook speak fluent Mandarin? A true Chinese restaurant would have an all Chinese staff, wouldn't they?
What about the food? I spent several weeks in Taiwan and visited China. There is no such thing as Egg Foo Yung on any menu there. An insider secret here. Most of our favorite dishes in America don't exist in China. They are made for Americans.
So what does a real Chinese restaurant look like? Nothing like you would see in America, but that's the point. The Anglican church is as American as rice noodles. Not to confuse you, but that means its not American. The Anglican Church originated in England as the official Church of England. It is the Queen's church. It has spread through the world mostly through missionaries from England (not really important to the story so if you think I'm wrong...tell wikipedia). You will find Anglican Church services in Africa that look nothing like our services. Sure they are similar, but similar as in Chinese take-out food is to Chinese buffet food. There are things on the menu we don't have. For example, I wonder if Chinese Anglican churches serve fortune cookies after communion. (fortune cookies also not found in China)
Figuring out who is Anglican is as controversial as naming which restaurant is truly Chinese, or Mexican, or pick your fare.
We have the 1979 prayer book Anglicans. We have the Reformed Anglicans. The Episcopal Church Anglicans. And now all the trendy acronym Anglicans like ACNA, CANA and AMiA. I read all (or some of) the blogs concerning Anglican churches in America. If you think it's just the common church-goers who are confused let me leave you with an example.
Our former Bishop is now the priest in charge of a small Anglican church by the beach, not part of our new Missionary Society. At the same time, he is also an assisting Bishop in another Anglican affiliation, and claims to be seated as a Bishop in our Anglican Missionary Society as well.
If you thought Bishops on a chess board were difficult to understand, this is inconceivable (shameless Princess Bride quote). Which rules do you follow if you belong to more than one organization? If they are all the same, then why aren't we all the same?
I always say God has grace for the human race. It didn't work out so well for some people in the Bible, but then Jesus came to die for us and our mistakes. Let's show a little appreciation folks. This debate over who is really Anglican is embarrassing. What happened to taking ground for God's Kingdom? We can work with the Lutheran church down the street but we can't play nicely with the other Anglican churches because we think they are posing as impostors. Really? Let's stand up....together.
You always have an interesting point of view.
ReplyDeleteLove it David. Thank you for saying out loud what so many of us are thinking. And to that I say, "Ah-so."
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
DeleteI'm standing up!
ReplyDelete