Class 4: On Being an Episcopalian

Instructions
Today, we're going to watch some videos and have some discussion.  Below are links to videos, followed by questions for discussion.  To watch a video, click the link in blue. Please watch the videos with your table when the facilitator asks you to do so, then discuss the questions for that set of videos. After a period of small-group discussion at your table, the facilitator will ask tables to share comments with the whole group.

Video Set 1

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

Leigh on inclusive welcome

Louise on being a "cradle Episcopalian"

Anna on church as family

Brad on church as a place to discuss ideas

Faces of Episcopalians

Questions for discussion

1.     Which of these videos connected with you the most?  Why?

2.     What would you say is most important to you about the Episcopal Church?

Class 3: Episcopal Principles

Praying Shapes Believing

We talked about this and watched this video a few weeks ago.  If everyone at your table has seen it, no need to watch it now.  You can go on to the next section on baptismal theology.

Video 1: Lex Orandi Lex Credendi (Praying ShapesBelieving)
(Yes, it sounds at first like they want to sell you a T-shirt - and they do! - but this a short, clear introduction to the concept.)

The Communion of Saints

Through baptism, we have become part of the Communion of Saints, which connects us with Christians throughout time and space.  As you listen to the little song and hear the Rev. Chris Yaw talk about what this means, think about your own “heroes” of faith.  Maybe they are famous religious figures, or maybe they’re a family member or friend.

Video Set 2:

I Sing a Song of the Saints of God

Chris Yaw on being saints

The Three-Legged Stool: Scripture, Tradition, and Reason

The concept of a three legged stool is very old.  The idea is that, without any one leg, the stool is not stable.  The components of the stool are scripture, tradition, and reason.  In this somewhat irreverent, but nonetheless informative, video, Matthew Moretz explains the concept:

Video 3: Scripture, Tradition, and Reason

The Via Media

The “Via Media” means “the middle way” in Latin.  Anglicanism was founded on the Via Media in several different ways.  First, when the Protestant Reformation occurred, there was widespread polarization between the new Protestant groups and the historic Catholic church.  Because the Church of England had a different history from other Protestant groups, it remained closer to the Catholic tradition in liturgy and (in some ways) theology.  Second, after years of fighting between factions within England about the right way to worship and to understand the Eucharist, Queen Elizabeth I created the Elizabethan Settlement, which said that those people who followed the state-ordered dictates for prayer and worship would not be prosecuted, regardless of their personal thoughts.  This allowed for commonality in worship across a wide spectrum of beliefs.  Today, as heirs of this Anglican tradition, Episcopalians say that we follow the Via Media, because we have many different views on everything from what happens in the Eucharist, to how best to live out our baptismal call to work for justice, to views on what constitutes good liturgy.  As long as we are motivated by the principles of scripture, tradition, and reason, and maintain our bonds of common prayer, we believe we can pray, worship, and serve together.  In this video, Brian McLaren, an expert on the emergent church, takes the concept of Via Media into the future:

Video 4: Via Mediareinterpreted by Brian McLaren

Baptismal Theology

As we have discussed, our Baptismal Covenant, we receive not just initiation by water and the Spirit into God’s church.  We are also called to become ministers of the church.  This video presents thoughts on that calling from a deacon and a nun:

Video 5: On Being Sent

Class 2: Seeking Christ in Every Person, Striving for Justice and Peace, and Respecting the Dignity of Every Human Being

Diversity and inclusion

When talking about the Episcopal Church, many of us say "we": we believe this, we're like that, we worship like this, we pray like that.  But the Episcopal Church is a "big tent," culturally, geographically, ethnically, and in terms of beliefs, orientation, and identity.  As you watch the videos below, think about how you've encountered diversity in the church:

Video Set 1:

Por que soy Episcopal (Latino-American) 
(In Spanish. Only watch a little if you're not a Spanish speaker)

Why I am an Episcopal (Chinese-American)
 (In Chinese but very short)

Why I am an Episcopal (Young, African-American)

Pow Wow at General Convention 2012

Integrity (LGBTQ) Eucharist at General Convention 2009

Diversity in beliefs

Questions for discussion

1. How much diversity have you experienced in the Episcopal Church?  This could include differences in race, class, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, beliefs, language, and more.
2. What are some challenges of diversity in the church?  What are some of the benefits?

Repenting for the sins of the church

How does the Episcopal Church repent of its sins of genocide, racism, and homophobia (among other things)?  Keep in mind that the Episcopal Church in America has a mixed history.  In some places, it provided support and a voice for Native Americans.  In others, it helped wrap scripture around treaty violations, cultural destruction, and forced removal from ancestral lands.  In some places, it helped African-American fugitive slaves find freedom and spoke out for the abolition of slavery.  And yet, the Episcopal Church itself, as well as several dioceses and parishes, owned slaves.  Mark Anthony DeWolf Howe was the first bishop of Central Pennsylvania and helped create the first American hymnal, but he was part of the DeWolfe family of Rhode Island which controlled 60% of the slave shipping industry in America.  More recently, Gene Robinson was the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion, but in some dioceses, priests may not bless same sex unions and LGBTQ candidates for ordination are not supported.  Please watch just a few minutes of the videos below to get a sense of what the Episcopal Church has done and is doing to repent for these and other issues:

Video Set 2:

Renouncing the Doctrine of Discovery

(Watch the first two minutes.  Watch more at home if you wish, but be aware that there are graphic images of violence and discussion of genocide)

Slavery and the Church 
(Watch through about 4:22 now, and watch the rest at home if you want)

Chicago Consultation on LGBTQ Issues
(Watch through about 2:27 now, and watch the rest at home if you want)

Questions for discussion

1. What are your reactions to the videos you watched?
2. Should an institution "repent" of its sins?  Discuss the pros and cons of doing so.
3. Why should we push for or participate in repentance for things that we personally may have had nothing to do with?

Living out God's call to justice

Jesus began his public ministry in Luke by saying: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." (4:18-19)  As Episcopalians, our Baptismal Covenant makes it clear that this is what we are called to do. In the last video, Bishop John Armes of Scotland raises some thought-provoking questions about what that means for us today:

Video 3: Living Out God's Call to Justice

Questions for discussion

1. Bishop Armes makes a distinction between helping people by providing direct assistance and working to change structures that cause people to need assistance.  Which one of these are you more comfortable and familiar with?
2. What are some ways that you think about what it means to follow God's call for justice in your everyday life?  Are there any ways that you might like to do more?  What are some of the barriers?
3. What are some of the ways that we as a congregation are engaged with justice work?  What are some ideas for expanding this work, given who we are and where we are?

Class 1: Praying Shapes Believing: Baptism and Eucharist

Praying Shapes Believing

Video 1: Lex Orandi Lex Credendi (Praying Shapes Believing) 
(Yes, it sounds at first like they want to sell you a T-shirt - and they do! - but this a short, clear introduction to the concept.)

Questions for discussion

1. How have you experienced the way you pray shaping the way you live, intentionally or unintentionally?  Is there any part of the liturgy or our common life together as a church that touches you in your everyday life?  How?
2. The guys in the video mentioned two terms - orthodoxy and orthopraxy.  Orthodoxy means "right belief," and it is sometimes associated with dogma (in the Catholic tradition) or a specific confession of faith (in the Lutheran tradition) that all people who claim to be part of the faith tradition must believe.  Orthopraxy means "right behavior or action," and it has usually, in the history of the church, received a lot less attention than orthodoxy.  Which one do you think best describes the Episcopal Church?  Which one describes your faith?  Why?
3. The guys in the video suggested that how you practice shapes how you believe, but how you believe also shapes what you practice.  It's kind of a virtuous circle.  Have you ever noticed that interplay between living out your faith and the things you believe (or hold dear) about your faith?  How?

Baptism

Baptism is central to our life together.  The Book of Common Prayer says: "Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body the Church. The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble." Through baptism, we receive our mandate to be ministers of the church.  In our Baptismal Covenant, we say:

(You can make the image bigger by clicking on it.)

In the next video, you'll hear Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, talk about baptism:

Video 2: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on Baptism

Questions for discussion

1. What resonates with you about what the Archbishop said or about the images you saw?
2. Do you remember your baptism?  Your children's baptism?  Your (great)grandchildren's?  What stands out in your memory?
3. Do you think it's important for people to be baptized?  Why?

Eucharist
Eucharist means "Great Thanksgiving."  The Book of Common Prayer says that it is "the principle act of worship on the Lord's Day (Sunday)." Many people describe it as the center of our life as a church. In the next video, Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina discusses the meaning of the Eucharist in his life and theology:

Video 3: Bishop Curry on the Eucharist

Questions for discussion

1. What does it mean to Bishop Curry that the Eucharist is a "sacred meal"?  What does it mean to you?  
2. What does it mean that the Eucharist points toward the deep mystery of God?  Have you ever felt something beyond words during the Eucharist?  How would you describe that feeling?
3. How can the Eucharist be a "foretaste" of the realm of God?  Think about and discuss Bishop Curry's story at the beginning of the video and any experiences you have that might show how the Eucharist can offer us a glimpse of the world as God wants it to be.