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What
Episcopalians Are Like
One of the coolest things about being Episcopalian
is that there are all different kinds. Conservatives, liberals, funny
people, serious
people, black folks, white folks, Hispanics, and Asians can
all be Episcopalian. Some are old, and some are
young. Some are straight, and some are gay.
Some are really sure about their faith, and some
find it to be a constant struggle. Chances
are, there's at least one other Episcopalian out
there just like you.
What ties us together is our belief in the love of
God, especially as Jesus talked about it.
Jesus taught us that God's deepest hope for us is
that we would love God and love our neighbors (Matt.
22:37-40). Although we're not
always great at it, that's what we're trying to do.
What Episcopalians
Believe
Q. Do Episcopalians
believe in the Bible?
A. We sure do.
We read the Bible aloud in church every Sunday, and
if you come for three years straight, you will have
heard almost the entire Bible. Some
Episcopalians read the Bible literally while others
see it as something that requires new interpretation
with the passage of time. Either way, we take
it very seriously, and we believe that it has much
to tell us about who God is, who we are, and how God
wants us to live.
Q. Do Episcopalians
believe in Jesus?
A. Absolutely we
do. We believe, like most other Christians,
that Jesus is the clearest picture God has ever
given us of who God is. God loves us so much
that God came to be one of us, and when we turned
against him, crucified, and killed him, God used it
as a way to conquer death forever ... not just for
himself, but for all of us.
Q. Do Episcopalians
believe in sin?
A. Yep, but we also
believe very much in a forgiving God. "Sin" is
just a churchy word for "missing the mark" or
"turning away." God knows that we won't always
get everything right, and God is always waiting for
us when our greed, busy-ness, and self-centeredness get us
off on the wrong track.
Q. What makes
Episcopalians different?
A. There are two
things that make us different from many other
denominations. One is that we usually serve
Communion every Sunday. If you're not
used to that, it can seem strange at first, but we
see it as a great way to worship and the perfect way
to remember all that God has done for us.
The other thing that makes us kind of different from
many churches around is
that most Episcopalians don't spend too much time
talking about hell. Some churches make it seem
like we were all born evil and have to do a lot of
hard work to stay out of hell. We tend to
believe that God made us very good, that God's love for us is
greater than we can imagine, and that God's grace will ultimately do most of the hard work in
keeping us out of hell. Of course, that
doesn't mean we get to live crazy, sinful lives.
It just means that we believe God is not a God who
holds our humanity against us, especially since
God's the one who
created us.
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How Episcopalians
Worship
Q. What's a typical service like?
A. At most
Episcopal Churches, a typical Sunday service has two
parts: the Word and Communion. The Word is
where we hear Scripture readings, say our prayers,
and listen to the sermon. Communion is where
we share the Bread and Wine as Jesus commanded us to
do before he died.
At ECM on Tuesday nights, the worship can be different.
Sometimes we have Communion, but sometimes we just
sing and pray together before we have dinner, talk,
and play around.
Q. What kind of
music do Episcopalians use?
A. All kinds.
Some Episcopal churches (like
Trinity here in Statesboro) only use the hymnal
with an organ and choir. At ECM, we use
guitars and other instruments, and we sing
everything from hymns to praise songs.
Q. Can anybody come?
A. Oh yes. We
believe that God does not restrict anyone from
coming to God's table, so neither do we. All
are allowed to come and worship, and all are allowed
to take Communion with us.
Other Random Questions We Get
Q. Why are your pastors called "priests"?
A. It's an old
tradition that goes way back to our earliest roots
when we were once part of the Roman Catholic Church.
Really, our priests aren't much different from most
pastors. They lead church services; they pray
for their congregations and the world; they teach
and learn; they counsel; and they visit those in
need. Lonnie Lacy is the priest who serves as
the Episcopal Chaplain at GSU.
Q. What role do women play?
A. We believe God
created both male and female in God's image and
therefore do not discriminate. Women can have
any role in the Episcopal Church that men can,
including deacons, priests, and bishops. In
fact, the new presiding bishop of the entire
Episcopal Church happens to be a woman.
Q. What about homosexuality?
A. The Episcopal
Church is working hard right now to listen to God
about homosexuality, and we're doing that by
praying and by listening to scripture, tradition, science, and one
another. It's hard work, but we feel that it's
worth it. At ECM, we believe that God does not
exclude anyone from God's table, so all students,
faculty, staff, and guests of GSU are invited to
worship regardless of sexual orientation. |
