If you’ve been hanging around the Episcopal Church for any length of time, you know that scripture for us is…nuanced, shall we say? Rather than mining the chapters and verses of the Bible for particular lines giving advice or to support some decision, we tend to focus on bigger scriptural themes. Scripture, Episcopalians like to say, “contains all things necessary for salvation” (Article 6 of the Thirty-Nine Articles, found in the historical documents of the Book of Common Prayer, p. 868). Naturally that still leaves lots of room for discussion—which things in scripture are necessary for salvation being the main question.
I bring this up because the other day I saw a description of the journey of God’s people through the ages, from biblical times to our own, as the “Great Conversation,” God has spoken, and still speaks. What does that mean and what is our part of the conversation? Interpretation, even the writing of scripture is part of that Conversation. Then there’s the question of who gets to make a response. Whose answers bear authority? Whose voices are left out? You can see how the answers to those questions have changed over the centuries as believers insist on bringing their own experiences of faith to the Conversation.
When I think about where Trinity has been in the past year, it’s this very Conversation that I hear. The world has changed in so many ways in the last decade; the place of religion in society has changed in so many ways—demographics, politics, communication, economics, possibilities—how could our Christian response remain the same? We did not choose the issues that form the backdrop to contemporary faith, but we can’t avoid the conversations. Over the years we’ve weathered storms of controversy, and those controversies have been the opportunities to engage our faith and find our voices. So now we find ourselves with something to say about our particular experience of God’s call. In many ways, Trinity is talking.
Take prayer, for example. For many years at Trinity, we seemed content to let a few doing the praying. Usually those few were older women with time available during the day. This past year’s “grape project,” with paper grapes representing spiritual growth gathering on our altar, demonstrated that we no longer need the words of prayer to be spoken only by a few. Prayers of thanksgiving, prayers looking for answers or help, prayers for discernment, these and more found their way onto our altar. All these grapes represent Trinity members finding their voices and expressing how God might be present in their lives. During Advent we used paper “hay” as a way to allow individuals to respond to the Gospel. We’ve known for a long time that our Christian faith is not a passive thing, and now we are making that true in worship. This is a start toward engaging more voices in the interpretation of scripture in worship so that my voice is not the only one engaged in the great conversation of faith. Our participation in these activities is probably one reason why Trinity was selected as one of eleven congregations participating in a nationwide preaching research project, run by Luther Seminary in St. Paul’s, Minnesota.
Another conversation taking place at Trinity involves belonging. Who is included and how? Some of Trinity’s work in hospitality has been going on for years—we have a strong ministry to provide a caring community to those who grief through our funeral receptions, that’s been true for a long time. We welcome guests to worship and have been providing a superb coffee hour with refreshments for all dietary needs. But there are other concerns to address. Trinity has included the voices and gifts of children and youth in our worship services for a long time. In June when we reorganized the Sunday School, we discovered that the best gift Trinity could give to our families with children is to better support the work of parents trying to bring their children up as Christians. We have begun doing that through online resources and our Advent worship, and the next year will find us looking for more opportunities through Holy Week and Easter. This is one example of how we can belong to one another and support each other in the challenges of an active faith life.
Trinity has also worked to find our voice in our community. This past year we hosted our first-ever fundraiser, with Richard Lederer as the featured speaker. This evening, with its glorious atmosphere, music and art offered the opportunity for Trinity members to bring friends to share in Trinity. Our monthly breakfasts continue to be an opportunity for invitation as well. We have also worked to enhance our service to Escondidothrough Interfaith Community Services and other contacts. There is more to be done, but we have made a beginning to be seen in our community and invite others to join us.
Supposedly, St. Francis said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, use words if necessary.” There are times when words are necessary, and I think Trinity is beginning to use them to say something about why we do what we do.
As we talk, and we might even argue, I think we know now what Christians, even Episcopalians, haven’t always known so well, and that is that we need each other as conversation partners and faith-bearers. We cannot be believers on our own, nor can we be surrounded only by Christians who look just like us and expect to hear God’s call. Different ages, races, politics—we need to welcome them all in the name of Christ because if we don’t hear all the voices, how will we ever hear what God is saying? How we do that is the real challenge, but it is something we can do because we know that this is what God is calling us to be.
