The Inquirers Group Lesson 1 An Introduction to the Episcopal Way

The wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of Righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.James 3:17-181The Inquirers GroupLesson 1An Introduction to the Episcopal Way1An Introduction to the Episcopal Way2The goal of this class is to invite you to the life and community of the Episcopal Church and this parish.We will explore fundamental beliefs and practices that distinguish our church. In doing that we will draw on the sources ScriptureAnd the Tradition, especially the Prayer Book and the Creeds.2An Introduction to the Episcopal Way3My hope is that we do this in a way that invites our questions and engages our hearts and minds.Questions; engaged hearts and minds; together these make up Reason our God given capacity to understand and provide for our life according to our understanding.Wisdom (remember the opening sentence from James) is the fruit of the reverent use of reason.3An Introduction to the Episcopal Way4And so our method is to study the Churchs worship, teaching, and life:Based in Scripture;Always using our Reason;Following our Tradition;Seeking Wisdom.4An Introduction to the Episcopal Way5Our doctrine, discipline, and worship are rooted in the history and practice of the Church of England, both its ancient history and its reformation under the Tudor dynasty in the 1500s: Henry VIII, and his children Edward VI, Mary I,and Elizabeth I (our hero!).

5An Introduction to the Episcopal Way6While the Tudor monarchs are important, the church was formed through those generations by the work of extraordinary church leaders. We will lift up two:Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1533 1555;Richard Hooker, a great theologian during the reign of Elizabeth.

6The Family that putthe Funback into Dysfunctional.7The Tudor Monarchs7Henry VIII, reigned 1509-1547Through the crisis of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, established the Church of England independent of the jurisdiction of the Pope with himself as supreme head.Ordered an English translation of the Bible to be place in every parish church.8

8And, of course, there were the marriages . . .9Married Catherine of Aragon in 1509.Annulled in 15331 Child: Mary

Married Anne Boleyn in 1533.Annulled in 1536.Anne is executed.1 Child: ElizabethMarried Jane Seymour in 1536Dies in childbirth in 1537.1 Child: Edward

Marriage arranged with Anne of Cleves, 1540Annulled in 1540.Married Catherine Howard in 1540Annulled in 1542. Catherine is executed.Married Catherine Parr in 1543.Henry dies in 1547 leaving Catherine a widow.

9And the Order of Succession is . . .10Edward VI;Mary I;Elizabeth I;Who all die childless.10Edward VI, reigned 1547-1553The Prayer Book is introduced. The first edition in 1549; followed by a revision in 1552.Protestant reforms and teaching are established for the Church of England.11

11Mary I, reigned 1553-1558Sought to bring the English Church back under Papal jurisdiction.Persecuted and martyred Protestants, including both prominent reformers Thomas Cranmer among others and ordinary people.12

12Elizabeth I, reigned 1558-1603(to the tune of Roger Ramjet)Elizabeth Tudor, shes our hero; fightin for our salvation.Just go to church and keep the peace, no Tower or Inquisition!13

13Elizabeth I14Established the Church of England as a comprehensive national church the Elizabethan Settlement. The settlement seeks a peaceful balance between traditional Catholicism (on the right) and the new Puritans, Calvinist Reformers (on the left).Catholic on the outside; Protestant on the inside.The Church is independent and self-governing, with the monarch as supreme governor.The Prayer Book is reissued in 1559 and remains the standard for worship.

14Thomas Cranmer&Richard Hooker15Out of our Past15Thomas Cranmer16Born 1489Enters into Henrys service in 1527; made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533 at the time of Henrys divorce.Married in 1532.Prayer Book issued during the reign of Edward VI.First edition, 1549.Second edition, 1552; the second edition is more radically Protestant.Executed by Mary I, 1556.

16Thomas Cranmer: The Prayer Book17Cranmer was deeply influenced by the Reformers, both Luther and Calvin, and he sought to reform the Church and its worship. Worship and teaching were to be Scriptural and in English!Yet Cranmer drew freely on the tradition and wisdom of the Church; that is, Worship also was to be (and is) the celebration of the Sacraments, especially Baptism and Holy Communion;And the new Book was formed from traditional liturgies.All done with the hope that the Book would unify the Church in its worship.17Thomas Cranmer: The Prayer Book18All the realm shall have but one useThe church gathers for worship; worship gathers the church.For the Tudors and the Reformers, unity in religion sustained unity in society. To break religious unity was treason.But one use also means:One book, common to every worshiper;Providing all the services the church offers in its worship and draws on at every moment of life.

18Thomas Cranmer: The Prayer Book19Daily Prayer and Scripture Reading The Daily Office;The Sacraments: Baptism and Holy Eucharist;Marriage and Burial; as well as healing, confession, thanksgiving for the birth of a child . . .Ordination;And, in every edition of the Prayer Book, the complete Psalms.It is pastoral care for the souls of the church.

19Thomas CranmerScripture and the Prayer Book20Here is nothing ordained to be read but the very pure word of God, the holy Scriptures, or that which is evidently grounded upon the same.Prayer Book worship and evangelical preaching proclaim the Gospel.The life and practice of the church are sustained in daily prayer and Scripture reading.The Prayer Book is the witness of Scripture offered as prayer and worship.

20Thomas Cranmer: Scripture21The Prayer Book is formed from the words and witness of scripture. Take the Collect for Purity:Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidLord, you have searched me out and known me; you discern my thoughts from afar; indeed there is not a word on my lips, but you, O Lord, know it altogether. Psalm 139:1, 3Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy SpiritCreate in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:11that we may worthily magnify your holy NameLet us magnify his Name together. Psalm 34:3 (BCP, 1928)

21Thomas Cranmer: Scripture22A beautiful prayer, written by Cranmer, captures in a sentence both how to read Scripture and what it teaches us.Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,That we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

22Thomas Cranmer: Scripture23Stay with that prayer for a moment.Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digestWe Ruminate and, yes, thats a cow chewing its cud.Not a flattering image for Meditation but a good one we take Scripture in slowly, open to its possibilities, to the word as we hear it in our hearts; we engage it heart, mind, and soul.That we may embrace and hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting lifeAll scripture is a witness to the work of God in Christ for us;We engage it as, first and last, the word of promise and hope.23Thomas Cranmer Martyr24And now I come to the great thing that so much troubleth my conscience more than any thing that ever I did or said in my whole life; and that is the setting abroad of writings contrary to the truth; which now here I renounce and refuse, as things written for fear of death, and to save my life. And forasmuch as my hand offended, writing contrary to my heart, my hand shall first be punished therefore; for, may I come to the fire, it shall be first burned.Thomas Cranmer

24Richard Hooker25Born 1554.Ordained priest 1579; married Jean Churchman, 1581.The couple had six children; only two survived past 21.Master of the Temple Church in London, 1585.Serves Salisbury Cathedral and various parishes until his death in 1600.Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Polity published beginning in 1594.In an age of bitter and violent controversies, Hooker is practical, tolerant, respectful, and, most of all, peaceful.

25Richard HookerScripture, Reason, and Tradition26Hooker believes that the Church looks to three sources of authority.Scripture is first, but it points beyond itself to:The one God who is our source and beginning, the light by which we see light;The presence and love of Christ.The interpretation of Scripture is the work of Reason.Our God-given ability to understand and provide;Scripture must never be used to destroy reason.Our understanding of the witness of Scripture comes from Tradition.

26Richard HookerScripture, Reason, and Tradition27There is in the world no kind of knowledge, whereby any part of truth is seen, but we justly account it precious . . . To detract from the dignity thereof were to injure God himself, who being that light which none can approach unto, hath sent out these lights whereof we are capable, even as so many sparkles resembling the bright fountain from which they rise.Richard Hooker

This gentle, open-minded wisdom was born of a deeper commitment

27Richard HookerLife Together28The Church participates in the life of Christ; Christ lives in us and through us.We participate in Christ through the Worship and Sacraments of the Church especially Baptism and Eucharist.This is real, lived, and everyday. It involves us heart and soul; mind and body.Life in Christ calls forth love and answers to love. The Christian life is lived in community.A worshiping congregation, participating in Christ in the sacraments and in fellowship, is good enough. There is no perfect church.28Richard HookerLife Together29What we think is important; yet we must not think we possess the truth.The light of truth, wherever we find it, witnesses to the one God who is light and truth;And the reality of God in our hearts and lives is greater than our words or ideas. The wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.2930And so what does this mean for us?30Well . . .31We learn from Cranmer To gather for worship, as worship gathers the church;To engage Scripture;To let the tradition of the Church most of all Cranmers book! guide and form us.And we learn from Hooker The gifts of Scripture, Reason, and Tradition;Shared participation in Christs life;Lived in our ordinary life and communities;31And. . .32We learn from both Cranmer and Hooker

To seek God in all things*

(Although the quote is actually taken from St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish Catholic and the founder of the Jesuit order)

32As an Episcopal parish, then, we hope to be . . .33Always Scripture and the Gospel in worship; in what is taught; in our work;The Church of the Prayer Book gathered in worship; reverent;Participants in Christs ministry, serving Christ in one another with love; Hopeful;Caring for our community;Respectful; ready to listen and learn; honest about our questions and doubts; willing to work with our minds and reach understanding; respecting each others good conscience;Mature in that freedom;Seeking education;Nurturing of spiritual and personal growth;Practicing regular, daily prayer.33