First, I have included a link in this introductory paragraph so that you might learn or refresh your memory as to the famous and foundational Three-Legged Stool of Anglicanism by theologian Richard Hooker. The three legs are Traditional, Scripture and Reason. This theological framework is basic to every confirmation class and Intro to the Episcopal Church and is worth revisiting now and again, never more so than in this present time of transition and opportunity within the Episcopal Church. Here is a one page summary to be reviewed before moving on: https://www.gracemuskogee.org/2020/08/14/the-three-legged-stool/.
The fourth leg I propose to be added is that of Experience. Why is this important? Because by standing firmly on only Tradition, Scripture and Reason we do not acknowledge real shifts in culture - the way in which people are searching for the experience of the Divine in their day to day lives, in their communal life, and in their worship. What everyone knows for certain about the existing church is that it is rooted in tradition - our many old and grand buildings of 150 years or more testify to this, as do all the celebrated (and beautiful) trappings of those buildings. What everyone knows is that the Bible is foundational for the whole of Christendom and for the Episcopal Church in particular whose Book of Common Prayer is framed and weighted with Holy Writ. What anyone knows who has spent time in the church's traditional worship and its educational offerings is that Episcopalians are thoughtful people who have long-standing reasoned doctrines; we are good at explaining the faith, at framing it within 2000 years of scripture and tradition. None of these things is up for grabs. But there is a reason Episcopalians are referred to as "the frozen chosen." It's time to add the fourth leg of Experience.
1. Spirituality has shifted from the Intellectual to the Experiencial. It wasn't that long ago that congregations were quite satisfied with knowledge; that is, doctrines and theology, church history and biblical study (hermeneutics and exegesis). Knowledge of things religious has been generally accepted as a form of piety. Apologetics is undeniably heady stuff. But as culture has changed, and with it the make-up of Episcopal congregations, it has become clear that knowledge/reason alone does not quench spiritual appetites as it once did. Many people in the church today want to have the experience of God in their lives; not just the evidence of answered prayer; much less to read a paper on efficacy of prayer, but the satisfaction of feeling that they have met with the very presence of God in the act of prayer. Of course people have always had spiritual experiences; the music and art of the church bears witness, and scripture itself is a testimony of the experience of the divine. Further, there is an entire library of Christian mystics whose poignant words capture our curious imaginations lead us into awe and wonder by association. But mystical experiences of the Divine have not historically been as well known, studied, or promoted within parish life as the three legs of tradition, scripture and reason that support the church's historical identity.
2. The mass exodus from mainline churches testifies to the missing leg. Many in the church remain bewildered at why people have left or why there are so many people who have no interest whatsoever in exploring traditional Christian mainline religious offerings, whatever the flavor. For many years I heard from within church walls that it was the Sunday sporting practices and games that were taking away the kids and their parents. Before that it was the opening of stores for shopping on Sundays - that the Sabbath day had been subverted. Secular culture was blamed. But the fact is, people increasingly make the choice for themselves to go elsewhere on Sunday mornings. I believe that the church did not understand to what extent that what people wanted was to really, really experience God within the context of Sunday morning. Big Box or Megachurches fill their mammoth buildings with thousands every Sunday, despite the ball games of their children and open malls, because what they are offering is an experience. We might argue about content in favor of our own biases but talk to the people who attend these services and what they report is not how much they learned or how they had come to a reasoned faith but rather they describe the worship experience as a spiritual experience in and of itself. I do not wish to knock out the three legs and establish a single, solitary and unstable leg of experience primarily, which may well prove to be a deficit in the mega church culture in the long run, but I do think that we Episcopalians might pay attention to what is evidenced in front of our eyes.
3. Yes. And.... Warning: Some of what I write here will be hard to read. Episcopal liturgies are beautiful. Yes. And, they are outdated in many respects and in need of revision. Episcopal hymnody is as familiar to those who grew up in the church as a loved relative; favored, savored and sacred. Yes. And... To most people outside the church walls, while is lovely to some it is to others unfamiliar and dated, stiff, stale and uninspiring. The church's cathedrals and grand buildings of the 18th and 19th centuries are sacred monuments grounded in scripture, tradition and reason; they are beloved testimonies to the church's place in society and religious life. Yes. And... the cost of maintaining those buildings cannot be sustained; the costs have skyrocketed and the money isn't there anymore. The foothold the Episcopal church once held in the religious landscape has shifted dramatically. Yes. And.... I believe that Michael Curry, in his role as presiding bishop is leading the church into a new day; a new day led by the experience of Becoming Beloved Community in the midst of the dissolution of much of what went before. Additionally, as Stephanie Spellers (author of The Church Cracked Open) spells out quite clearly and succinctly, we did not arrive at this place in our history innocently. There is much within Episcopal tradition to be questioned, and much to reconcile and yet the three legged stool has its place. Yes. And.... it must now be equally balanced by Experience; the experience of forgiveness, the experience of gratitude; the experience of the divine: the experience of the inner witness, the experience of inner knowing, the experience of the inner compass, the experience of the inner voice, the experience of the inner guide, the experience of inner wisdom, the experience of the inner lover of souls, the experience of the inner seer of the unseen, the experience of inner calm in a sea of worldly chaos and disorder, and the experience of inner wonderment in the midst of worldly conflict, division, violence and broken bonds of trust.
Thank you for reading my blog and walking with me in the path of spiritual grace; for your willingness to spend this time with me as together we learn how to see and be Christ in the world. Rowena +
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