Anglicanism 101: Christian Formation Continues

Did you know that there are 4 main branches of Christianity? Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, ...... and Anglican.

For three May Wednesday mornings we will look at the origins of our denomination, what formed us and makes us unique and faithful.

If you think Henry the 8th is the reason we exist, that we are just "Catholic-light", please come and find out a more complex story of who we are as Anglicans.

Wednesdays, May 4th, 11th and 18th from 10 am to noon in the conference room.

Holy Saturday

It is a day of waiting. The worst has happened. The best has not yet arrived. Nailed to the cross just yesterday, Jesus is dead, and his death seems to make all that he has done at best irrelevant—and at worst, a cruel joke. The disciples are scattered, acutely aware of the loss and unable to imagine the new life that would destroy death forever.

In the work that the church is called to do among the battered and broken, it is so hard to see the fullest manifestation of the new life and renewed hope that is the fruit of our faithfulness. So we must live every day in hope, believing that the seeds given to the farmer in Sudan will one day feed his family, and the well that is being drilled will bring the water to a Salvadoran village in need.

Because we do not always see the fruit, we must always believe in the promise that nothing is lost, and that life, not death, is God’s final word.

—Duncan Gray III

The Way of the Cross

The devotion known as the Way of the Cross is an adaption to local usage of a custom widely observed by pilgrims to Jerusalem for hundreds of years: the offering of prayer at a serious of places in that city traditionally associated with our Lord's passion and death.

As the sun sets and dark descends, The Way of the Cross in our parish will be a quiet contemplative "come as your are" experience of listening, praying, and simple Taize changes. The chants are only one line long and are easy to repeat. Participants can volunteer to come forward to hold the wooden cross during one of the "stations" and feel the weight of the burden, alone or shared with a family member or friend. Like the young people visiting Taize, if so moved, participants are welcome to sit on the floor, at the altar rail, or against the wall-the special spot of their own choosing to end the Way of the Cross.

On this Good Friday night, when we recall the great sacrifice that occurred tow millennia ago, we do not so much seek to offer perfect prayers as we desire to be willing to fully enter into the Passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with our hearts, minds, souls, and voices. By our Baptism, Jesus' journey to the Cross is the same journey we live today as we seek to do the will of God with the fabric of our entire life. Being Christians calls us to journey on our own Way of the Cross, where great sacrifice may be necessary to be daily ministers of justice, mercy, and peace.

John 19:38-42 (Good Friday)

They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen
cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews…And so, because
it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they
laid Jesus there. (19:40, 42)

Throughout my adult life as a Christian I have cherished my
friendships with skeptics, whether they call themselves agnostics or
atheists. One such friend, who was jolly except when talking about
God and the problem of evil, referred to this holy day as Bad Friday.
While his word choices troubled me, I respected that they reflected
what he really thought: That Christians glorify the savage death
of Jesus as a good thing—a response my friend decidedly did not
consider a good thing.

I, too, would call this day Bad Friday if I thought the burial recorded
at John 19:38-42 were the end of the story. While they are not the
conclusion, the death and burial of Jesus mark the turning point of
salvation history. Behold the holy Lamb, provided by God, who takes
away the sins of the world.

—Douglas LeBlanc

1 Corinthians 10:14-17, 11:27-32 (Maundy Thursday)

Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we
all partake of the one bread. (10:17)

Jesus spends his last hours with his friends. The cross looms over
the meal. Jesus takes the role of a servant, washing their feet.

With this action, he epitomizes his life and ministry. He redefines
the conventions of this world. Greatness is defined by servanthood.
Loving God means loving each other. He is willing to die for this.

We gather at a meal in one place. There is one bread. We share.
We break it in many pieces. Our bodies are fed. That is life. At this
same table, our souls are fed.

In the same way the bread is broken, the world is broken. Jesus will
be broken. Yet there is hope. He leaves us with each other and his
Spirit to guide us.

In this last hour, how will we sit at the table together? How will we
share the one bread so that all may be fed?

—Karen Montagno

Philippians 4:1-13 (Wednesday of Holy Week)

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus. (4:4-7)

John 12:20-26 (Tuesday of Holy Week)

Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the
earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears
much fruit…” (12:23-24)

In Agua Prieta, by the side of a busy street, there is a large cross
fixed to the bars that form the barrier between the United States and
Mexico. Attached to this cross are hundreds and hundreds of white
and purple ribbons fluttering in the wind, each having the name of
someone who has died in the desert written on it. At the center of
the cross is a wreath of flowers.

It is an Easter cross. And like Easter itself, it is layered with
meaning. At the commendation of the departed in the funeral liturgy,
the Book of Common Prayer gives us these words: “Even at the
grave we make our song, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”

Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Death
and resurrection are two aspects of a single reality.

How am I helping to bring life out of death?

—Jeffrey Lee