Pictures:
Shield of The Episcopal Church USA,
Bishop Leo Frade,Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida
Bishop V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, our
denomination's first openly gay bishop.
This morning's CD:
Wynton Marsalis
"Standard Time
Vol. 3
The Resolution
of Romance"
I've been thinking a lot lately about my personal spirituality, beliefs and God.
Everybody's spiritual journey is unique and deeply personal.
My experiences with God have been deep and profound. Having been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease is not news any of us would be thrilled to receive.
But to me, the concept of Jesus hold my hand and going with me on this journey brings comfort and peace not torment and despair. And in moments of uncertainty, anxious thoughts will creep into my head but it only takes a reminder of my knowledge of God being with me on this journey, a passage of scripture or a phrase from a hymn or prayer which quickly jolts me back to my belief in a loving God who cares about me and isn't leaving me to go through this adventure alone. Included in this faith journey is a wonderful family of support. A family of like believers whom I choose to congregate with, share my faith and communion with: The Episcopal Church.
Having come into the Episcopal church from a non-liturgical background, people sometimes wonder how I got from there to here. I'll try to explain. In the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part, I discovered an expression of spirituality shaped by certain elements of consciousness and the spirituality of scripture along with a five hundred year history of worship with the Book of Common Prayer. In my faith journey as an Anglican, I've found a tradition that encourages the cultivation of inner spiritual growth, a life inside of me that believes in a direct encounter and knowledge of God that is experienced in the heart, in my activities of daily living, in my work, rest and play. It's a experience of love and joy, of mystery and continual growth.
Episcopalians love liturgy and I'm no exception. We are also independent thinkers and tend to be intuitive. This is no coincidence. When the Church of England broke with Rome and the English Reformation occured, elements of Celtic mysticism couldn't help but have an influence on early Anglicans. Some evangelicals have a problem with the word "mysticism. The truth be told, evangelicals believe in mysticism as well. It's the mystery of faith, the inability to explain every little detail of God while experiencing the infinite nearness of our creator and his love for us.
Anglicans celebrate worship through our Book of Common Prayer. It's Scripture that is prayed, chanted, read, paraphrased and sung. Episcopalians are immersed in Scripture without stressing memorization or literal interpretations which have been fought over, written about endlessly and has caused more strive amongst Christians for centuries. Anglicans look at the Bible as a WHOLE, we tend to get involved in the complete story and history and thus formulates our fluid spiritual believe system.
Communion, or Holy Eucharist is important to Anglicans. It's being in shared communion with one another and with God and that's why we take Communion routinely as a part of our worship experience.
I hope my readers don't think I am suggesting that people of other denominations do not have deep experiences with God. Because I know that folks of all faiths do.
My faith is important to ME and heightens my ability to hear and experience the voice of God and brings me great joy.
Gordon
Pictures:
Shield of The Episcopal Church USA,
Bishop Leo Frade,Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida
Bishop V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, our
denomination's first openly gay bishop.
This morning's CD:
Wynton Marsalis
"Standard Time
Vol. 3
The Resolution
of Romance"
I've been thinking a lot lately about my personal spirituality, beliefs and God.
Everybody's spiritual journey is unique and deeply personal.
My experiences with God have been deep and profound. Having been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease is not news any of us would be thrilled to receive.
But to me, the concept of Jesus hold my hand and going with me on this journey brings comfort and peace not torment and despair. And in moments of uncertainty, anxious thoughts will creep into my head but it only takes a reminder of my knowledge of God being with me on this journey, a passage of scripture or a phrase from a hymn or prayer which quickly jolts me back to my belief in a loving God who cares about me and isn't leaving me to go through this adventure alone. Included in this faith journey is a wonderful family of support. A family of like believers whom I choose to congregate with, share my faith and communion with: The Episcopal Church.
Having come into the Episcopal church from a non-liturgical background, people sometimes wonder how I got from there to here. I'll try to explain. In the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part, I discovered an expression of spirituality shaped by certain elements of consciousness and the spirituality of scripture along with a five hundred year history of worship with the Book of Common Prayer. In my faith journey as an Anglican, I've found a tradition that encourages the cultivation of inner spiritual growth, a life inside of me that believes in a direct encounter and knowledge of God that is experienced in the heart, in my activities of daily living, in my work, rest and play. It's a experience of love and joy, of mystery and continual growth.
Episcopalians love liturgy and I'm no exception. We are also independent thinkers and tend to be intuitive. This is no coincidence. When the Church of England broke with Rome and the English Reformation occured, elements of Celtic mysticism couldn't help but have an influence on early Anglicans. Some evangelicals have a problem with the word "mysticism. The truth be told, evangelicals believe in mysticism as well. It's the mystery of faith, the inability to explain every little detail of God while experiencing the infinite nearness of our creator and his love for us.
Anglicans celebrate worship through our Book of Common Prayer. It's Scripture that is prayed, chanted, read, paraphrased and sung. Episcopalians are immersed in Scripture without stressing memorization or literal interpretations which have been fought over, written about endlessly and has caused more strive amongst Christians for centuries. Anglicans look at the Bible as a WHOLE, we tend to get involved in the complete story and history and thus formulates our fluid spiritual believe system.
Communion, or Holy Eucharist is important to Anglicans. It's being in shared communion with one another and with God and that's why we take Communion routinely as a part of our worship experience.
I hope my readers don't think I am suggesting that people of other denominations do not have deep experiences with God. Because I know that folks of all faiths do.
My faith is important to ME and heightens my ability to hear and experience the voice of God and brings me great joy.
Gordon
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