Quote for Reflection from C.S. Lewis
"I am a very ordinary layman of the Church of England, not especially 'high', nor especially 'low,' nor especially anything else."
C.S. Lewis, from the Preface of Mere Christianity.
I have frequently thought about this statement from Lewis in the eighteen and half years since I first read it during the week before my baptism at All Saint's Church in Austin, Texas. In a way it encapsulates my own walk with the Lord in the years since I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in 1990. I would today happily describe myself as "a very ordinary Anglican, not especially 'high,' nor especially 'low,' nor especially anything else."
Personally I rejoice that the Anglican tradition is able to accommodate within its bounds both the fine people of St. Timothy's, Fort Worth, with their beautiful Anglo-Catholic worship of the Living God, and the good folks at St. Andrew's in downtown Fort Worth, who faithfully adhere to the more Reformed traditions of our Communion. I love worshiping with Anglicans of both the high and low church "parties," and wish them all many days of faithful service. But I must admit that my own liturgical tastes fall somewhere in the middle.
As it happens St. Vincent's Cathedral, where I presently serve, provides just about exactly what I find best equips me to worship the Lord and nourishes my own spiritual life when it comes to liturgical practice. On the one hand, if some Anglicans of a more "evangelical" bent visited us on a Sunday morning, they might feel we were a bit too "Catholic" for their tastes. (We certainly do high mass--a sung Eucharist complete with lace and moderately elaborate "smells and bells"--almost every Sunday at 9AM.) On the other hand, I have heard at least one highly-regarded Anglo-Catholic priest here in the diocese jokingly refer to us as "you Protestants at the cathedral!" (Our dean is, after all, a Trinity School for Ministry man. And the wonderful people of our parish are quite good sports about my evangelically-tinged sermons! [I've even taken a floppy Bible into the pulpit on a few occasions! :-) ]
I am very blessed that the Lord has given me an opportunity to serve Him in a faithful, orthodox Anglican community that is just about the perfect fit for a "middling sort" like me!
C.S. Lewis, from the Preface of Mere Christianity.
I have frequently thought about this statement from Lewis in the eighteen and half years since I first read it during the week before my baptism at All Saint's Church in Austin, Texas. In a way it encapsulates my own walk with the Lord in the years since I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in 1990. I would today happily describe myself as "a very ordinary Anglican, not especially 'high,' nor especially 'low,' nor especially anything else."
Personally I rejoice that the Anglican tradition is able to accommodate within its bounds both the fine people of St. Timothy's, Fort Worth, with their beautiful Anglo-Catholic worship of the Living God, and the good folks at St. Andrew's in downtown Fort Worth, who faithfully adhere to the more Reformed traditions of our Communion. I love worshiping with Anglicans of both the high and low church "parties," and wish them all many days of faithful service. But I must admit that my own liturgical tastes fall somewhere in the middle.
As it happens St. Vincent's Cathedral, where I presently serve, provides just about exactly what I find best equips me to worship the Lord and nourishes my own spiritual life when it comes to liturgical practice. On the one hand, if some Anglicans of a more "evangelical" bent visited us on a Sunday morning, they might feel we were a bit too "Catholic" for their tastes. (We certainly do high mass--a sung Eucharist complete with lace and moderately elaborate "smells and bells"--almost every Sunday at 9AM.) On the other hand, I have heard at least one highly-regarded Anglo-Catholic priest here in the diocese jokingly refer to us as "you Protestants at the cathedral!" (Our dean is, after all, a Trinity School for Ministry man. And the wonderful people of our parish are quite good sports about my evangelically-tinged sermons! [I've even taken a floppy Bible into the pulpit on a few occasions! :-) ]
I am very blessed that the Lord has given me an opportunity to serve Him in a faithful, orthodox Anglican community that is just about the perfect fit for a "middling sort" like me!
posted by Texanglican (R.W. Foster+) | 6:58 PM
3 Comments:
Randall,
I am a deacon in the Diocese of Dallas (Howdy Neighbor!). One of my great joys in being a deacon is that a visit different congregations with our bishops. In one week, I worshipped at St. James in Texarkana with all the pomp and glory that is Anglo-Catholic worship and, then on Wednesday, I worshipped at Trinity in Dallas where the Rector does Eucharist one Sunday a month and celebrates at the North End in tippet. Both are great and it is the Glory of Anglicanism that we can worship in all the many ways while still believing the same basic truths.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
I couldn't agree more, Deacon. Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy your frequent comments on Stand Firm. God bless!
I'm in the middle too. I like celebrating mass in fiddleback vestments simply because they are easier to move around in, but otherwise I like just sticking to the Prayer Book and keeping it as simple as possible. The Prayer Book and the Anglican tradition is Catholic - bottom line. So even the lowest service is truly Catholic! I love our tradition!
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