Reflection: Why A Continuing Anglican Church? A Personal Reflection
By Matthew Gray
About 5 years ago I was what you would call a “parish orphan”. My faith had gone through a complete deconstruction. This deconstruction took me to a wide variety of churches and denominations. After a somewhat difficult and anxious journey, I settled here at St. Paul’s Anglican Church. There are four reasons why I chose to make a continuing Anglican parish my home. My hope is that these will help other parish orphans find a home.
The 1928 Book of Common Prayer played a big role in my journey to continuing Anglicanism. The concept of “common prayer” was very comforting in a world of change. Hearing the same readings in church Sunday after Sunday is a wonderful thing. These repeated readings of the lectionary start to sink deep into the mind and stir the soul. Every year you will hear the same readings and get new perspectives on the biblical texts, and hopefully apply them to your life. The other part of common prayer is the daily office. In my opinion, there is no better way to systematically read through the scriptures. If you use the lectionary you will read from the Psalms, Old testament, and New testament every morning and evening. Again, the same readings will be read every year allowing them to become better understood, and applied. The common prayer tradition can really help you to understand and apply scripture.
Doctrine and theology were another important factor in my journey to the continuum. Saint Vincent of Lérins was a monk in the 5th century. He defined the word catholic as, “what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all.” Continuing Anglicans see themselves as part of the “one, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church”. As a church we do a great job at believing what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all. We have bishops who can trace their lineage all the way back to ancient times. We believe in the Trinity, the use of sacraments, such as baptism and communion, and use a liturgy in our worship. You can find these elements throughout the catholic (universal) church. We are truly part of the universal (catholic) church that our Lord Jesus Christ founded.
Pastoral care plays a large part in Anglican ministry. This made a huge impression on me in my journey to St. Paul’s. The parishes in the Continuum are small in comparison to a large non-denominational or Roman Catholic church. This allows our priests and deacons to personally know their parishioners. It is not uncommon to see our priest’s children playing with the other children in the parish, or one of our priest or deacons meet up with parishioners for lunch after a service. It is a comforting and wonderful thing to observe.
The last reason is more personal. Serious Christians, or as the famous Anglican writer Martin Thornton would call, “proficient Christians” have a place in the continuing Anglican parishes. Many people in our post-modern world are looking for truth and stability. We are not looking for the latest fads or trends in our search for truth. Continuing Anglican parishes use the tried and trusted methods of church life, theology, and worship. The clergy and laity take their faith seriously. It is not uncommon to see many services of Holy Communion, Morning Payer, and Evening prayer every week. It is also common to see multiple bible and theology study groups. All of this allows a parishioner to truly develop into a better Christian and follower of Jesus Christ.
Father Gordon Anderson a priest in the Anglican Province of America once wrote on his blog, “So really, for me and for many other people, the reason we are in the continuing Anglican churches is because of genuine liturgical and theological convictions. We have read and studied a lot, and we have been to many different churches in a number of different traditions, and finally we have found our home in the continuing church.” I could not have said it any better.