As a life-long Episcopalian, I deeply love our church and our polity. I love the fact that we are called to value our tradition--Holy Scriptures, the Ecumenical Councils of the Church, the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral (See BCP 876 f.), The Book of Common Prayer, and Canons of the Episcopal Church.  Beyond these important statements of belief, there is room for inquiry, questioning, and doubt. There is also room for a deep, rich, and vital faith in the living God that takes the intellectual, artistic, and emotional life of modern human beings seriously.

There is real room for a generous orthodoxy that deeply values scripture, tradition, and reason as the dynamic matrix for a real, full-bodied faith. Unlike the world, or the political arena, or most other places in our life, the Episcopal Church is a place where people of diverse view points and theological perspectives can worship together. We are called to be a "school for souls" where we learn conversion of heart in our day-to-day life as a community of faith.  We are called to holiness of life and to live just lives. We are called to make a difference. These realities are rooted in our history. It is our "gene pool" as a church forged in earlier days. It is our charism as a church and our gift for the life of the world.

Elizabeth I famously said of the Roman Catholics under her rule "I will not make windows into the souls of men." For Roman Catholics after the break with Roman by the English Church, a real political problem existed under Elizabeth's reign. To practice their religion left Roman Catholics open to the charge of treason. Elizabeth sought a practical and compassionate solution to wars of religion. Her solution was not perfect, but a radical new way of looking at diversity for her age. 

Her compromise was to offer a liturgy that bridged the wide belief of her kingdom. The Elizabethan Settlement and The Book of Common Prayer formed a firewall against the raging storms of both the catholic and protestant elements within the Church of England.

St. Paul's is steeped in this heritage. It is my hope and my prayer that we can be in reality a community that welcomes conservative and liberal thinkers, young and old, gay and straight, and any other label one might add to this list, and not fall prey to the falsely polarized choices of our post-modern age. We can live into the catholicity of the gospel's call for inclusion of all people. We can, in part, see the reign of God lived out here and now if we will hold a generous orthodoxy and seek Christ in all persons.  This is the radical middle--the way of Christ our Lord.

Faithfully,

The Rev. Mark A. Thompson, Vicar