Today I went to a memorial service being held at a local downtown Episcopalian Church. A long ago Episcopal friend and priest often reminded me that this tradition and my United Methodist tradition had common spiritual roots. The Episcopal Church is the American version of the Anglican Church, or the Church of England. After the Revolutionary War no one wanted to pledge allegiance to anything English so in that moment of change, the Anglican Church in America ceased to exist and the Episcopal Church came into existence. Of course, John Wesley, the father of Methodism, was an ordained Anglican priest and was until his death; thus, the connection between the two traditions. We have roots that make us ecclesiastical brothers and sisters.
One of the more obvious differences is the use of liturgy. The Episcopal Church is a church much more immersed in liturgy. Some of the prayers prayed from "The Book of Common Prayer'" are prayers prayed by people we only know as ancestors. The ritual brings those who use it into a stream of spirituality that has been practiced by the people of God for generations. It may lack the spontaneity of some of the more modern and contemporary churches where formal is an ugly word, but it also true that many of today's younger worshipers who are living in a world of constant change are finding a safe and comfortable place midst the traditions and rituals that have stood the test of time.
The pendulum is always swinging. In the beginning of my years of ministry, most people who attended church went to what might be characterized as mainline denominations and now many mainline churches hide their denominational branding. It is also true that yesterday's worship was organ and pulpit centered and now the more modern churches depend upon a band with guitars and drums and pulpits have been put into the historical room. People change. Churches change. In this world of change, let us remember, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)
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