BISHOP DELIVERS EPISCOPALIAN RELIGION

TO THE ADVENT

The Episcopal Cathedral Church of the Advent, in Birmingham, Alabama, is having an identity crisis. After a quarter of a century of increasing movement to the evangelical edge of Anglicanism (some might say beyond the edge), the trend reached its crescendo in 2018 when the dean, Andrew Pearson introduced "Our Liturgy," a substitute liturgy for Morning Prayer and Holy Communion. Find it on the Advent website . This was to take the place of The Book of Common Prayer for the corporate worship at the Advent. "Our Liturgy" is distinctly evangelical, drawing largely from the spirit of Calvinism. 

So, the basic question at the Advent now is whether to keep Pearson's highly evangelical "Our Liturgy" or return solely to the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer. In other words, should the Advent define itself as a Calvinist church or as an Anglican one? Calvinism is more vertically oriented while Anglicanism is more horizontally oriented. Another way of looking at this is to ask whether the Advent should move to express itself now more as vertical or horizontal religion. The last three deans moved the Advent far into the vertical realm. Should it stay there or backtrack toward a more horizontal posture? This is the dilemma facing the good people of the Advent today.

Episcopal Cathedral Church of the Advent, in the heart of downtown Birmingham.

For the past seventy or so years, the Episcopal Church has worked hard to express itself as horizontal religion. Along the way, it made tremendous gains in the struggle for equality for and inclusion of social groups excluded or marginalized in the life of the church, particularly African Americans, women, and homosexuals. Episcopalian advocates of vertical religion objected to this, some even going so far as to break away from the Episcopal Church and form new "Anglican" churches. There are over sixty individual "Anglican" denominations now in the United States. In the southeastern U.S., most of the leadership and laity of the Diocese of South Carolina left the diocese and the Episcopal Church and formed their own "Anglican" diocese in protest of horizontal religion.

Yesterday, 23 May 2021, the bishop of Alabama, Glenda Curry, visited the Advent for Confirmation at both the 9:15 and 11:15 services. I watched both on YouTube where they are still available. The tenor of the two services was quite different. The 9:15 had a hootenanny band with "praise" music (fingernails on chalkboard to my ears). There was a large congregation but I did not hear much singing from the pews. There was a large Confirmation class of youngsters, and perhaps in the interest of time there was no Eucharist. The 11:15 service was Confirmation/reception (amazing number of receptions) and not so large congregation. It was the traditional organ/vested choir with hymns from the Hymnal.

Bishop Glenda Curry presiding over 11:15 Confirmation, 23 May.

I expect everyone was keen to hear what the bishop would have to say since this was the first Sunday after the former dean's controversial departure. What I heard was a typical Episcopalian and rather good homily of horizontal religion. Pentecost Sunday provided an opportune moment for this. Curry declared that at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to the people so that God could work through His people: "He chooses to do his work through ordinary people." Moreover, Jesus expects his love to be "blazing in our hearts." Finally, she asked the congregation, "How will God come to you, so you will know Him?" She assured them, the Holy Spirit will always lead. For that moment anyway, the Advent was truly an Episcopal church.

Symbols matter, especially in religion. Of all the irregular things at the Advent these days, I think the one that bothers me the most is the darkness of the chancel lamp, visible hanging near the organ. It is supposed to be kept lit to symbolize the Real Presence of the consecrated Host housed in the Ambry (wall box). No light means no Presence. I am waiting for the day when the light burns again in the Advent. I have a hunch it is not far off.