By the Reverend Joe Hensley, Rector, St. George’s Episcopal Church
Fredericksburg, VA
I recently shared a link on Facebook to a post by Greg Garrett on Patheos.com: “Why I am Still An Episcopalian.” I am so thankful for writers like him who eloquently and succinctly express some of the gifts of our tradition. It was one of those posts that seemed to resonate with a lot of people. Then a day later I got an email from a parishioner in response to my recent sermon (see post here). Her reasons for loving the church were also compelling, and I thought they needed to be shared more widely.
She wrote:
I thought about the “bread” and what it would mean to be willing to be consumed by others and for others. I also envisioned our church as a huge loaf of bread and many hands reaching up to take chunks off to eat. The loaf would never disappear but remain fresh and whole even as many were fed. As I reflected on your thoughts and what it means to be a Christian, I realized a few things. I love St. George’s and being Episcopalian. I love that a large part of what we do is have conversations about what it means to follow Christ and to love our neighbor. I love the fact that we discover the meaning by asking questions, not by memorizing answers. I think that part of our “welcoming” is an invitation to others to join the conversation, to add to the discussion, to discover for themselves what it means to live as a witness to the love of Christ.
I love that people love the church. Let’s keep sharing the love.