Dear Friends,
The Sunday editions of The New York Times have been piling up at home in Granville along with the rest of our mail. I was at home last over a month ago, and Terry has been in New Hampshire to help our daughter and son-in-law with our newest grandchild, Charlotte, born on April 9. Blessedly, we have good neighbors who collect our mail and keep an eye on the house when we’re away.
I suppose I ought to suspend the subscription or change the delivery to Cleveland, but I never seem to get around to it. So, I do what most people do these days – I read the newspaper on my phone over a cup of coffee. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.
On Easter morning, The Times ran an article with the headline, “Believing.” Perhaps you saw it. It wasn’t a surprise to see an article about religion or spirituality in “The Gray Lady,” as The Times is known. The newspaper’s editors typically include reporting on some aspects of faith around Passover and Easter.
This year’s article was written by Lauren Jackson who said that “Believing” was a new project for The Times – one that was personal to her. She was raised a devout Mormon in Arkansas. Having left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she wrote that she can “understand how wrestling with belief can define a life.”
“America’s secularization is on pause,” Ms. Jackson reported, “people have stopped leaving churches…. It’s a major generational shift….”
After turning to their jobs, yoga, CrossFit, SoulCycle, and mysticism for answers on how to live well, many Americans are dissatisfied with the alternatives to religion. They want stronger communities, meaningful rituals, and places where they can express their spirituality. One sentence in the article particularly caught my eye: people are “longing to have richer, more nuanced conversations about belief.”
A dozen years ago now, Andy Doyle, the bishop of Texas, wrote a book called Unabashedly Episcopalian: Proclaiming the Good News of the Episcopal Church. “Unabashedly Episcopalian” describes me to a “T.” Although I was baptized and reared in the church, I chose it in early adulthood. It’s not perfect, but for me it is a wonderful blend of deeply rooted liturgical worship, progressive theology and accepting of modern ideas and interpretations of the faith, and a commitment to inclusiveness that not only enriches the church community but also reflects a fundamental belief in the dignity of every human being.
And it is a church where people can have richer, more nuanced conversations about belief! Questions are welcomed and exploration is encouraged.
Jesus told his disciples that no one lights a candle and puts it under a bushel. As a friend of mind, a preacher from the Black Church tradition, once put it, “Light is to be revealed, not concealed.”
Someone you know is looking for a church like St. Paul’s: a place to be and belong; a community of care and support; and a place of prayer. I encourage you to help them find us.
Blessings,
Stephen Applegate