A Very Good Thing

Today the Convention passed a very exciting piece of legislation that could have a direct beneficial impact on our parish. By an overwhelming margin, the Convention voted $3.5 million to support "The Episcopal Church's Strategic Vision for Reaching Latinos/Hispanics." It is a strategic plan (hey, we're doing that, too!) that was put together by people in the field, like our parish's friend, Fr. Alejandro Montes, who was a major contributor. It already provides invaluable research into the different demographics in the Hispanic community, and what segment of that community is most effectively reached by Episcopalians. It also suggests strategies for parishes to consider. Finally, the Vision for Reaching Latinos/Hispanics has been backed up by serious resources, which include grants for parishes seeking to start Hispanic congregations. I think we should pursue a grant and see if that might kick-start our parish's long-standing desire to reach our Spanish-speaking neighbors for Christ. Anyway, this resolution is really something where the Convention managed to make evangelistic mission a priority.

Shocking factoid to grapple with: the US has the second-largest culturally Spanish population in the world. We are second only to Mexico, and ahead of Spain!

Tonight's dance card was filled out by the Living Church Foundation dinner with a speaker's panel on "A Future for Catholic Anglicanism?" As you can imagine, I was highly interested. Another opportunity to build relationships with folks who believe that a vibrant and robust Trinitarianism, expressed in a sacramental and liturgical faith, is Anglicanism's gift to the Christian family. One of the ten laws of Anglican Catholicism, as articulated by my new friend, Dr. Christopher Wells, is that we believe that our Church is "incomplete." That is to say, that we as Anglicans do not believe that we are the perfect form of the Church; we believe that we have much to learn and to receive from other Christians. I'd say that we are living this out especially at our 9 a.m. service, where we are borrowing music from the contemporary and emergent Christians communities and employing it to express our sacramental faith. What other things can we learn so that we can be more effective preachers of the Gospel? Time will tell, and the Holy Spirit will teach.