Restoring the Ties That Bind

William Sachs

Description

Drawing on more than 2,500 discussions with Episcopalians in focus groups and personal interviews as part of the Episcopal Church Foundation's Zacchaeus project, William Sachs and Thomas Holland conclude that there is a paradox in the Episcopal Church. At

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Church Publishing Incorporated
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780898697391
• Langue: English

Extrait

Restoring the Ties That Bind

T HE G RASSROOTS T RANSFORMATION OF THE E PISCOPAL C HURCH
Based on research by the Episcopal Church Foundation
Restoring the Ties That Bind

T HE G RASSROOTS T RANSFORMATION OF THE E PISCOPAL C HURCH
WILLIAM SACHS AND THOMAS HOLLAND
Based on research by the Episcopal Church Foundation
Copyright 2003 by
William Sachs and Thomas Holland
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sachs, William L., 1947-
Restoring the ties that bind: the grassroots transformation of the Episcopal Church / William Sachs and Thomas Holland
p. cm.
Based on research by the Episcopal Church Foundation .
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN: 0-89869-379-9 (pbk.)
1. Episcopal Church. 2. Episcopalians. I. Holland, Thomas P II. Episcopal Church Foundation. III. Title
BX5930.3.S23 2003
283 .73 090511--dc21
2003055301
Church Publishing Incorporated
445 Fifth Avenue
New York NY 10016
www.churchpublishing.org
5 4 3 2 1
C ONTENTS

1. I NTRODUCTION
From Zacchaeus Perspective
2. T HE T IES T HAT O NCE B OUND
The Power of Memory
3. C ONFLICT , C ULTURE, AND I NSTITUTION
The Many Forms of Episcopal Conflict
4. T HE T URN TO THE G RASSROOTS
Beyond Program
5. I N S EARCH OF L EADERSHIP
The Historic Forms of Religious Leadership
6. M AKING C ONNECTIONS
Team Approach
7. T HE W AY, THE T RUTH, THE L IFE
A New Consensus
8. F ROM R ELIGIOUS I NSTITUTION TO S PIRITUAL C OMMUNITY
The Challenges Ahead
A PPENDIX A
A PPENDIX B
A PPENDIX C
B IBLIOGRAPHY
F OREWORD

by Donald E. Miller, University of Southern California
Drawing on more than 2,500 discussions with Episcopalians in focus groups and personal interviews, William Sachs and Thomas Holland conclude that there is a paradox in the Episcopal Church. At the local congregational level there is considerable vitality; this vitality, however, is in marked contrast to the sense of crisis that exists within the hierarchy of the church.
Based on media reports, one might conclude that the Episcopal Church is being ripped apart by debates over clergy blessings of same-sex unions and progressive political pronouncements by the hierarchy. A quite different picture emerged when Sachs, Holland, and their fellow researchers visited over 200 local parishes. In these conversations, they discovered that church members were animated by discoveries being made in their personal journeys of faith; they were concerned about ways in which they could more effectively pursue ministry within their church and in their local community; and they were worried about nurturing their children-the future leaders of the church.
Many of the active members of these churches were first-generation Episcopalians. They were nearly indifferent to what was happening in diocesan and national conventions. Issues that had divided the church in the past, such as Prayer Book revisions and the ordination of women priests, were ancient history. Their main concern about the church s organizational superstructure was whether they were getting their money s worth. They wanted resource materials to enhance their ministry, not authoritarian leadership.
For people who pursue their spiritual journey within the Episcopal fold, the attraction is the style of worship and the fact that they do not need to check their intellect when they enter the door of the church. They are also attracted to the centrality of the Eucharist within the Anglican tradition, and the fact that the Christian life is one lived in community; it is not a purely personal quest. In this regard, they are embracing the historic commitment by Anglicans to reason, Scripture, and tradition. But they also want something more. They desire to experience the sacred in highly personal ways. Indeed, it is this encounter with the Holy Spirit that is personally transformative and cements their relationship to the church.
Restoring the Ties That Bind: The Grassroots Transformation of the Episcopal Church is an important book for clergy and lay members who are concerned with mapping the future of the Episcopal Church. At the local level, the church is a vital worshiping community of people who are committed to experiencing God in direct and personal ways. The challenge for the church s hierarchy is to support the spiritual pursuit of its people, providing resources and exemplary models of what it means to be a faithful Christian in the twenty-first century.
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

There is good news about the spreading of the Good News-in America in general and the Episcopal Church in particular. But we might not have known this good news without the research funded by the Episcopal Church Foundation in the form of the Zacchaeus Project. Nor would we be bearers of this good news now-in a narrative form based on the Zacchaeus Project data-but for the encouragement of a variety of friends and colleagues. A number of people have offered direction for the book, and for the research program it represents: Diana Bass, Sarah Buxton-Smith, Ian Douglas, Peter Gorday, James Kowalski, James Lemler, Martin Marty, Clayton Matthews, Titus Presler, Matthew Price, Katherine Tyler Scott, Frank Turner, and Robert Wuthnow. James Wind, of the Alban Institute, and Janet Waggoner, a former Episcopal Church Foundation colleague who serves as a parish priest in Connecticut, served as readers for parts of the book as it took form and offered helpful critiques. Donald Miller, of the University of Southern California, who graciously wrote the book s foreword, is an active colleague in several aspects of the Episcopal Church Foundation s work. He is also a valued friend. We greatly appreciate the breadth of his wisdom and the good-humored edge to his insights.
Our colleague at the Foundation s Cornerstone office in Berkeley, Ann Hallisey, gave exceptional amounts of time to reviewing this book as it took shape. Her detailed, thoughtful, and skilled critiques of our prose and our logic had a major beneficial effect. We are deeply grateful for her friendship and her expertise.
Donn Mitchell of the Church Foundation played a major role in shaping this book by his skilled efforts to edit the manuscript. Once the manuscript reached Church Publishing, Johnny Ross continued the editing process. Johnny offered thorough, talented, and good-natured advice for pulling the book into final form. We are deeply indebted to him. We express our gratitude to Frank Tedeschi of Church Publishing who understood the powerful story that this book tells and who encouraged and expedited its publication.
From its inception as a research project in 1998, this work could not have been possible without the guidance and encouragement of William G. Andersen. As Executive Director of the Episcopal Church Foundation, Bill has been unflagging in his dedication, astute guidance, and thoroughness. He serves as a model of faithful and visionary leadership for many in the church. We also thank the Foundation s board, which works closely and well with Bill and the staff. In particular, we thank Bernard Milano, board president, and George Ching and Ward Richards who guide the research and development committee.
Myra Blackmon (wife of Thomas Holland) and Austin Tucker (wife of William Sachs) have lived with this book, and with our varied professional obsessions, for a number of years. Without their honesty, compassion, and sensitivity, no amount of research would find useful expression. We thank them for their clarity, faithfulness, and unflagging support.
We also thank the churches where we and our spouses seek and find God: Emmanuel Church, Athens, Georgia, and St. Luke s Church, Darien, Connecticut. In these parishes, we find numerous friends and continuing instances of the possibilities and challenges that Episcopalians and all of religious America now face. We dedicate this book to the people with whom we worship and minister, and to all the people whom we have met in our explorations of the lives of Episcopal congregations. May they continue steadfast in the love and dedication and hope which we have discovered in such abundance among them.
1

I NTRODUCTION
From Zacchaeus Perspective

SARAH S STORY
As a few members of an urban Episcopal church gathered to describe their congregation s life, one woman named Sarah was eager to speak. Proud of the place she now calls her spiritual home and of the people who have become her spiritual family, Sarah was bursting to tell the story of how her new life in faith had taken shape. As she did, she revealed more than she realized. More than the story of one person s growth in faith, Sarah s story also is the story of a widespread spiritual search that is reshaping American life in general and the life of the Episcopal Church in particular.
She began by describing a long walk she took one day, during which she discovered a beautiful old church. It was lunchtime, and she had been especially anxious to get out of the office that day and just go walking around. Something was going on with her. For months she had been using her lunch hour to walk and think and review the details of her life. It was a good life, she constantly reminded herself. She had much to be proud of: education, job advancements, a comfortable condominium, a circle of friends. There had been difficult moments, of course: the death of a parent had come on the heels of a job change several years ago, and recently there had been the pain of a broken relationship. But even these losses had become sources of reassurance. She had learned from these experiences and-largely by her own perseverance, she acknowledged proudly to the small group-she had eventually healed.
Increasingly, though, something had been gnawing at her that she could not understand or even identify. She sensed that her life was incomplete, that something was missing. Although she had accomplished much and survived more than she could have imagined, someth