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Disenfranchised Episcopalians |
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As a former Episcopalian I cannot help but feel a deep affinity in my heart for all of my brothers and sisters in Episcopal churches who feel that the church has left them. I came to faith and was nurtured at St. Paul's Episcopal church in Darien, CT during the years the Rev. Terry Fullam was rector and I was sent out to Youth With a Mission supported by that church. My wife and I are still connected to many of our friends from our days at St. Pauls.
Sadly the Episcopal church, as well as other mainline Protestant Churches are not what they once were. Jesus is no longer considered the "Way and the Truth and the Life" but merely one way and one truth among many other alternatives. This sounds a lot more like the relativistic society around us rather than the faith handed down to us by the Apostles. In rejecting the historic teaching of The Church on marriage and family, by supporting abortion, and undermining the historic teachings of the Christian faith held for two thousand years it has removed itself from the orthodox Christian tradition.
If you are troubled by these changes and are seeking refuge in the unchanging truth of God's Word and fidelity to the Apostolic faith, consider visiting us. If you are looking for a church that is not going to change the faith to accommodate the culture and if you are tired of the constant experimentation with the Church then you need to consider joining us to help create a vibrant Western Orthodox expression of the faith in Western Connecticut.
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Disillusioned Evangelicals and Charismatics |
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We love and appreciate the vitality of faith and evangelistic fervor Evangelicals and Charismatics bring to the Christian faith. There is a strong devotion to the Word of God and the Apostolic witness of the New Testament church that is vital for any Christian community. But with these faith communities also come various errors: "Faith" teaching, unbalanced and extreme emphasis on various aspects of the "Charismatic" or "Pentecostal" experience, overemphasis on emotional "highs" in worship, and narrow theologies that do not intelligently deal with the world around us are all errors. Unfortunately long term exposure can be hazardous to your spiritual health.
Some times these communities take up cues from the culture that undermine the long-term spiritual health of their people. This is often experienced as a sort of spiritual exhaustion. Market driven models of church growth often miss the entire point of the gospel and create a shallow spirituality, leaving people spiritually thirsty. This thirst is manifested by a continued drive to find the next new trend that will breathe life into the community, like the new books and programs pushed by the latest publisher and mega-church pastor. For those who have been in the Evangelical or Charismatic circles for some time you know what we are talking about. This impuse for the new is also experienced in a spirituality that is dependent upon emotional experience - charismatic worship services, prophetic ministers, healers, or itinerant teachers that all promise a special "impartation". And so you bounce along from one service to the next looking to fill your spiritual tank. Even worship can seem to be exhausting as people try to "bring down the anointing" of God as if He had to be wrestled to earth. And the focus often moves from honest adoration of God to the fulfillment of some personal emotional/spiritual need. Worship becomes focused on us rather than God and at that point ceases to be true worship altogether. The focus of worship is God.
Did you ever think that there must be more to your spiritual life than this? Consequently lot's of people leave these churches hungry for a deeper spirituality and stability. Orthodoxy is the answer. If you are looking for spiritual depth the tradition is a bottomless well for the spiritually thirsty. Contrary to what many Protestants think Orthodoxy does not deny miracles, the prophetic, or true worship, it just lives these things out radically differently. Miracles and prophetic words are simply not the primary focus in Orthodoxy. Instead the focus is on participation in the life of Jesus; personal transformation through spiritual exercise, worship, and right living. Our emphasis is on genuine spiritual formation that is sustainable. It is on the liturgical life of the worshiping Church gathered to put glorifying God first, not our emotional needs. The spirituality of Orthodoxy is much more rigorous and genuine but it is effective in cleansing us from sin and changing us into His image. We call this Theosis. Still coming home to Orthodoxy presents a lot of challenges. Have some questions? Here are some thoughts from a sister parish for you to consider:
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