Tripp the Anglobaptist has posted the liturgy of his Instalation Service.
I gave the following invocation:
Almighty God, lover of humankind, who calls us by your grace in the midst of the church to give witness to your work in the world, grant that we your gathered people in worship and witness may glorify your holy name, through Christ Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen
I bring these two things together because while I am perhaps not yet able to say specifically where the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church" is I am convinced it is one and it is visible. For me the ecumenical is the way for Protestants especially to find their way around the early reformers inability to look at the church as both holy and full of the failings and sins of those who make up the church. In some sense I am staying put hoping to avoid the "serial Cyprianite" pattern. Most everything in Tripps instalation service spoke to me of an eclesial desire and longing, and my hope is that ecumenical work is the way for us to find our way to its fulfilment. Tripps instalation service gave me hope that I am not wrong, for there was a very strong sense that whatever the meaning of our divisions and lables in the end the church is one, not two or even more. I hope I am not reading too much into what happened this past sunday. In this sense this past Sunday was quite a different and even eclessial experience in contrast to the worship service I attended last weekend, which seemed to me to be entirely unconcerned with questions of the church.
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"We sprinkle." was perhaps the most amusing comment of the evening.
ReplyDeleteI am biased, Larry, but I agree with you entirely. I am looking forward to the local clergy meeting later this month. It should be a really good opportunity.