Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi

The context is plural. It is what the community — the Church — believes. Individual beliefs or understandings of individual members may, and do, vary and fluctuate. There is nothing inconsistent or wrong about this, since my view of God, the world, and life has changed more than once and will, assuredly, again. The late Stephen Bayne, sometime Bishop of Olympia and Executive Officer of the Episcopal Church, once gave the Blandy Lectures at our Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. It was late and the bishop was tired, and one questioner kept asking specific questions about our doctrine. Finally the bishop sighed, "Look, we have a way of worshipping God, and we all do that together. Within that framework, you work out your own salvation in fear and trembling."

None of us has a faith that is entirely his or her own. What we have, what we have received, and what may evolve within us are all contained within, or measured against, what the Church holds and, for us, this is in our "way of worshipping God".

In the Episcopal Church, this framework is in our worship and, specifically, in the Prayer Book. The trend toward printing out each Sunday's liturgy is not good, in my opinion, because it discourages use, and familiarity with, the Prayer Book. Carving out a specific liturgy and printing it out, in isolation, may seem convenient. The problem is that it prevents anyone from seeing any connection with the whole fabric of worship. In my view, the argument that the Prayer Book is not "user friendly" flies in the face of experience. Besides, anything can become "user unfriendly" if it isn't used! Moving smoothly through the Prayer Book liturgical forms is really quite easy for worship leaders willing to learn and pay attention.

What does the Episcopal Church believe about God? Look at the historic creeds in the Prayer Book. What does the Episcopal Church believe about the Eucharist? Read the liturgy in the Prayer Book. Holy Matrimony? Read the liturgy in the Prayer Book. Baptism? Read the liturgy. The content of the faith generally? Read the Catechism (it's in the Prayer Book). And on and on and on. The Articles of Religion are in the "Historical Documents" section (and not the liturgical portion of the Prayer Book) because subscription to them has never been required in the American Church. The specifics about what I may believe about any or all of these are irrelevant; this is what the community that claims me, and which I claim, believes. Actually what I believe now, at age 70, is a bit different from the specifics of 20 years ago. If God grants me more years (now there's a belief!), I know that some more changes will likely take place. For neither I, nor anyone else, sees with the eyes of God.

"The rule of prayer is the rule of belief": check it out.