Summer hours continue. Daily Episcopalian will publish every other day this week.
By J. Kenneth Asel
If I enjoyed writing, I would have been a European History professor. Generally, I like to tell of my experiences rather than writing about them. For me, this one is different.
At the Episcopal Church in Jackson Hole we are used to “destination sacraments” – weddings, baptisms, renewals, even funerals. Several weeks ago I received an email from a woman asking if she and her two-year-old son could be baptized upon an upcoming visit to Grand Teton National Park. We often do services such as these. We require that the candidate or parent visit their pastor to discuss the sacrament and its meaning. If they do not have a congregation, I direct them to a nearby Episcopal Church. In her email, I noticed she attended a congregation that had left our denomination as a part of one of the four dioceses attempting to continue as dioceses of ACNA. Having worked with a previous rector, I knew the parish fairly well. It is a large, succesful, evangelical church. I explained the requirement for pre-sacramental counseling and said she would have to go to an Episcopal parish in the area.
As things happen, time got away from us, but I agreed to do the ceremony anyway if she would meet with me before Sunday and if she would promise to engage with a priest back home upon her return. I made a call and it turns out that the Episcopal priest I selected knew the family, which is prominent in the area.
We met. It was one of the most profound, and indeed holy, experiences I have had in a very long time. As I was explaining the meaning of the baptismal promises, “Millie” began to cry. “Millie” and her husband, “Tom,” joined this well-known congregation while it was still a part of the Episcopal Church. They did not support the break. She loves her parish, but not its anger. Last fall she went to membership classes, but this great evangelical church spoke of a hard gospel and an angry God. She chose not to join. Then she asked me why her best friend, “Charlotte,” was condemned to hell because she is a lesbian. I told her, the church belongs to Christ and not to me. . . that St. John’s in Jackson is a house of prayer for all people, everyone of whom is welcome at God’s table. She cried again, then asked if “St. Mary’s” would become an Episcopal Church again. I said, although it would take awhile, all the court cases seem to be pointing in that direction. She wanted to know when it returned to the Episcopal Church, would her family be allowed still to go there. I said, “Of course!” I am almost certain the next set of tears were of joy.
To me, there are three general aspects to our faith: belief, practice and relationship. Of the three, relationship with God through Christ is the most personal and the most important. Belief, though, is the one we “professional Christians” fight about. Do we ever stop to think the scandal we cause to our parishioners? “Millie,” despite our foibles, just wanted to be a part of the Christian family, for herself, her son and the baby on the way. It was an enormous privilege to be asked into her family’s life for the occasion of their baptism. I wish we could put aside our political posturing and our attempts to justify ourselves by condemning others, remembering God’s generous gift of the church.
It made me proud to be an Episcopalian. I hope “Tom” & “Millie” ask me to baptize the new arrival next summer!
(The Reverend) J. Kenneth Asel, D.Min is Rector of the Episcopal Church in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.