Apparently-To: catholic@american.edu
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.catholic
Date:         Mon, 28 Sep 1992 20:46:33 PDT
From:         "John R. Covert 28-Sep-1992 2347" <covert@COVERT.ENET.DEC.COM>
Subject:      31 Resolutions for Mass. Episcopal Diocesan Convention (2 of 4)

           RESOLUTIONS TO BE PRESENTED TO THE DIOCESE
             OF MASSACHUSETTS, MEETING IN CONVENTION
                         NOVEMBER, 1992


1. RESOLUTION ON THE TRINITY

RESOLVED, THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD WHO IS REVEALED AS THE FATHER,
THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ACCORDING TO THE BAPTISMAL COMMAND OF
OUR RISEN LORD IN MATTHEW 28:19.

                           Explanation

In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), our Risen Lord commands
that the Church baptize disciples in the triune Name of God: the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  This foundational doctrine
is reiterated as the first of our Articles of Religion.  This
revealed formula does not limit or exhaust the Mystery that is God,
but establishes the personal relationship of created humanity with
the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, not only with their
functions.  This Resolution is necessary because of a variety of
attacks on this basic Christian doctrine.  In addition to the
Baptismal formula, the ancient Creeds (accepted by this Church
"thoroughly to be received and believed: for they [the articles of
the Creeds] may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy
Scripture"(Article VIII), place this revelation of God at the very
core of our belief, and in our living and continuing liturgical
expression we indeed pray to the Father, through the Son, in the
Holy Spirit.  The doctrine of the Trinity is central to the life
and witness of the Church as expressed in the Book of Common Prayer
and is paramount to our understanding of the Incarnation and the
relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and Abba, his Father.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America
Contact: Thomas Lloyd  tel. 617-696-9517

2. RESOLUTION DISTINGUISHING GOD FROM CREATION

RESOLVED, THAT THE UNCREATED GOD IS THE CREATOR WHO HAS BROUGHT ALL
THINGS INTO EXISTENCE OUT OF NOTHING.

                           Explanation

The Book of Genesis tells us that God created the universe out of
nothing (creatio ex nihilo).  As Creator, God enters into the life
of his creation in response to his love for humanity.  In no way
can it be construed that the world is united with the Deity into an
interdependent whole or that the world is divine (monism).
Likewise, as revealed in the Persons of the Holy Trinity, God did
not create and then abandon that creation to its own devices
(deism), but is actively involved in the ongoing preservation,
redemption and consummation of his creation.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America
Contact: Jane Shipman tel. 617-298-1075

3. RESOLUTION ON THE DIVINITY AND HUMANITY OF JESUS

RESOLVED, THAT JESUS IS GOD IN THE FLESH; FULLY GOD AND FULLY MAN.

                           Explanation

The eternal Word of God became Flesh in the Person of Jesus of
Nazareth (John 1).  He is "of one being" (homoousios) with the
Father and the Holy Spirit.  Through Jesus Christ we know God and
through his life and death we know the total self-giving love of
God.  Our crucified and risen Lord is the source and foundation of
our knowledge of the living God.  The Incarnation as defined by the
ancient Councils of the undivided Church is central to the liturgy
and life of the Christian Community.  In taking on our flesh,
Jesus, the Word of God, remained fully Divine while participating
fully in created humanity.  He was born, lived and died as one of
humanity and through his life, his Resurrection and his glorious
Ascension he manifested his Divinity.  See Article 2 of the
Articles of Religion.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America
Contact: David Trumbull tel. 617-876-6004

4. RESOLUTION ON SALVATION ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST   [EU]

RESOLVED, THAT THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN BY WHICH WE ARE
SAVED THAN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH.

                           Explanation

There are those in the Episcopal Church who now espouse a
"universalism" for the Church that would accept as valid views of
our perfection and our relationship with God which are clearly non-
Christian.  Therefore, it is necessary to reaffirm what is clear on
this subject in scripture, in creed, and in the Church's own
history with heresies.

Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no
other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

I Corinthians 15:2  ....by which [the gospel] you are saved, if you
hold it fast--unless you have believed in vain.

John 14:6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the
life;  no one comes to the Father, but by me."

Submitted by the Massachusetts Chapter of Episcopalians United
Contact: Gerald Dorman tel. 508-255-2407

5. RESOLUTION ON EVANGELISM   [EU]

RESOLVED, THE CHURCH MUST PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST TO
ALL PEOPLE.

                           Explanation

     Along with accepting all sorts of ideologies as valid, there
are those in the Episcopal Church who are proclaiming that it is
not appropriate to proselytize those whose ideologies seem "nice"
or seem valid under a covenant other than that through Jesus
Christ.  Therefore, it is necessary to ensure, in this Decade of
Evangelism, that this Diocese is clear about what Jesus Himself
said on evangelism.

Matthew 10:6  "...but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel."

Matthew 28:19  "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit."

Acts 1:8  "....and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Submitted by the Massachusetts Chapter of Episcopalians United
Contact: Gerald Dorman tel. 508-255-2407

6. RESOLUTION ON THE AUTHORSHIP AND SUFFICIENCY OF THE HOLY
   SCRIPTURE

RESOLVED, THAT GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE ULTIMATE AUTHOR OF HOLY
SCRIPTURE, AND HOLY SCRIPTURE CONTAINS ALL THINGS NECESSARY TO
SALVATION; SO THAT WHATSOEVER IS NOT CONTAINED IN OR PROVABLE BY
HOLY SCRIPTURE IS NOT TO BE REQUIRED OF ANY PERSON TO BE BELIEVED
AS AN ARTICLE OF FAITH, OR TO BE THOUGHT REQUISITE OR NECESSARY TO
SALVATION.

                           Explanation

According to 2 Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is inspired by God and
profitable for teaching reproof, for correction, and for training
in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for
every good work".  The Diocese of Massachusetts, by passing this
Resolution, goes on record as recognizing Anglicanism's teaching
about Holy Scripture.  This Resolution, which paraphrases Article
VI of The Articles of Religion (B.C.P., p. 868), clearly sets Holy
Scripture as divinely inspired by God and therefore God's
revelation of himself to us.  There are many in the Episcopal
Church who would erroneously maintain that the Bible is the product
of a primitive society and as such some of its teaching ought not
to be upheld because the teachings conflict with prevailing ideas
and attitudes.  Sadly, many in the Episcopal Church cannot assent
to the Bible as having supreme authority in matters of faith.  In
the face of these errors it is necessary to affirm that God's
revelation was written down in human words for the conversion of
our hearts, minds, and wills to Christ's image throughout all ages.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America
Contact:  Thomas Lloyd tel. 617-696-9517

7. RESOLUTION ON THE VIRGIN BIRTH

RESOLVED, THAT JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD THE FATHER, WAS
MADE MAN OF THE SUBSTANCE OF THE VIRGIN MARY BY THE POWER OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT.

                           Explanation

Therefore the lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14.  And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent
from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin
espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and
the virgin's name was Mary.  And the angel came in unto her and
said, Hail, thou that art most highly favored, the Lord is with
thee:  blessed art thou among women.  And, the angel said unto her,
Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God.  And behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt
call his name JESUS.  Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this
be, seeing I know not a man?  And the angel answered and said unto
her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow thee:  therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.  Luke
1:26-28; 30; 34-35.

Our Church and our Diocese must accept, continually reaffirm,
proclaim and rejoice in this foundational belief of the Trinitarian
Christian Faith, and reject all efforts to alter or minimize it.
Inspired by God centuries before the fact, and with remarkable
accuracy, Isaiah predicted the Virgin Birth of our Lord Jesus
Christ.  Amazing circumstances surrounded that singular birth.
With it, God The Father began implementation of his plan for the
redemption of all that he created.  Belief in it glorifies God, his
love for mankind, and acknowledges God's power to do anything when
and where he chooses.  Belief in it boldly proclaims the pre-
existence of the second person of the Holy Trinity.  That second
person, without the stain of original sin, assumed our nature
through the humble cooperation of the first and greatest of the
Saints, Mary Most Holy.  Failure to believe in this miracle-of-
miracles reduces Christmas to the celebration of just another
Birthday.  Disbelief disclaims God's redemptive plan and all its
benefits.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America
Contact:  Richard Rothmund tel. 617-934-2923

8. RESOLUTION ON THE SUPREMACY OF GOD OVER IDEOLOGY

RESOLVED, THAT THE TRIUNE LORD GOD'S RULE OF THE UNIVERSE IS NOT
SUBJECT TO ANY HUMANLY CREATED IDEOLOGY NOR MAY ANY SUCH HUMANLY
CREATED IDEOLOGY BE IMPOSED ON THE INTERPRETATION OF HOLY
SCRIPTURE.

                           Explanation

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all
thy soul and with all thy might.  Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37;
Mark 12:30, 33; Luke 10:27.  Thou shalt have none other gods before
me....for I the Lord God am a jealous God .... Deuteronomy 5:7-9.
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve.
Matthew 5:10; Luke 4:8.  Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.  For in him dwelleth
all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.  And ye are complete in him
which is the head of all principality and power:....Colossians
2:8-10.

We live in an age when many attempt to impose humanly contrived
philosophies, thought systems, "political correctness," social
dogmas and "isms" upon God and the Christian Church He created and
sustains.  These efforts to impose imperfect human ideas on our
perfect Lord are dangerous and evil.  God demands our all and must
always be first, most high, without peer, above and beyond all
others in our hearts, thoughts and deeds.  Whenever we say we
believe in Christianity and (some "ism"), as if they are on the
same plane or that incorruptible truth can be blended with sin-
stained speculation, we are adulterating our faith, allegiance to
God and the Beliefs He has mandated in Holy Scripture.  We must not
allow Christ's Church, His Holy Bride, to become a chameleon
church, "The First Church of What's Happening Now."  Our Church and
our Diocese should clearly and unmistakably reject syncretist
tendencies and confirm our paramount allegiance to the one, true,
triune God, Lord of the Universe.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America
Contact: Richard Mercer tel. 508-785-1831

9. RESOLUTION ON PARTICIPATING IN FALSE WORSHIP

RESOLVED, THAT THE CLERGY AND LAITY OF THE DIOCESE OF MASSACHUSETTS
MUST NOT PARTICIPATE IN FORMS OF WORSHIP WHICH ARE PAGAN OR
CONTRARY TO CHRISTIANITY.

                           Explanation

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve.
Matthew 5:10; Luke 4:8.  There shall no strange god be in thee;
neither shalt thou worship any strange god. Psalm 81: 9.  And they
shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils after whom they
have gone a whoring.  This shall be a statute forever unto them
throughout their generations.  Leviticus 17:7.  But I say, that the
things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and
not to God:  and I would not that ye should have fellowship with
devils.  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of
devils:  ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table , and of the
table of devils. I Corinthians 10:20-21.   But we write unto them
that they abstain from pollutions of idols.... Acts 15:20.  Little
children, keep yourselves from idols.  Amen.  I John 5:21.  For the
Lord is great and greatly to be praised:  he is to be feared above
all gods.  For all the gods of the nations are idols:  but the Lord
made the heavens.  Psalm 96:5.  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee
from idolatry.  I Corinthians 10:14.

All religions were not created equal.  Christianity, the one true
faith, was created by God and proved by the resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ, its founder.  Non-Christian religions cannot
lead to a true relationship with the triune God or to salvation in
Him.  To participate in or assent to systems of worship which are
contrived by man is rebellion against God and idolatrous worship of
the creation in place of the creator.  See Romans 2:25.  In recent
times, some Episcopalians in this Diocese, apparently deluded by
mistaken notions of pluralism or universalism, have participated
in pagan ceremonies worshiping other gods.  A strong stand against
this error is needed.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America
Contact: Richard Mercer tel. 508-785-1831

10. RESOLUTION ON THE RESURRECTION

RESOLVED, THAT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WAS PHYSICALLY RAISED FROM THE
DEAD.

                           Explanation

The bodily resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth following his Passion
and Death is the central doctrine of the Christian Community.  The
witnesses, as preserved in Holy Scripture, recognized him in a
number of ways: in his person, through his wounds, by his Word, in
the Breaking of Bread.  He walked with his Disciples, ate with
them, and continued to teach them about the Kingdom of God.  The
ancient Creeds affirm this fact and through her liturgy, the Church
has and does celebrate the fact that "Christ has died!  Christ is
risen!  Christ will come again!"  The Resurrection is the promise
of future glory in the redeemed Image of God that shall be the
eternal inheritance of all who proclaim Jesus as Lord and live in
his life of self-giving Love.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America
Contact: Jane Shipman tel. 617-298-1075

11. RESOLUTION ON REFERENCES TO THE DIVINE PERSONS   [EU]

RESOLVED, THAT CALLING ANY OF THE THREE DIVINE PERSONS OF THE HOLY
TRINITY "MOTHER," "SHE" OR OTHERWISE REFERRING TO THE DIVINE
PERSONS OF THE HOLY TRINITY AS BEING OF THE FEMININE GENDER IS
CONTRARY TO THE REVELATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE AND THE TRADITIONS,
DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND MUST BE AVOIDED
BY BOTH CLERGY AND LAITY.

                           Explanation

     Efforts are being made by some in the Episcopal Church to
apply feminine terminology to God far beyond what is known from
Scripture.  In fact, the ideological knife being taken to words
like Father and Lord implies directly that Bible language is
inappropriate, and the attack is continued by calling God "Mother."

     The transcendence of God beyond all creature images is of the
essence of the Christian understanding of God.  He is not our
begetter or our bearer, but our Maker.  Preoccupation with
masculine or feminine language for God, other than as revealed in
Jesus Christ and in Scripture, is truly playing with idolatry and
our own self-centeredness.  Furthermore, men and women both sin
when they use the gender of God against each other.

     God's self-disclosure in Scripture is very specific with
respect to masculine and feminine attributes and with respect to
masculine and feminine appellation.  We must note that biblical
feminine attributions to God such as "as a hen gathers her chicks"
are similes that deal with what God's actions are like.  Similes do
not deal with who God is.  Scriptural images and metaphors that do
deal with who God is are seen in Father, King, Lord, Shepherd.
Jesus Christ named God the Father and commanded us to do the same
when we pray.

     We are saved by Jesus Christ, not by images.  However, we may
be condemned by our images, especially when we form them in
conflict with Scripture.  Tradition, reason and experience are all
known to hold some truth.  They do not hold the truth when they
contradict the Word or alter it to fit our perceived needs

     It is a slippery path to attack male sexism, ancient or
modern, through God's image.  Throughout history there have been
male-dominated societies that have had goddess religions.  The
feminine terminology thrust will not save us from our sins and,
more importantly, can lead us from worship of the Christian deity
to a different deity, formed of nature and ourselves.

Deuteronomy 4:16  so that you do not become corrupt and make for
yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a
man or a woman.

Matthew 6:9  This, then, is how you should pray:  "Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your name"

Matthew 28:19b  ...baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Revelation 19:16  On his robe and on his thigh he has this name
written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

References:
Kimel, Jr., Alvin F.  A New Language For God?  Reports from
Episcopalians United, Number 2, 1990.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Chapter of Episcopalians United
Contact: Gerald Dorman tel. 508-255-2407

12. RESOLUTION ON REINCARNATION

RESOLVED, THAT BELIEF IN REINCARNATION (THAT IS, THAT THE SOUL MAY
BE REBORN IN SUCCESSIVE, MULTIPLE EXISTENCES, WHICH MAY BE HUMAN,
ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE, IN A CYCLE OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS DETERMINED BY
THE DEEDS WHICH A SOUL DOES IN PREVIOUS PHYSICAL EXISTENCES) IS
CONTRARY TO HOLY SCRIPTURE, AND THE TRADITIONS AND TEACHINGS OF THE
EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

                           Explanation

     Since the 1960's, we have seen astonishing growth of interest
in generic spiritualism, which is an amalgam of beliefs and
practices gleaned from Eastern mystical cults and Western
occultism.  One of the most popular of these beliefs, which has
percolated out into the American culture at-large, is the doctrine
of reincarnation.  This is a particularly significant area of
concern for Christians because it addresses the issue of salvation
itself:  it offers a concept of salvation with no place for the
Cross of Christ.
     In the reincarnational scheme, a soul must earn its own
salvation through its good works, until finally, it is released
from the cycle of rebirths.  Ironically, religions which espouse
this doctrine have recognized how impossible this task really is,
because they have classically envisioned the soul laboriously
drudging its way through eons upon eons of years.  Only a very few
souls have ever broken out of the misery.   Even then, the blessed
soul is usually conceived as dissolving into the "cosmic ocean,"
because the vision of God ingrained in the reincarnational scheme
is a non-personal "Oneness."
     From a Christian point of view, this is a highly negative
doctrine: the created order is thought of as a misery and a
hindrance, and the highest blessedness is seen as an escape.  This
is a very far distance away from the Christian belief in the
original goodness of the Lord's creation, the unique respect due to
the individual person, the essential meaning of the Incarnation,
and the promised Resurrection.  Of course, at the popular level,
many people are not confronting the basic theological implications
of the reincarnational doctrine.
     That is why we in the Episcopal Church must make a clear
statement that salvation and eternal life comes through divine
grace, that Jesus Christ died voluntarily for our sins because we
could not earn our way out of them, and that this great merciful
forgiveness has been made available to all people through the
Church.  As to doing good works, there is, of course, a discipline
to be borne when we follow Christ, but it is not the onerous
impossibility of the reincarnational cycle:  "my yoke is easy, and
my burden is light," Jesus said (Matthew 11:30).  Also, there is no
necessity to plod through a series of physical rebirths:  "just as
it is appointed unto men to die once, and after that comes
judgment, so Christ having been offered once to bear the sins of
many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save
those who are eagerly waiting for Him"  (Hebrews 9:27-28).  And
finally, we know that at the time of judgment, as taught by Jesus
Christ, we are saved because we have Christ Himself as our
advocate:  "everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also
acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32).
The doctrine of reincarnation is a sidetrack leading away from God
revealed in Christ Jesus and His promise of eternal life.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America
Contact: Thomas Lloyd  tel. 617-696-9517

13. RESOLUTION ON OCCULTIC PRACTICES

RESOLVED, THAT SO-CALLED "NEW AGE" OCCULTIC PRACTICES SUCH AS
DIVINATION THROUGH PALM READING, TAROT CARD READING, READING AURAS,
READING CRYSTALS; SEANCES AND ATTEMPTED CONSULTATION WITH SPIRITS,
FAMILIAR SPIRITS OR DEMONS THROUGH MEDIUMS, PSYCHICS OR OTHERWISE;
ASTROLOGY, PSYCHIC CHANNELING, WITCHCRAFT, WICCA, AND SATAN
WORSHIP ARE CONTRARY TO HOLY SCRIPTURE, AND CONTRARY TO THE
TRADITION AND TEACHINGS OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AND MUST BE
AVOIDED BY THE CLERGY AND LAITY.

                           Explanation

     The term "New Age" is often applied to a plethora of
spiritualistic practices loosely organized around a pantheistic
world-view, a belief that "I=God," and an enthusiasm for neo-pagan
revivalism.  Many of the practices detailed in the Resolution were
in wide practice in the Canaanite nations, during and after the
Exodus, and they were seductively appealing to the people of God
even then, as is made evident in many passages of Holy Scripture,
including both the Pentateuch and the Prophets.  Then as now, many
of God's people fell prey to the easy comfort of syncretism.  It is
a pleasant and easy thing to say that God is revealed in many
different ways, and that they are all equivalent, whether it is
Christianity or polytheism or tree worship or "spirit channeling."
But this syncretism was always condemned unequivocally by Moses and
the Prophets, as entirely incompatible with the worship of the true
God, who stated as his first commandment:  "Thou shalt have no
other gods before me."

     When you come into the land which the LORD your God gives you,
     you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of
     those nations.  There shall not be found among you any one who
     burns his son or daughter as an offering, any one who
     practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a
     sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a
     necromancer.  For whoever does these things is an abomination
     to the LORD; and because of these abominable practices the
     LORD your God is driving them out before you (Deuteronomy
     18:9-12).

     The Christian Church also, from the beginning, has maintained
this mandate to cast out the spirits of evil.  Jesus himself was a
powerful exorcist, as were his apostles.  However, it was not
always an easy and pleasant thing to confront and oppose these
false spirits.  When Paul and Silas first visited Philippi, they
were met by a slave girl "who had a spirit of divination," which
her owners used to make money.  Paul ordered the spirit out of her,
and the enraged owners dragged Paul and Silas before the
magistrates, and they were savagely beaten and jailed.  Their
sufferings were not in vain, though, because while in jail, the
earthquake occurred, and the upshot of it was that the Philippian
jailer and his whole household were saved, which probably marked
the beginning of the Church in that city.  You may read about this
blessed adventure in Acts 16.  Even though the Church gets in
trouble when it opposes evil, the Lord clearly expects us to do
so, and blesses us when we are obedient to his expectations.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America
Contact: Thomas Lloyd  tel. 617-696-9517

14. RESOLUTION ON THE CHURCH'S MISSION   [EU]

RESOLVED, THAT THE CHURCH'S PRINCIPAL MISSION IS THE SALVATION OF
SOULS THROUGH THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST AND
WITNESS TO THE TRUTH OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

                           Explanation

     The Church proclaims the good news and witnesses to the truth
in both word and deed. However, like the "all you have to do is be
a good person" for individuals, there is a current philosophy of
some in the Episcopal Church that shies away from proclamation and
witness by the Word.  We are called foremost to proclaim the Good
News: we are not just called to be good persons.  Therefore, it is
necessary to affirm the purpose of our good works in the context of
the unity of Christ.

The Book of Common Prayer, Catechism, p. 855:
     The Mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity
     with God and each other in Christ.  The Church pursues its
     mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and
     promotes justice, peace, and love.  The Church carries out its
     mission through the ministry of all its members.

Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the
works of God?  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work
of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.  John 6:29.

  ... the mystery of his will ... to bring all things in heaven and
on earth together under one head, even Christ.  Ephesians 1:9-10.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and
how shall they hear without a preacher?  Romans 10:14.

Submitted by the Massachusetts Chapter of Episcopalians United
Contact: Gerald Dorman tel. 508-255-2407
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU