On the State of the Church

One of the great gifts I received over the years was a collection of sermons by Ted Ferris.  He was the Rector (Sr. Pastor) of Trinity Church, Boston, some years ago.  I also believe he happens to be one of America’s all time great preachers.

Recently I’ve been reading and rereading a sermon preached on May 8, 1971, at the ordination of a new priest.  He begins by reflecting on the problems the church was facing back then, which, strangely enough, sound an awful lot like the problems we continue to face today.

He goes on to state his belief that the church must change, as it surely has in the years since then.  But he also makes this statement:

It must be made clear, however, that if the Church is the Body of Christ it can’t change so completely that it’s no longer recognizable.  If the print of the nails are nowhere to be seen, if the voice of authority is never to be heard, if the world becomes not only the object of its love but also the chief source of its ultimate satisfactions, then, regardless of its rites and ceremonies, its canons and its rubrics, its creeds and the articles of faith—even of its good works—then the church is not only on its way out; it is out, finished.

Those words seem at least as applicable to the Episcopal Church today as they must’ve been to the church back then, with much wisdom for those who care to listen.