Speaking, even as the editor of a magazine that did not one, but two, series on accessible orthodox but mainline answers to the internet's most googled questions about Christianity, Episcopalians have far far too little to hand to the person inquiring at the very beginning into Xtianity 📕 - ThreadSky

theodramatist.com • 523 days ago

Speaking, even as the editor of a magazine that did not one, but two, series on accessible orthodox but mainline answers to the internet's most googled questions about Christianity, Episcopalians have far far too little to hand to the person inquiring at the very beginning into Xtianity 📕

Comments

danpitts.bsky.social•523 days ago

It’s a shame, and I think driven by our image of ourselves as a place for disaffected RCs and Evangelicals.

Among growing parishes, very little of the growth is from previously un-Christian people.

thecla.bsky.social•522 days ago

As someone with a lot of Roman Catholicism in my background when I looked into Episcopalianism the only thing anyone told me was that it was “Catholicism without the guilt” and since I don’t really mind/struggle with guilt I just brushed Episcopalianism off entirely for like a decade bc of that tbh

theodramatist.com•522 days ago

Precisely! And I’d say *most* people don’t want to be something because of what that thing is not.

thecla.bsky.social•522 days ago

It’s definitely an offputting way to answer someone curious about who you actually are yeah to be like “I’m not like those other guys” at someone who *is* one of those other guys. I was like oh I’m sorry bye 😬

theodramatist.com•523 days ago

Yeah that’s absolutely right. I also think we’re going to have to also be moving more and more into producing materials to help resource people for the next step because at some point even disaffected RCs and evangelicals will run out.

joshthejust.bsky.social•522 days ago

This is the niche that stuff like John Stott’s “Basic Christianity” used to fill. And as much as I like Stott, I don’t think his work answers the questions people are asking today.

joshthejust.bsky.social•522 days ago

Which is a shame, because you can get a mass market edition of Basic Christianity cheaply, and it would be a good giveaway introduction to Anglican Christianity for first time visitors otherwise.

joshthejust.bsky.social•522 days ago

(Can you tell I’ve been thinking A LOT about putting Fusion’s ideas into action?)

theodramatist.com•522 days ago

Very good that you're taking Fusion seriously!

And actually this is part of the prompt for me too: what do I do when someone checks on the contact card "information about what it means to be a christian"

frdavid.org•521 days ago

I’m using this:

https://www.forwardmovement.org/Products/2463/walk-in-love.aspx

stanwonn.bsky.social•523 days ago

You're definitely not wrong about that,

theodramatist.com•523 days ago

A significant part of the issue is that coming soon we're not going to be doing outreach and invitation to formerly churched people: It's going to have to be full-on evangelism and missionary work, and we're really not prepared.

emilyelle.bsky.social•523 days ago

YES THIS. What have you got for me, a middle-aged, queer, lifelong non-Christian spiritual seeker who recently discovered that there might actually be something worth engaging with in the Christianity of the Episcopal church?

theodramatist.com•522 days ago

Exactly! I’d love to be able to get you something that is jargon free right after a first contact!

dljohnston.bsky.social•523 days ago

What kind of resources are we missing?

theodramatist.com•523 days ago

In particular I'm thinking of like a "one-sheet," a completely jargon free, uncaveat-filled description of what it means to be a Christian in handout form.

I know I could write it, but I wish there was boilerplate somewhere that I could start using before I actually have time to write it.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply