Attracting Youth in the Continuing Anglican Churches

From Robert Todd Giffin, Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of Mid-America, Anglican Province of America:

Attracting Youth in the Continuing Anglican Churches

As a “youngish” Bishop in the Continuum (Anglican Province of America) at a sprightly 47 years of age, I have often pondered why I, at a much younger age, was attracted to the prayer book and the Elizabethan language and cadence found within its pages.

Often times, those of us outside of the Episcopal Church or the ACNA find ourselves constantly on the defense, answering questions as to why we are so “stuck in our ways”, “rigid”, and “uncompromising”. The list goes on and on, with many amongst us having to explain what we oppose rather than what we are attempting to proclaim! Having been baptized in the Episcopal Church, confirmed in the Episcopal Church, attended and graduated from one of its seminaries, and then served as a priest in the Episcopal Church, I am quite familiar with its particulars in every way.

I will never forget a middle aged woman visitor at Nashotah House asking me at a dinner, “So, exactly what are you continuing?”. She was extremely perplexed that I would advance the notion that the Episcopal Church was not for everyone and for all times. However, it was, in fact, a good question!

Well, for many, there is a sense that the Church is attempting to be too rational in the modern world. Many are sick of being the object of marketing campaigns. Therefore, church services that are obviously staged to be “attractive to young people,” can look silly or even offensive. Moreover, pop culture changes so quickly, that a church may be years or decades behind the times even as it tries to be cutting edge. A service that has its roots in tradition can be refreshing in comparison.

Many people desire to know God in a way that transcends an intellectual profession of faith. When young inquirers look at the lives of the saints, they see that that is possible. Most are done with fundamentalism (of liberal or conservative stripes) and want a faith that applies to real life. How can traditional Anglicanism provide this kind of faith when it looks, feels, and sounds so old?

It is precisely the repetition, the postures, the discipline and language that allows us to leave the world and enter into a different realm. A way of approaching God that is not in the common parlance or expressions, but one that has proven itself through generations of professing Christians and seekers of the authentic Jesus and the authentic early western Church.

I am reminded of a scene from the movie Emperor’s Club.

William Hundert: Excuse me?

Louis Masoudi: Huh? What me?

William Hundert: Yes, sir. What is your name?

Louis Masoudi: Uh, Louis.

William Hundert: Just Louis?

Louis Masoudi: Louis Masoudi, sir.

William Hundert: Mr. Masoudi, could you define the word "path" for me?

Louis Masoudi: Well, there are several definitions, I suppose.

William Hundert: Would "a route along which someone or something moves" be among them?

Louis Masoudi: Yeah. Oh, yeah. No. Yeah. I'm s-sorry, sir.

William Hundert: Follow the path, Mr. Masoudi. Walk where the great men before you have walked.

Louis Masoudi: Yes, sir. It's, uh - It's better for the grass.

William Hundert: It's better for you.
Indeed. Walking along the pathway of those before us IS better for us.

+RTG