Worship is at the heart of our identity
The Anglican expression of Christian faith has a long history of integrating the best of Catholicism and Protestantism. Early in its development Anglicanism became known as the via media (middle way). Richard Hooker described it as being like a three-legged stool consisting of the authority of scripture, tradition, and reason. Later, John Wesley would add experience to that triad. Anglicanism retained the episcopate as its organizational structure that is believed to be an extension of the apostolic tradition. The authority of the early apostles continued onto the church fathers along a line of apostolic succession that extends into the current day.The abuses of Medieval Catholicism cried out for reform. Martin Luther responded to that call; however, it was never his intention to disaffiliate with the Catholic Church. His goal was to correct the injustices he observed and to alter the course of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, the Diet of Worms resulted in his being deposed as a heretic. Both Luther and Calvin hung onto many of the elements in the Catholic liturgy. Along with Luther Calvin believed that the eucharist should be celebrated each week in the worship. Unfortunately, reformers like Zwingli were ruthless in their criticisms of the Catholic liturgy and discarded large portions that were deeply rooted in the liturgical practices of the early church. What Fr. Malcolm Smith would later reference as "Roma-phobia" led to a wholesale dismantling of the liturgy. When reformers seek to correct the abuses, they often perpetrate their own in the process, which is likely what prompted Jesus to admonish us to remove the log in our own eye before attempting to remove a splinter from the eye of another. The Protestant Reformation was not exempt from this destructive risk. Robert Webber, a Protestant seminary professor of the 20th century, writing to an evangelical audience in Worship: Old and New vigorously advocated for the recovery and restoration of those lost parts of the liturgy that are rooted in Holy Scripture and in the apostolic tradition. Thus, as Anglicans we seek to be Anglo Catholic in our worship. Our service of worship consists of the Service of the Word that has its foundation in Old Testament-based liturgies and the Service of the Sacrament, which is the eucharist or The Great Thanksgiving, which has its foundation in New Testament theology and in the liturgical practices of the apostolic fathers and the early church. Thus, our liturgy is a continuation of a time-honored tradition. Through these liturgical symbols we are connected to a cloud of witnesses that started in Hebrew worship and extends for centuries in a tradition that was legitimated and promulgated by our Lord himself.
Current psychological theory and research have focused on the centrality of attachment in human growth and development. Research is unequivocal about the importance of infants developing a secure attachment to their caregivers, if healthy development is to proceed appropriately. The caregiver must be experienced as a "safe haven and a secure base." Constancy, continuity, reliability, and dependability are important characteristics of the interactions between infant and caregiver. A similar form of attachment is essential to our development as Christians. The mother Church must provide that same structure, if we are to develop a secure attachment with the God who is our creator and the ground of our being and with the Christ who is our Redeemer and Lord.
At St. Barnabas Anglican Church we offer a continuation of this tradition. Please consider becoming a part of the body of Christ in this place. Come, put down roots, and grow with us.