St. James Episcopal Church

If you spend enough time online reading about the problems of The Episcopal Church, it is easy to decide they are a hopeless bunch. They are in the midst of a national and international crisis that may well lead to their separation from the worldwide Anglican communion, as this obviously biased writer says (although it's an opinion shared by many). Conservative evangelicals won't have much to do with them either.

However, if The Episcopal Church is dying, someone forgot to tell the parishioners at St. James Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas! As is often the case in comparing the internet world to real life, the real life experience was much better than the bloggers report.

Two things strike you when you enter St. James. The first is they are multicultural. I have never been to any church where there was such a mix of African-Americans and white people. My own southern Prostestant experience has always been one of predominately white or predominately black churches. It's not that churches are forced to segregate, but they just seem to do so in my part of the world. "Black churches" may have an occasional white person attending or white churches may have the occasional African-American, but St. James is a whole different experience. The people in the pews, the ministers, the choir; all were a true mix of color. It is such a great reminder that we are all children of God, regardless of our background or culture. I saw a few Hispanics, but not many. However, I saw in the bulletin there is a bilingual service later in the day (English and Spanish). This may account for the small number of Hispanics in this particular service.

The second thing that struck me about St. James is this place has heart! The people were so warm and friendly. The music was truly from their souls, rising up together in praise of God. Not to be critical of episcopalians, but they are known for being more on the "stuffy side" at times - as one priest called them: "the frozen chosen." That certainly isn't the case at St. James. At one point, the minister asked those who were visiting if they would like to be recognized and various people introduced family members, friends, etc. they had brought with them. The lady sitting next to me (who I had not met prior to walking in) said, "Do you mind if I introduce you?" I said that was fine. She stood up and introduced me (we all wore name tags - and people do call you by name when they speak to you). It was so nice to have her do that rather than to have to stand and address the group myself (not that I would've minded, but this felt much more comfortable).

If you didn't already feel the love in the place, you did during "the peace." This is the point in the liturgy in which people greet one another, usually with "peace be with you" or just "peace." This whole church spent some time during the peace. They walked all over the church, hugging each other, kissing each other, greeting one another, introducing themselves to visitors, etc. You just feel like you are one of the gang from the moment you walk in!

The liturgy was from the Book of Common Prayer. The church had their own twist on a few of the responses (not the wording, but the way it was sung). The homily was fairly light and somewhat humorous, but still heartfelt in every sense of the word. Just prior to communion, a family was brought up to the front. They had a nephew who unexpectedly died yesterday (they didn't share the details, but it sounded like an accident rather than illness). The church gathered around them and prayed for them. Communion was served at the altar. Several songs were sang during communion, with "Go Tell It on the Mountain" being one of them. I loved listening to it as the humming and singing to it took on a southern gospel flavor that was very moving. The spirit was just alive in this place!

At the end of the service, two people had requested special prayer. The church gathered around them, some laying hands on them and the rest laying hands on one another, as they prayed for these individuals' particular needs. You could feel the love between the people as they saw themselves as one big family. I was greeted and invited back by several people. As I left, they had some liturgical calendars they were selling for $3 apiece. The lady asked if I wanted one. I said I would get one next time as I hadn't brought any cash. She insisted I take one and said I could just pay her next time I'm there.

If you want a break from the national war of The Episcopal Church, the cultural war of racism and the political war of the religious right, this is a place you will find to be an oasis of Christian love. I highly recommend you get over to East Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and give St. James Episcopal Church a look.

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