Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail Part IV or
Junior Varsity Catholics R Us

The saga of the Matthews physical and spiritual trek toward becoming, in the words of one friend, junior varsity catholics...

You know you are burned out and working way too much when going on for your master’s degree seems like a break. But that’s what it was like for us. It was hard to pick our family and move across country to strange, little Wilmore, Kentucky, outside Lexington. But it was just what we needed.

The two big dilemmas were church involvement and money. We knew we were going to be dirt poor while in seminary, just have to deal with it and trust God. We didn’t know exactly where we belonged church-wise but, we thought if we could find an orthodox Episcopal church – no small order, when you think about it -- that this would likely be a good fit for us theologically. We visited the Cathedral downtown (beautiful but cold in some ways, too boring my son said), we visited a nearby Episcopal church (quite a few same sex couples there – hmm, not the right place either), and then visited a new Episcopal church plant in Lexington 25 minutes away – kind of a hike. After a couple of visits to Church of the Apostles, though, we knew we had found the right place, despite the fact that it was meeting in an ugly old gym.

At Apostles, there was worship band and we sang contemporary music but they also used the historic liturgy (simplified a bit - Apostles Creed instead of the Nicene Creed, the modern version of the Lords Prayer, etc.) I remember saying the creeds and taking communion the first few times, I just cried. I felt like I had come home. It was so refreshing to my soul. And, although I have worshipped this way for more than five years now, it is never just rote saying the words – it stirs my heart to worship this way. Good doctrine repeated time and again is spiritually forming. Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven – never can this be said too many times.

We liked Father Martin, the pastor, right away – he became a good friend. And he understood that we needed just to sit and take it in for awhile. We weren’t spiritually ready to get involved yet. But over time our hearts were renewed. Peter began to talk about ways he could minister in the church and what Apostles could do as a church plant. And I kept thinking to myself, yeah, you think you are done being a pastor…

Eventually, Martin asked Peter if he would be willing to come on staff as the worship leader for Apostles. Peter agreed. It was a great blessing financially, because we were barely scraping by. Peter also variously worked with youth, lead evangelism and outreach, organized small groups and did a number of other things over his 4+ years on staff with Apostles. During this time we also decided it was time for me to go from working part-time to a full-time job. Fortunately, God provided me with a job that I both enjoyed and that had full benefits and a decent salary.

Not too far into being back in paid ministry again, we wrestled with where God wanted us to be. Peter originally planned to get a two year master’s and then go on for a doctorate somewhere. But that is a long row to hoe for a family of four. While he attended the first meeting of the Anglican Mission in America, the denomination we are now with, he felt God was calling him to church planting again.

Looking back over the last five years, there are so many things that we are both so grateful for and that God has formed into us. It is hard to list them all. Let me see if I can give you the highlights. First, I am so grateful for the love of catholicity that has been a part of our experience. Whether it has been learning the lectio divina, participating in a healing service, doing the daily office, or any number of other spiritual practices, I feel my spiritual life has been so enriched by embracing all that I can from all Christian traditions, whether evangelical, catholic or somewhere in between.

It has also been really freeing to be part of a context that majors on the majors of the faith. Some of the godliest, neatest Christians I know are Anglicans who drink, smoke, swear, dance and play cards. I love that I can just be a regular person who occasionally lets loose an expletive when I stub my toe and I am not worried about some busybody church lady looking over my shoulder about it. In the essentials unity, in all else liberty.

Of course, I also love the beauty of the liturgy. Retelling God's story through the church calendar and in the Eucharist is forming. I love the multi-sensory nature of catholic worship-God's revelation in smells, sights, sounds and touch as well as through His Word.

I hope this telling of our story has helped those who are wrestling with what being post-Protestant or catholic (with a small "c"). We are still on the journey, learning from all the faithful Christians who have gone before us.