You did not abandon him to the power of death,Īgain and again you offered a covenant to man,Īnd through the prophets taught him to hope In the midst of the long history of human selfishness and sin, we hear the story of God's redeeming action for us and all mankind calling us to re-examine our faithfulness to our mission.Īll your actions show your wisdom and love." 8 On the other hand, it is partially produced by movements of renewal and new responses to the Spirit within our churches, such as the charismatic movement, the liturgical movement, new forms of piety, and developments in biblical study and catechesis. On the one hand, this situation is partially rooted in the churches' awareness of "the cry of those who suffer violence and are oppressed by unjust systems and structures (in a world whose) perversity contradicts the plan of its Creator. We find this restless ness and bewilderment among clergy and laity in both our churches. ![]() Others ask in bewilderment whether the Church has abandoned its spiritual calling. Many in our churches ask the questions, "Where is the Church going?" and "What should it be doing here and now?" Some feel the Church is engaged in a fruitless, self-serving enterprise which fails to come to grips with the challenges posed by the world today.WHERE IS THE CHURCH GOING AND WHAT SHOULD IT BE DOING HERE AND NOW? United with them, and in the name of everyīlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Source of life and goodness, you have createdĬountless hosts of angels stand before you Through all eternity you live in unapproachable light Galaxies, suns, planets in their courses,Īnd this fragile, earth, our island home:īy your will they were created and have their being.įather in heaven, it is right that we should ![]() 6 As Christ proclaimed the Kingdom, so the Church serves the Kingdom, so that "the entire world may become the people of God, the Body of the Lord, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit, that in, by, and through Christ there may be rendered to God the Creator and Father of the universe all honor and glory. The Church is that community of persons called by the Holy Spirit to continue Christ's saving work of reconciliation. Christ announced the Kingdom and proclaimed the Good News. Both our churches witness to the fact that the Church comes from God who sent Jesus Christ his Son in the power of the Spirit to accomplish the mystery of salvation and redemption.WHERE DOES THE CHURCH COME FROM AND WHY DOES IT EXIST? In the parallel passages that we quote, liturgical texts used in the Episcopal and Roman Catholic Churches are placed, respectively, in the left and right hand columns. We invite the reader to reflect upon this relationship between prayer and belief in the statement that follows. Since the prayer of the Church is the most intense expression of our faith in God and commitment to his purpose for the world, and since the Eucharist is seen in both our churches as bringing us into a new relationship of union with Christ and with one another in his sacramental Body and Blood, 4 we have decided together to write our common belief about the Church's purpose or mission, in answer to the above questions, in a context interwoven with prayers from our contemporary Eucharistic liturgies.Where is the Church going and what should it be doing here and now? In short, what is the purpose of the Church? Where does the Church come from and why does it exist? In fact, recent authoritative statements and liturgical texts of both our churches which we have examined 3 show a remarkable convergence in their answers to fundamental questions such as these: Thus, our estrangement of four centuries has been far from complete. This fellowship was broken in the sixteenth century, yet our two churches continue to share "many elements of sanctification and truth" which "possess an inner dynamism toward Catholic unity." 2 We follow one Lord we profess the ancient Creeds and confess one Baptism we hear God's Word in the Scriptures we revere the Fathers and the ancient Councils we cherish similar structures of worship and episcopal succession. Those who went before us in the faith lived in one communion for many centuries.Roman Catholics and Episcopalians believe that there is but one Church of Christ, 1 yet we find ourselves living in separate churches. ![]()
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