"Communication Begins in Song"

Donald Schell contributed this piece about liturgical music to the Episcopal Cafe Blog. I found the following paragraph particularly striking:

In all the fractious debate in our Anglican communion, we have managed, at least sometimes, to remind ourselves that ‘communion’ isn’t something we make or earn. Sometimes, at least, we remember that communion is what we do together that makes us one. I hope bishops at this summer’s Lambeth Conference will remember that communion is neither an enforced human artifact of pure unity nor a reward for agreeing that everyone like us is right and everyone not like us is wrong. But can we find our way without singing together when music is an essential nutrient in the fertile ground from which communion springs? Does this sound like overstatement? I do mean it. (source)

It's such an Anglican/Episcopal idea: let's figure out how to worship together and let God deal with our conflicts. It's one of great contributions to Christian theology: Lex orandi,lex credendi. What am I talking about? Here's a snippet from Wikipedia to explain:

Given its locus in the worship of the Church, Anglican theology tends to be pragmatic and strongly liturgical and ecclesiological, placing a high value on the traditions of the faith. It acknowledges the primacy of the worshipping community in articulating, amending, and passing down the Church’s theology; and thus, by necessity, is inclined toward a comprehensive consensus concerning the principles of the tradition and the relationship between the Church and society. In this sense, Anglicans have traditionally viewed their theology as strongly incarnational. (source)

This is a very difficult thing for many non-Anglicans to understand. I think our Brothers and Sisters that come from Reform Traditions, in particular, have a hard time with Anglican wishy-washiness. Bishop N.T. Wright was asked by Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report, "What do Anglicans believe, anyway?" The Rt. Rev. responded, "If it's true, Anglicans believe it." Or perhaps more accurately, some Anglican(s), somewhere, believes it!

I love being an Anglican.

-t