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ANSWERS
TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A Guide To Becoming Part Of Our Faith Community
Who can receive communion in this church?
What should I consider in leaving one
church for another?
Who needs to be baptized at St. John's?
May my child be baptized here?
May we be married here?
If you are new to St. John's in the Village, you may be here
seeking one of several things which we call, in one way or
another, Christian Initiation.
You may be here after a number of years away from Christianity,
wondering if this place might be right for you.
You may be here after deciding to leave another Christian
body and may be wondering if the Episcopal Church in general,
and St. John's in particular, might be the right place for
you.
You may have moved from another Episcopal Church and want
to transfer your membership to this one.
You may be taking your first adult look at Christianity, having
been raised in Judaism or another faith tradition, or in no
tradition at all.
You may be at any one of these points and have a child which
you would like to have baptized, for any one of a number of
personal, cultural or theological reasons.
You may be thinking about a marriage and wondering if this
might be a good place to marry.
People come to church for many, many reasons, and your reason,
however odd it may seem to you, is probably one that others
have brought with them on their journey to St. John's and
you can probably feel right at home here.
Let's say for the first instance, that you were raised in
some Christian tradition and have been away from it for while
and are looking for something else. This means that probably,
somewhere down the vast echoing corridors of time, you were
baptized. Really, that is all it takes to be a member of St.
John's. When you were baptized, you made some promises, or
someone made them on your behalf. These promises can be activated
at any time. This may be the time and place to activate them.
You do that by coming to Church and receiving holy communion.
Who can receive communion in this church?
Anyone who is baptized, who believes that Jesus is really
present to us in the communion, who turns away from his or
her sins, and desires to be in communion with God and with
one's brothers and sisters. Some of this language you may
have some questions about, and we can take up some of those
questions in an Inquirers' Class, about which we will talk
later. But, for now, if you are baptized, you are welcomed
at our altar. People usually look puzzled when they learn
that basically, this is all one has to do to become a part
of St. John's. As Peter Sellers said, about a different matter,
90% of it is just being there.
After you have been here for a while, and if the community
seems right to you, the worship speaks to your soul and lifts
your spirit, and the theology seems to describe the world
as you know it, then, you can take the next step. That is
an Inquirers' Class. There are, normally, two of them per
year, one in the late fall and one in the late spring. There
are usually eight classes, and often meet on successive Tuesday
evenings. This class may be the first experience you have
ever had in which you can explore Christianity at an adult
level. We will look at basic Christian beliefs, the Bible,
the history of the Church, worship, church customs, practices
and architecture, the development of a spiritual life, and
how the church community works. The Episcopal Church shares,
with the other branches of Catholic Christianity, a common
core of belief and practices. But there are some aspects of
the Episcopal ethos which are distinctive and which give our
church its characteristic style and flavor. These you will
learn about in detail.
When people have been baptized, they form a covenant with
God. We call that, not surprisingly, the Baptismal Covenant.
From time to time, it is personally and pastorally useful
to renew that covenant. Usually, if one was baptized at an
early age, one will wish to renew that covenant when one enters
adulthood. This renewal of the Baptismal Covenant is called
Confirmation, and it is one of the seven sacraments of the
Church. Sometimes, a move from one church to another can be
an occasion for renewal of the Baptismal Covenant (and now,
you see why we bring this up just now). A major change in
vocation or personal life can be another occasion for renewing
of the baptismal covenant.
So, if you have come to us from another tradition, settled
into the parish, and taken an inquirers' class, you may wish
to renew your Baptismal Covenant and be confirmed or received
into the Episcopal Church. If this is your first adult renewal
of your Baptismal Covenant we call it confirmation, if you
have done this before we call it reception.
The important thing to remember, however, is that you are
renewing a commitment you made to God years ago, and that
commitment is something you will come back to again and again
throughout your life; it is your Baptismal Covenant.
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What should I
consider in leaving one church for another?
Because Christianity is a very diverse religion, expressed
in many different ways, we often welcome into our church people
who have been dissatisfied with their previous religious commitment.
Many people turn to the Episcopal Church, and to parishes
like St. John's, because we are perceived as having fewer
rules and more liberal, inclusive social positions. Some people
come to us because their previous church did not celebrate
and hold up the ministry of women. Some come to us because
their previous church did not welcome gay men and lesbians.
Some find us appealing because we have a more tolerant view
of abortion, divorce, or other issues of sexuality. All of
this is true: We ordain women, women take prominent places
in the life of the church, and, in the Diocese of New York,
we have a woman bishop. We have openly gay and lesbian clergy,
gay men and lesbians take their places in the life and governance
of the church right alongside everyone else, and both single
and coupled gay men and lesbians find spiritual nurture here.
It is possible for a divorced person to remarry in this church,
and the church recognizes and respects the struggle a woman
goes through in making decisions about childbirth and pregnancy.
But this is not a perfect church, and if perfection is what
you are looking for, keep looking. Inclusiveness, of the sort
that Anglicanism embraces, does not readily lead to clarity.
There will be a lot of issues about which you will find the
Episcopal Church to be uncomfortably vague. We place a high
value upon the role of the human conscience. We trust not
only scripture, but also tradition and human reason as sources
of authority. We believe that God guides us by placing us
in communities where we struggle together to discern what
God would have us do. But, and this is a new perspective for
some, there really is no book in which you can look up just
what the Church says you must believe about social issues.
So, as you leave your church of origin and consider making
your home with us, remember that the Episcopal Church and
even St. John's are imperfect institutions. You may not have
yet discovered our warts; but trust us, they are there.
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Who needs to
be baptized at St. John's?
If you were raised in another religion, or raised with no
religion, you may not be baptized. If this is the case, in
order to become a member of the church, you need to be baptized.
Baptism is a wonderful way to begin your life anew.
There are some things you should be aware of at this point
in your life with us. You must defer receiving holy communion
until you are baptized. This is not an attempt to exclude
you, but arises rather from a desire to do Christian initiation
in its logical and traditional order. Baptism and Holy Communion
(which we call the Eucharist) are, and were historically,
parts of the same process--Christian initiation. In the Eucharist,
we renew our incorporation into Christ's body by receiving,
sacramentally, the body of Christ into our own bodies. What
we are renewing in that act of communion is what was done
for us in our baptism, when we became part of that body. So,
understanding that you cannot renew what you haven't yet done,
you should wait until after baptism to receive holy communion
at the Eucharist. But, do come to church, hear the readings,
learn, we hope, from the sermons, pray the prayers, and worship
God present with his people. These are things you can do right
now.
In order to be baptized, you participate in what is called
the catachumenate. It is a series of classes and other experiences
of the church designed to teach you the Christian faith and
lead you in its practice. We begin the catachumenate here
at St. John's in Advent (the beginning of December) or Lent
(in the early spring.) In the catachumenate, you will study
scripture, learn theology, learn how to pray, learn about
the operation of the church, study the liturgy and its practice,
learn music, and learn about the living of a Christian life.
You can see, by the scope of the study and experience, why
the process takes about six months.
The catachumenate ends with baptism at the Easter Vigil or
at Pentecost. The Easter Vigil is simply the most important
liturgy of the entire church year. In it, we enter a darkened
church, light candles to symbolize the resurrection, sing
ancient chants from the very dawn of our tradition, and baptize
new Christians. Then, the Eucharist is celebrated--the first
mass of Easter--and the newly baptized receive Holy Communion
for the first time.
If this is your situation, speak to the rector who can help
you begin the process of the catachumenate.
Leaving one Episcopal Church for another
If you are an Episcopalian desiring to make St. John's your
church home, you can do so by transferring to the parish.
In order to do this, you should make an appointment with the
rector and get acquainted with the parish and the clergy before
you take this big step. The transfer happens in one of two
ways. You can ask the rector of your previous parish to transfer
your membership to this parish, or you can ask our rector
here to send for your letter of transfer. In either way, the
process results in your being removed from the membership
list of one parish and entered upon the membership list of
this congregation. It is also desirable at this time for you
to make a pledge of financial support to the work of the parish;
for this is the way in which we all participate in the broad
scope of ministry which is God's and ours in this place.
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May my child
be baptized here?
It was, and in some places still is, a cultural assumption
that children should be baptized. We agree with that assumption--to
the degree that we think everyone should be baptized and become
members of Christ's body the Church. The sacrament of Baptism
is probably the most important sacrament of the whole church,
and this is why it is celebrated in Church, on Sundays, at
the main liturgy, with full ceremonial and music.
Because Baptism is so central to the Christian life, parents
should consider exactly what they are doing, promising, and
pledging when they present a child for baptism.
In the baptismal liturgy, parents and sponsors promise that
they and the child will "continue in the apostles' teaching
and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers."
This language means that parents are promising to see that
the child learns about the faith (the apostles' teaching),
maintains active participation in the church (the apostles'
fellowship), regularly attends the Eucharist (the breaking
of the bread), and develops an active live of prayer (the
prayers.)
What this means is that when you present a child for baptism,
you are committing yourself and the child to the Church. This
means regular church attendance, Christian formation and education,
and participation in the community.
These promises are so important that we want to insure that
no one makes them hypocritically or without fully understanding
their import. If you are just wanting to have your child "done"
without becoming a part of the church, baptism is not for
you. It would be better to simply give thanks to God for the
birth or adoption of the child (for which we have a ritual)
and to defer baptism until such a time as you or the child
are ready to make the commitment that baptism entails.
If you are planning a commitment to St. John's and wish to
have your child raised in our faith and common life, then
make an appointment with the rector to discuss baptism.
A word about sponsors, which were formerly called godparents.
A sponsor takes the baptismal vows on behalf of the candidate
who is usually unable to answer for him- or herself. Further,
they promise to "see that the child is brought up in
the Christian faith and life" and they are charged to
help the child grow "into the full stature of Christ"
(Prayerbook, page 302). In the first instance, the sponsors
are renewing their own baptismal promises, and, in a sense,
including the child in the covenant community defined by those
promises (Prayerbook page 298). This can only be done, we
believe, with integrity by those who genuinely believe in
the doctrine and are willing to engage in the discipline of
those promises. All sponsors must be baptized persons, active
in the Episcopal Church, and at least one of them must be
a member of St. John's in the Village. There is no restriction
as to the number or sex of the sponsors.
While not directly related to Baptism, there are other rites
which may be of interest to those thinking about baptism of
infants. They include the Blessing of a Pregnant Woman, and
the Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child (Prayer
Book, page 439-45).
When parents are thinking about baptism and their responsibilities
for the religious upbringing of their children, they might
also think about making a will, establishing a provision for
legal guardianship of their children, and providing for bequests
for religious and charitable institutions.
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May we be married
here?
Very often people come to church when they begin to think
about marriage. This is a very happy event and we rejoice
with you if you are planning a marriage. And, if you are,
at the same time, looking for a parish church home, then let's
talk about your being married here.
A marriage in the Episcopal Church presumes a commitment to
our church. We believe that the married life of a faithful
couple shows us an image of God's glory, goodness, and love.
We also believe that a married couple or a family is a manifestation,
in miniature, of the Christian community we call the Church.
When a couple seeks to celebrate their marriage in Church,
they are asking the gathered community of the Church, through
its priest, to bless the marriage. Therefore a marriage in
a church only makes sense for those who have made a commitment
to God, through Jesus Christ, and to the community gathered
at St. John's.
People sometimes ask "How long must I go to St. John's
before I can be married there?" We feel that this is
not the best question to pose at this point because it reflects
a certain minimalistic, legalistic approach to a matter than
should be considered in a more wholistic way. But, in general,
we would hope that you had made this your parish home, and
that you would have been active as a member of the church
for, say, one year or so. We want you to be a part of our
church, not just for the day of your wedding, but for a lifetime
of Christian growth.
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