Here are some recordings from an exhibition that took place in Rochester this past June. According to the Tumblr site, My Apocalypse  was “a group exhibition of local, national, and international artists held in Rochester, New York. The curatorial focus of the show brings together seemingly disparate works of art with the conceit that the end is coming or underway.”

From Bandcamp site:

released 08 July 2012 

Chris Heath 
Travis Johansen 
Mike Turzanski 
Peter Lazarski 
Matt Ely 

Live recording mixed and mastered by Cory Card 

Exhibition curated by Nick Marshall

The Evangelical Flagship Is Sailing Back to England: Why Wheaton Students End Up at Churches Named after Saints – by Matt Ely

Recently, I’ve had numerous discussions with friends from Wheaton in regards to their post-collegiate church involvement. So if you’re tagged, I’ve either talked to you about this or, for some reason, I think you might be interested in how I ended up somewhat Episcopalian (feel free to comment regardless; I’m no good at gauging interest, and there is a literal limit to how many one can tag). What I’ve found in all these conversations with Wheaton alumni is a trend toward the liturgical traditions of the Church of England and its derivatives. On the surface this seems rather strange, especially considering that Wheaton College is decidedly non-denominational and evangelical, terms not typically associated with Anglicanism.

The idea was portrayed famously in my senior seminar as the four-year road from “Antioch to Anglican, by way of College Church.” Antioch is a pseudo-Pentacostal local church, famous for its underclassman-heavy congregation, while College Church is a huge, traditional Presbyterian congregation right next to the campus. There is a definite trend toward the traditional denominations, and I have wondered why Wheaton would foster enthusiasm for Anglicanism of all things.

The first, and I think most foundational, reason is a totally legitimate need to redefine one’s self upon entering publicly-acknowledged adulthood. Most people find that their understanding of religion changes significantly once they’re out of college and start having families. This probably has to do with association as much as anything. I have no gripes about my non-denominational Presbyterian upbringing, but it has lots of associations that I don’t need to carry over into adulthood. I’m tired of the structure, the music, the buzzwords, etc. My reasons are not divinely inspired, but they are reasons nonetheless.

Some people grew up only nominally involved in a church, so adulthood means a personal re-emphasis and dedication to that same church. Others look back on their enthusiasm and may call it “ignorance,” so they drift away to another church (or to no church at all). Whatever the reason, we all need to reject some part of our spiritual youth in order to feel like we’ve stopped drinking spiritual milk. We must either say, “I’m taking this church seriously now that I’m an adult” or “I’m moving on now that I’m an adult.” But if we decide to make a change, whither Wheaton?

Our parents faced the same pressures, albeit from a different denominational tradition. The dynamic shift of their generation was away from the spiritually dead churches of their parents to a new, all-encompassing Gospel movement without denominational affiliation. This, despite a few bumps along the way, has been a good thing. The American church today is defined, in large part, by non-denominational imitation and reaction. What Protestant today can, with good conscience, deny the positives of Gospel-driven, scripturally-rooted churches?

But that time of change has passed. The spiritual revolutionaries had kids (us), and thus normalized their revolution. In a place like Wheaton, the evangelical revolution is the standard as well. It is infused in the roads and rhetoric and rhythm of the whole campus.

That puts Wheaton students in a tough spot. Students at other schools can remain decisively evangelical because they may define themselves against a non-Christian campus. Wheaton students were never afforded the option, so standing somewhere outside the evangelical mainstream becomes one of the only options for securing a sense of spiritual adulthood.

All that said, I do think the multiplicity of denominations is a good thing. There is room for choice and there is no perfect church. Personally, I’ve aligned myself with the Anglican tradition, such that I now attend an Episcopalian church. This has more to do with my finding a very good Episcopalian church than anything; it could’ve been Anglican or Methodist just as easily.

I should also note that despite my tone, the “Anglican revival” is by no means ubiquitous among Wheaton students and remains an issue of ongoing debate. Not everyone likes incense and funny robes, it would seem. The movement at Wheaton has a lot to with a particular Anglican church, Church of the Resurrection, being nearby and fashionable. In addition, several prominent professors embrace the liturgical tradition. Despite all these caveats, however, I like to think there is more to this small movement than convenience and circumstance. I want to conclude by briefly illustrating some of the central reasons for the shift on my part, with an understanding that many of my Wheaton compatriots have come to similar conclusions.

1) Why are we going to church?
In many evangelical churches, the focus of the service is the sermon by the pastor, bordered on either side by music. The length of the sermon varies, but it functions like a lecture, unifying background information, Scripture, and anecdote to come to an application from the pastor’s perspective.

In the Anglican tradition, however, the sermon is simply a piece in the progression of the service. It occurs after the reading of the Word, and ties together the themes from the three or four Scripture readings. It resembles an evangelical sermon in structure, but is typically much shorter. In this way, the focus rests primarily on an elucidation of the Scriptures themselves instead of wandering into personal narrative and speculation. It is a tried and true system necessitated by the diminished centrality of the sermon to the service as a whole.

The focus, instead, comes later, at communion. My Catholic friends and family will find this familiar, and I think they’re on the right track. The service is driven by public absolution, public reaffirmation of doctrine, public Scripture reading, the prayers of the people, and the passing of the peace of Christ. Communion then makes the service less of a religious lecture with music. Instead, it stands as a memorial and experience of the identity and resurrection of Christ, made present and culminated in public communion. The service is primarily a place for the union of Christ’s people to himself, not an elucidation of Suzerain-Vassal treaties or ancient Judean political arrangements. Those topics are still important and relevant, but they primarily find their place in cooperative study of Scripture or religious lecture outside of Sunday morning. I find this approach a noble way to keep the Sabbath holy and set apart, in word and deed.

2) Liturgy
My brother, David, asked me why I wanted to be part of a liturgical church. I told him that I just really liked repeating stuff back and forth. The liturgical tradition, however, does more than inform the way that Episcopalians say stuff back and forth; it informs the structure of all its services. Because the church operates on a liturgical calendar, the emphasis is not determined by any individual in church leadership. This leaves the spiritual direction of the church outside the church itself (something very non-non-denominational), preventing particular personalities from defining the community’s church on their own terms.

Instead, every January 6th, Episcopalians celebrate Epiphany. The first Sunday of Advent isn’t just the first time you inexplicably light a candle; it drives the focus, Scripture, and liturgy of the service. The annual structure, along with the balance of multiple Scripture readings from the New and Old Testaments each Sunday, helps to limit the degree to which any church can lose sight of the forest for the trees. I mean, how often will a non-denominational church feel compelled to preach on Amos? Or Ecclesiastes? Or Nehemiah? I prefer the Anglican traditions because they have institutional structures to balance Scriptural emphasis over and against the fallen humans that serve each church. In other words, for Anglicans, it’s more than a feeling.

3) The Middle Way
One thing that attracted me to the Episcopalians was their sense of balance. Being derived from the English tradition, moderation is to be expected. This extends to their notion of being both Protestant and Catholic, a bridge of understanding where Reformation meets Tradition.

Similarly, they reject (generally) both Biblical literalism and Biblical liberalism. The Bible, being told through hundreds of authors over centuries in distant cultures, cannot be approached only from 21st Century standards. The church is purposeful about approaching Scripture with reverence and rationality. And the humility to say that there is a great deal that we do not (and may never) understand. I appreciate a church that admits to not only seeing God, but also the Bible, through a mirror, darkly. This, in itself, is not completely unique to Episcopalianism. But I am uniquely impressed by the humility with which they attend to Scripture. The focus remains the identity and resurrection of Christ, and they generally do not insist on what they cannot know.

The final, 800-pound gorilla in the room is the question of homosexuality in the church. Most of the Episcopalian church confirms the acceptability of homosexual marriage, within the pattern of marriage illustrated in the Bible. Many Anglicans and Methodists disagree. I’ve been to churches of all three shades and can understand where each comes from.

If I were to treat this issue with the sensitivity and detail it deserves, then I would have to write another essay; I do not want to engage all sides here. Let me simply put out one word of caution: let’s not mistake a political issue for a spiritual one, at least not a primary spiritual issue. Condoning gay marriage does not mean that Episcopalians have no regard for Scripture; participate in any service and you’ll see the contrary is true. They simply believe that Scripture interpreted today leads to a different conclusion. We do not claim the Churches of Christ are apostate for insisting on full immersion at baptism (and claiming that it is uniquely salvific). This is a big deal when we blissfully tolerate wholly misinterpreted sacraments, favoring a vendetta over secondary or tertiary spiritual questions. We should not make the Episcopalians out to be any more apostate than anyone else over this single, non-primary issue.

I still even consider myself evangelical. This latest transition is one that I believe is a completion of what I learned in the non-denominational church, not a real rejection. What was true there is truer here!

I also see myself as part of something else. I stand proudly within a small movement of young Evangelicals who are becoming frustrated by the individualism of non-denominationalism. As such we are proudly turning back to the firm foundation of the traditional churches, creeds, and structures once left for dead. This new old foundation is the best solace I’ve yet found.

Christ Episcopal Church Tacoma, WA. Exciting, right?