The Newly Confirmed and Received Share Their Faith and Invigorate Ours

Dear Friends,

What follows are the affirmations of faith made by those who were presented to the Bishop during the All Saints' Day liturgy at our diocesan cathedral on November 1. Please read their statements and feel free to respond by adding your own thoughts about the two questions we have been considering this Fall:

What does it mean to be a Christian?
What is distinctive about being a Christian in The Episcopal Church?

First, you will read responses from three of our teen-aged members Anthony, Joe and Rowena), then from the three adults (Chris, Sal and Gabrielle).

(Anthony Lenti)
Being a Christian means having a unique relationship with God. It is not better than any other religion, nor is it worse. Being a Christina means holding true to your belief no matter what life throws at you. Being an Episcopalian is different because this group of church-goers has a more community view. At a bigger church, one would not be able to get to know every other person who goes to the same church. I feel more comfortable being a member of the Episcopalian church, more so than I would anywhere else.

(Joe Dinas)
To be a Christian is to believe that there are other worldly powers out there that are completely pure unlike what we know of here on Earth. I am not talking about aliens! I am talking about how one being somewhere has infinite powers and uses them to shape our lives so that hopefully we can do the right thing or help someone else do the right thing. Now there are a lot of different ways to express this belief. Not just as a Christian, but as a Jew, Muslim or even a Buddhist. These religions are all different with all their rituals and other beliefs. But one thing is always constant no matter how you re-word it, or try to change it. That fact is that they all believe in God or at least some form of great power that we live by. Now I feel that The Episcopal Church is different from all other churches (not necessarily other religions) in that they aren’t “brainwashing” you could say. The church lets you believe and have your own feelings about the faith. Unlike in the Middle Ages when the Church used the faith to make people their pawns. Or even something more current like fundamentalist churches that tell you how you must believe in God. That just isn’t what faith is at all. It is just gathering together with a group of people to listen.

(Rowena Chodkowski)
To be a Christian means to be a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. A Christian is a person who seeks, throughout his or her life, to understand God and seek him in all his different expressions. They do this through a variety of means. Personal introspection, scientific research, the study of religion and philosophy, regular church service and prayer, meditation and religious discourse—these are all ways that Christians seek to better understand God. A Christian lives by the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and understands the greatest human virtue not to be adherence to piety and dogma, but kindness and love. A Christian strives to follow the Ten Commandments of Moses and the Two Commandments of Jesus in order to better understand both God and his fellow man. A Christian employs what he or she learns through his or her faith and reason to live the best life possible—one in which the individual strives for an understanding of the infinite and unfathomable God. Most importantly, this is not done through dogma alone; it is done through tolerance, exploration, understanding, moderation and love. A Christian understands both sin and repentance, but does not dwell on the latter to erase the former. A Christian uses a close bond with God in order to find a path of moderation and kindness that leads him or her along the healthiest, most stable path along life: the one that is right for both the individual and his or her peers.

The Episcopal Church varies drastically over its scope: there are both highly liberal and highly conservative churches within the same communion. However, I will focus on the Episcopal Church that I have known for all twelve years of my religious education. The Episcopal Church understands the beauty of tradition and ceremony, but it does not place them above practicality and societal change. The Episcopal Church expresses the importance of dialogue and exploration of religion: it does not preach dogma for its congregations to memorize, but it teaches its members how to question their everyday activities and apply what they know to be good in order to be good to their fellow man. It understands the Bible as a document inspired by God but written by man, and does not take its word literally, instead encouraging exploration and discussion. Finally, it is a church of acceptance. The Episcopal Church does not harbor disdain for its members based on their current or former color, creed, race, religion, or sexual orientation. The final criterion in this list is especially important to me: I believe firmly that sex is a beautiful expression of love, affection and intimacy: it is not something dirty and abhorrent, nor should it be limited to heterosexual expression. Love is something for all people to share with each other, whether platonic, fraternal or erotic, depending on what is appropriate for their relationship. The Episcopal Church does not dispense with traditional morals entirely, but understands how best to negotiate their change as society changes over time.

(Chris Dippel)
To me, being a Christian is about answering Christ’s call to Love. He teaches us that in order to
find salvation, we must love God and one another. But what is love and how do we express it?
To paraphrase the Oxford English Dictionary, to love someone is to delight in their presence and
possess an earnest concern for their welfare. I like this definition. And love is expressed
through service– we help those we love; we sacrifice for them. We don’t think twice about
going out of our way for a family member in need. In fact, in our heart of hearts, we welcome
moments when we can help because it is an opportunity to show loved ones how much we truly
care. Christ’s challenge to us is not an easy one. To care for everyone in that same way, to see
the Christ in everyone, requires faith and sacrifice. I know that I fail more than I succeed. But
when we try, when we open our minds and our hearts to others, we are answering Christ’s call.
When we love each other, we show our love for God.

When I was a kid, my family did not attend church, but my mother taught me to be a Christian.
She told me about Jesus and read to me from a children’s book entitled, “The Greatest Bible
Stories Ever Told.” She taught me to be patient and kind, to accept others for who they are and
not what I want them to be, to love everyone. All wonderful things to learn, but as I got older, it
ruined me in terms of finding a church home. As I began to understand the stories of my father’s
break from the Catholic church because of their refusal to allow my mother, a non-Catholic, to
receive communion with her family, and I witnessed those who professed to be Christians
thumping their bibles and condemning those whose beliefs differed from their own, I became
aware of the closed-mindedness of many churches. None of that sounded like what I had been
taught by my mother. I began to believe that my relationship with God would have to continue to
exist outside of a church family. For a while I wanted nothing to do with any church. My faith
in God continued, but my contempt for organized religion grew. Then I met my wife, Claire.
She was brought up in the Episcopal Church, attended an Episcopal High School, and was the
most loving and accepting person I had ever met. When we got engaged, we decided to get
married in her home church, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Del Mar, California. This is how I
became acquainted with her priest, Father Tally Jarrett, the most wonderful human being whom
I have ever had the pleasure to know. This man knew love like my mother. He opened
his heart to others in ways I didn’t know were possible. Over the next seven years, we stayed in
close contact with Father Jarrett, and my conversations with him helped me to realize that The
Episcopal Church was the church I had looked for as a young man, and hadn’t found.

What is distinctive about The Episcopal Church is that it allows people to remain
individuals and helps to support personal relationships with God. It is accepting of everyone and welcomes all to Christ’s table. Members can disagree and still remain members. In fact, debate is welcomed. How wonderful is that! Ours is a church that believes that “continuing debate brings continuing insight.” It is a church whose core beliefs are so strongly rooted in the teachings of Christ that it can accommodate differences and remain unshaken. The Episcopal Church is a family, and “a family is bound together not by its ability to agree, but by its ability to love.”

(Sal Amato)
I was born into a Roman Catholic family. I grew up accepting my family religion as a matter of fact, never really feeling committed in any way. It was in my senior years that I became disillusioned with this faith for reasons both academic and personal. As a consequence of my wife being Episcopalian I would attend services at St. Luke's occasionally. Over a period of time I began, for the first time, to appreciate the beauty of Christ's teachings. I began to feel the place they had in my life, and the freedom to practice this new found spirituality in a free and thoughtful environment without being judged. I embraced my new found faith and wanted to be a part of it, not just an observer. I have to say a lot of how I feel has to do with the wonderful place that St. Luke's is and the kind and gentle leadership of Tom. It all adds up to a convivial faith community where all my former ambivalence melted away.

(Gabrielle Tafuro)
Christians are people who believe in Jesus Christ. It means you have a personal relationship with Jesus by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior. Being a Christian to me means being true to yourself and to God. It means living a life that I know in my heart pleases the Lord. It means being a disciple of the Lord Jesus and to love one another as he loved us.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, the Son of God, our Lord. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body And, the life everlasting.
I went through a difficult time in my life when I wasn’t sure if I believed in God anymore. I was watching a little boy suffer and eventually die of cancer. It made me question my beliefs….how could God let this happen? I began to lose my faith. I was angry at God. I was also not happy with the religion in which I was raised. It was not giving me what I needed. I felt disillusioned.

I guess in my heart I did not entirely turn away from God and I was able to open my heart and mind to follow God. It took the birth of my son to restore my faith and help rebuild my relationship with Jesus Christ. I could not believe this miracle God had given me. I was overwhelmed with love. It is difficult not to believe in something more when you hold a perfect little baby in your arms. I needed a way to thank God for what He had given me. But I knew I needed a more fulfilling way to worship and be part of a church where I felt comfortable.
I was drawn to the Episcopal faith and church through my mother .She and I would discuss how the Episcopal Church believes through baptism of any Christian denomination we become part of God’s family-any baptized person is welcome and encouraged to share in Holy Communion.
First of all, the sign outside every Episcopal Church reads “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You.”

I love that all are welcome to participate in worship together as a Christian family, that Scripture is the foundation of worship and that every worship service includes the reading of Holy Scripture from the Old and the New Testaments.
I want to be part of The Episcopal Church because it does not control interpretation and practice. Its members are encouraged to use reason to explore and comprehend God’s works. I want to be part of a community that strives to be open and inclusive.
I paraphrase what I have read through this journey Tom has taken me on as I prepare for my Reception into the Episcopal Church when I write… God does not call us to agree. God calls us to communion.
The Episcopal Church focuses on love, not sin. And, all are welcome.

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