An Episcopalian Pantheistic Quaker

Sorry I haven't been able to post with the regularity of last month. This month's teaching schedule has been busy, and I'm trying to finish my PhD dissertation. But, my love affair with Blogger continues....

I think I've said somewhere before that I am addicted to labels, despite my postmodern midset. I suppose it's a leftover trait from my fundamentalist, evanglical days. I've been thinking lately about what label to apply to myself. I'm sure some readers of this blog would be more than happy to jump in with "heretic" or "pagan", and they might not be too far off the mark~

There are three traditions that really appeal to me, though traditionally they have been at some odds: Episcopalianism, Pantheism, and Quakerism. God, I love to talk about -isms!

Though I have only been to a handful of Episcopalian worship services, my immediate reaction to the pomp - the sights and smells of worship - was one of sheer spiritual ecstacy. In worshiping a God as grand as He/She is, I cannot fathom there being too much pagentry in the process. The stained glass, the incense, the garments, the community of it all! Episcopalian worship takes my breath away, and leaves my feeling as if I have truly encountered the faceless, mysterious God.

Pantheism, though often at odds with Christian doctrine, has found a deep place in my heart as well. My recent subscription to ecopsychology (the topic of my dissertation) has even furthered that place. It seems evident to me that everything is somehow interconnected, and that the smallest action in one place effects other things elsewhere. I have always been a monist as well, which presented problems when I felt the need to belive in the Trinity. I see the earth as the body of God. Most characteristics that has traditionally been assigned to God can also be assigned to the earth & the universe (i.e. omnipresence, omnipotence, creativity, etc). Nature has been a sanctuary to me more times than I can remember, producing feelings of awe, inadequacy, and love simultaneously.

Modern Quakerism probably has more in common with pantheism than with Episcopalianism. Quakers believe in three main things that resonate with my S(s)pirit: the Inner Light in each individual, the value of listening, and a commitment to pacifism. Whereas I relish the ornate worship of the Episcopal church, I also find deep meaning simply in the practice of being still and listening to the Spirit within. Each person, as part of creation and a part of God, has the ability to hear the voice of God within. The gospel of John tells us that Light entered the world, and this Light is the Light of men. Quakers also take the teachings of Jesus seriously about loving neighbor as self, the neighbors being our fellow human beings.

So, I'm an EPQ, at least for the time being. I treasure parts of each of these traditions, and find additional meaning outside of these traditions. The journey continues....

Peace & Blessings.