Living through a church of changes

Bill Weiss

My great-grandparents came from Germany in 1872. They converted from

the Lutheran church to the Episcopal Church shortly after their

arrival. My family’s continuity with the church extends to my

sister’s and my grandchildren.

At the age of 13, I took classes learning what the church’s

doctrine was. I pledged my faith to God and I accepted the teachings

of the church to be truisms, and that I would remain loyal to the

church.

I then was confirmed by the “laying on of hands” by the bishop. I

attended communion services regularly until the church changed its

interpretation of the Bible, not based on newfound documents, but for

the leadership’s own expediency in keeping with social issues.

They created beliefs contrary to what I had accepted as the truth

at confirmation. It was devastating to find the beliefs I held sacred

were now hogwash. I questioned the credibility of my beloved church.

Should I remain steadfast in my beliefs, or remain loyal to the

church I accepted at confirmation? Instead of an uplifted feeling

leaving church, I now felt like a heretic, and was acting against God

and the Holy Spirit.

When I was confirmed as an Episcopalian I also became part of the

Anglican Communion. When St. James broke from the Episcopal Church,

it maintained its communion with the Anglican Church. By becoming a

part of St. James I was able to maintain my loyalty to the church

without compromising my faith and beliefs in the scriptures.

It is very comforting that my faith through the years again seems

valid. The clergy at St. James shared these beliefs so strongly that

they jeopardized a comfortable vocation rather than compromise their

beliefs. It is also reassuring that the Anglican Church in Uganda,

which I am now a part of, would not continue a communion with a

church they consider heretic, even though they sacrifice the

important funding from the Episcopal Church USA.

* BILL WEISS is a resident of Newport Beach.