"I Am an Episcopalian" by Patrician Johns

On July 4, 1948 I was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. I was baptized a few days later in a Bayonne Episcopal Church.

When I was 10 years old I was confirmed at Christ Church in Stanhope, New Jersey. At that time I was given a silver chain with a medal on it. On one side was the dove of peace and on the other the phrase “I am an Episcopalian.”

I am concerned when I hear that the Episcopal Church is working to become “mission oriented.”

During my lifetime I have experienced the church reaching out in missions. The Episcopal Church was very active in the civil rights efforts in the 1960s and before. When I was a child we could bring our Unicef boxes to church to be blessed. Many churches sent volunteers to assist communities in the aftermath of disasters. This is an effort that continues today.

I believe that individual churches should reach out and be visible in their  communities. I think having an Episcopal church being a venue during ArtPrize in Grand Rapids is wonderful. Next year I hope that the Grand Rapids churches continue to participate. One simple way would be to open the church sanctuaries to become resting places for those trying to see all 1500 pieces of artwork and whose feet really hurt. Just think how appreciative art lovers would be to find a bathroom they could use.

I do think that our churches need to do more to attract members. This will not be easy and will take time. I think the effort can begin by being visible in the community. This can mean serving a free breakfast during the summer as Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Hastings did this summer. Even making sure that churches advertise in local papers or help support community organizations and events are ways to reach out for new members.

I am telling you my own experience because I believe that there are many ways for the church to welcome both new and returning members. Sometimes church members can experience the spirit even in another denomination but still be true to their own. As an adult I moved away from the church but if anyone asked me what church I went to, I would reply, “I am not a member of any church but, I am an Episcopalian.”

More than 32 years ago I married my husband Michael. Ours was an outside wedding, looking at a lake in New Jersey. The ceremony was officiated by the Methodist minister from my in-law’s church.

Ten years later our daughter Elena was born. Several days after she was born she was baptized on Thanksgiving Day at an Episcopal church in Northfield, Ohio. Michael’s parents were there as well.

We moved to Michigan when Elena was just about 3 years old. We did not belong to any church but as a writer for a community paper I knew about many of the activities of the churches in the community.

When she was 11 years old, Elena told me that she wanted to go to church. She went first with some friends to the Middleville United Methodist Church.

Then she said she would like to go to a church with a woman minister. I had heard that Saint Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Orangeville had a woman priest, Barbara Wilson.

We were welcomed there by both Barbara and members of the congregation. It didn’t matter whether we knelt or stood. We were accepted and this was celebrated in the “Peace.” We chose to attend there and kept going. Elena was confirmed, served as an acolyte and sang solos during services.

One of my best memories of being at Saint Francis is Elena singing “As the Deer” with her grandparents and her dad Michael sitting in the pews.

As a college student she sang “As the Deer” as requested by her grandmother before she died in 2009. At the Methodist Church in Butler, New Jersey there were many tears of joy and reflection during this part of the funeral service.

Because of a medical problem, I cannot drive to Orangeville to attend services any longer. Mother Barbara has been there for me in what has been a very difficult time for me. I have learned a great deal from Mother Barbara. My faith is deeper and my understanding of Christ in my life is clearer.

When asked I still say, “I am an Episcopalian.”

Patricia Johns is a member of St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Orangeville, Michigan. She can be reached by e-mail by clicking here.