It used to be fashionable at cocktail parties, if you wanted to get a chuckle, to quip “to be a good Episcopalian only a slight belief in God is required.”

Others liked to characterize the Episcopal Church as “the country club at prayer” and even assert that we are “not really a Christian church.”

All kidding aside, those of us who are active and devout members of the Episcopal Church know just how untrue those popular perceptions are yet, as an organization and as individuals, we have frankly done little to counter these misconceptions.

For the past quarter century or so it seems that the only time our church get any press is when the word “sex” can be coupled in the headline with the word “church”: “women priests” then “women bishops” and now a woman presiding bishop, along with talk of blessing “same sex marriages,” priests and even a bishop in a “same sex relationships.” (The word “gender” would be more correct, but let’s face it, “sex” sells papers, “gender” doesn’t.)

Except for the 2.4 million active Episcopalians who know better, the rest of the population is left to believe that the Episcopal Church is like a “singles bar” except that it is open on Sunday mornings!

The media coverage of our General Convention this past July was, of course, no exception. If you happened to miss the screeching headline, “Episcopal Church unanimously passes orthodox statement of belief in Jesus Christ,” it was because it never appeared, but none the less the convention did pass such a statement!

The Rt. Rev. Pierre Welte Whalon D.D., the bishop of the Convocation of American Episcopal Churches in Europe (who I had the privilege of meeting at a theological conference in Germany three years ago), noted this in a reflection on the wrap up of General Convention. I’d like to share his words with you all:

“Finally, a very significant theological statement on interreligious dialogue passed the bishops unanimously, and by a large majority in the House of Deputies (with 888 voting deputies, unanimity is extremely rare). For those who wonder about the orthodoxy of our church, here are some excerpts:

“We affirm the foundational Gospel proclamation that 'Jesus is Lord' (I Corinthians 12:3 NRSV here and hereafter), and therefore Jesus’ Summary of God's Law: 'Love the Lord your God with all your hearts, with all your souls, and with all your minds, and to love your neighbor as yourself' (Mark 12:29-31; BCP, Catechism, page 851).

For this reason we reach out in love and genuine openness to know and to understand those of other religion traditions.” (Introduction)

And these paragraphs from Section V are worth quoting in full:

“24. The Christian scriptures proclaim that Jesus is 'the Word made flesh' (John 1:14) and as such he is 'the Way and the Truth and the Life' (John 14:6). As stated in our creeds (Apostles', and Nicene) and liturgy, Jesus Christ is the full revelation of God. Since God has chosen to share our life, we affirm that God is intensely concerned about every human life.

Among Christians, Episcopalians have a particular appreciation of this teaching, in that we believe that the coming of God in Christ has already begun to transform all of creation.

“25. The human response to God's incarnate love was 'to crucify the Lord of Glory' (1 Corinthians 2:8). The cross is the Christian symbol and act of self-emptying, humility, redemptive suffering, sacrificial self-giving and unvanquished love. We believe that we have been reconciled to God through the cross.

“26. In the resurrection we believe 'Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and giving life to those in the tomb' (BCP, p. 483). By our baptism into Christ's death and resurrection we enjoy new life as members of the Body of Christ, called therefore to become ourselves ambassadors of reconciliation (Romans 6:4; 2 Corinthians 5:14-20).

“27. Professing salvation in Christ is not a matter of competing with other religious traditions with the imperative of converting one another. Each tradition brings its own understanding of the goal of human life to the interreligious conversation. Christians bring their particular profession of confidence in God's intentions as they are seen in and through the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Please note, gentle reader, that this is now the official teaching of the Episcopal Church, since it has the approval of the General Convention. The purpose of these passages is to reiterate in basic language who we are as Christians, since clarity of identity is as important in interreligious dialogue as clarity of intent. Precisely because we are followers of Jesus, we must engage people of other religious traditions in conversation, not to proselytize but rather to build common ground in the world in which we live.”

Thank you, Bishop Whalon!

I hope we can get this message out to the folks around us not just to correct the misconceptions about our church, but to make known the unique manifestation of God’s love in Christ that the Episcopal Church is to the church catholic and to whole world.

As we celebrate Christ’s Epiphany on Jan. 6, remember that in 2010 YOU are the epiphany of God’s love in our world.

Fr. Leo M. Joseph O.S.F., is parish priest of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lakeport.