I am an Episcopal Priest serving at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Madison Wisconsin who is committed to telling the story of who we are and what we are about in the Episcopal Church.

It has become clear to me that if the only  picture of Christianity available to you is the one that is offered by the mainstream media you are not likely to go anywhere near the church.  What the nightly news and the mainstream media offer is a caricature of Christianity and the church.  If the only thing you know about Christianity and the church comes from the media then judgmental, exclusionary, angry, alienating… those are the adjectives would come to mind when you drive past us on 1833 Regent Street.  No wonder the church is losing ground.  We have lost control of our message.  We are not doing a good job of telling our story.

The Episcopal Church is a broad tent and I cannot pretend to speak for the whole church but I can, and will speak about my experiences in the church, my understanding of who we are and where we are going, and I have to say: judgmental, exclusionary, angry, alienating…  I don’t believe that is who we are or where we are going.

I believe that the Episcopal Church has something very powerful to offer to a world that is hungry for  connection with God, with one another, and with all of creation.  An ethos of openness, that embraces diversity and which encourages questions; an ability to flex, to give and to receive as we learn form one another; a real belief that the power that binds us one to another is more powerful than the differences that threaten to divide us; and the certainty that when we gather in communities of faith the Holy Spirit will help us to discern our way forward…  We are the Episcopal Church.  Please, please, don’t check your brain at the door!

God Talk: Theological Conversations With A Mad City Episcopalian is my second blog site.  I post sermons, reflections on life in the church, and my thoughts about the journey that we share on my primary blog site, A Mad City Episcopalian. I will be using this new blog to engage in theological conversation that honors and upholds what I believe to be the uniquely Episcopal charism…  A belief that God is present in the world, still being revealed through the poser of the Holy Spirit, and that we are on a journey of discovery that will lead us to a clearer understanding of who we are, who God is, and who we are in relationship with the God who continues to create, redeem and sustain us.

I invite you to ask questions, to challenge and to argue with me.  To tell your own story, and to shape the dialog that happens on these pages.

Peace,

Andy+