As I was growing up, I was exposed to some pretty mixed religious influences. My extended family is largely conservative evangelical. My parents raised me in the Episcopal Church. For the last twenty years or so, apart from dropping in on the occasional Quaker meeting, I have been a member of a Congregational church.
One thing that has been compelling for me about being in seminary is seeing what passions gave birth to those traditions. My first course on the history of theology was thrilling because I began to see the layers of choice and chance that contributed to the practices and diversity of our present-day churches. But it has always been mystifying to me how my very theologically savvy parents could make sense of moving from Nazarene to Episcopalian.
A year ago, as part of my American Religious Histories class, I did a paper on the origins of the Nazarene Church so I could get a better handle on how that came about. Last summer I took a course in UCC History and Polity – which included the Congregationalists in the mix. This January, I am rounding it out with a course in the Anglican (Episcopal) Tradition. With each pass, the path from Martin Luther to Phineas Bresee through John Wesley becomes clearer. Call me a geek but I find that pretty exciting!
But I am reminded that the history of religion has its dark sides as well. This month, I am preparing for a sermon about the relationship between scripture and slavery in America. In the process, I read about the struggle to end the slave trade in the British Empire. One account made clear that the Anglican Church – the predecessor of the church I was brought up in – benefited from and was complicit in maintaining this brutal injustice in the Caribbean. Pretty disturbing stuff!
Throughout seminary I have also been motivated to deepen my ecumenical and inter-faith awareness. A number of my closest friends in junior high headed off to Hebrew school many afternoons. I’ve gotten a taste of Judaism through taking a World Religions class, studying Hebrew a bit, and attending synagogue some. (I certainly want to know more about Hinduism!) As an adult, my first marriage was to an increasingly devout, conservative Catholic. Next semester, I’m taking a class through the St. Paul Seminary to get a taste of how Catholics approach the Pauline epistles differently than Protestants.
For years, I have been claimed by an ecumenical impulse: “why can’t we all just get along?” But while I love certain people and want to treasure their traditions, oftentimes, others who are also dear to me have clearly felt wounded by those very same faiths.
Still… I intend to somehow be part of healing those wounds while listening to those whose voices I have not yet fully heard.
-Karl Jones, MDiv student
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