The State of the Parish (II)
Vol. 57 No. 1 The First Sunday in Advent November 30, 2025
An Annual Congregational Meeting is an opportunity to review the state of the parish, and much of this is necessarily concerned with reports on finances, buildings, attendance, and programming. But it is also an opportunity for us to remind ourselves of our larger purpose, the reason why we exist, and what has formed us as a parish. The transmission of memory, which is the activity of tradition is foundational to Christian faith. When memory is lost, understanding falters and hope fails. Likewise, the transmission of memory is critical to mission. “I delivered unto you that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins, and that he rose again the third day….” “This do, in remembrance of me”.
As noted in last week’s essay, there are many ways in which this mission is fulfilled, but at the heart of them all is the work of worship. That is our primary mission: to testify to the grace we have received of God by Christ, and to render him thanks and praise. In worship, we learn to do all things in dependence on his grace, and in devotion to his glory. In the historic Book of Common Prayer, together with the Articles of Religion, (familiar to us in its 1928 edition, but rooted in the 16th century reformation of the ancient catholic tradition of worship), we have a vehicle of matchless clarity and power for that work of worship.
In the later decades of the last century, the Episcopal Church was swept by a series of radical transformations, in worship, ministry, in doctrine and morals. At their core was an act of intentional deracination, the elimination of the historic Prayer Book, and the relegation of the Articles of Religion to merely historical status. In the face of intense institutional pressure, many parishes knuckled under and sold their birthright for a mess of pottage; but by a certain providence, the rector of St John’s was William Ralston, a man of conviction, courage, and eloquence. Under his leadership the parish made the conscious decision not to abandon the tradition of faith and worship at the heart of the Anglican identity. And the parish flourished. People who knew the value of that tradition flocked to it. I know it, because I was one of them, hired in 1997 as the low man on the totem pole. I didn’t come here for the weather, but for the opportunity to be part of this faithful witness. And that also is why I stayed, and accepted the call in 2006 to be your rector. Yes, we have the best tomato sandwiches – but it is the religion of the old Prayer Book that sets us apart. Precisely because it was so ruthlessly stamped out in most of the Episcopal church, it is a heritage we hold in trust for the wider church, a living tradition to be treasured, transmitted, and, if need be, fought for, with holy obstinacy.
To be clear, this obstinate attachment to the old Prayer Book is not a matter of nostalgia. (Both the Rector and the Associate Rector came to this tradition as adults.) Its language is beautiful – but it is not the purple prose of greeting-cards. It is plain but dignified language that bears the weight of conviction, and gives shape to gospel-centered worship in matchless clarity. Our faithfulness to it is the form of our faithfulness to the gospel – it’s the particular way that has been given for us to abide in Christ. It enables us to have such deep roots in the gospel, that we may bear much fruit to the Father’s glory. And thus our attachment to worship finds its proper complement in all the works of witness by which we testify to, and draw people into, the grace we have ourselves received.
In his remarks at the annual meeting, Fr Jameson made the connection between this deep-rootedness in the gospel and our witness to the world around us:
“The good news about St John’s is that it is a beautiful and time-tested place to gather to hear and participate in the good news of Jesus Christ. We do not preach ourselves, but Christ crucified, as St Paul writes. This is the good news that God has commissioned St John’s to continue to bear right here in the center of Savannah – the message of God’s grace for sinners, the message of forgiveness of sins and of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. The good news that by God’s grace we have been made members of one another, brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ.
“And so because St John’s is, by God’s grace, such a good and healthy place to encounter the gospel, to hear the Word proclaimed, to receive the inestimable benefits of the sacraments, to gather as the body of Christ, we need to be bold in our invitation. People need the good news of Jesus Christ, it’s what they are desperately looking for, and they will find it here. So, let’s be confident as we invite people to St John’s. We not inviting them to a nice concert, or a pretty building, we are inviting them to encounter the living God, and to come to know that that living God knows them and loves them, and that he is inviting them to be a member of his family here in this beloved church.” To which I say – and I trust you will all say – Amen, So Be It.