Update From Tom McCart - February 16

In a few short weeks, my sabbatical time will come to a close. I have found refreshment from being away from the day to day activities of St. Paul', yet I'm looking forward to returning next month. For the last several weeks, I have concentrated on reading a number of books that have been on my "to read" stack for far too long. Some of these have been scholarly, some pure fun, and some somewhere in between.

One of the "in between" books is Brian McLaren's "A Generous Orthodoxy." This was recommended to me several years ago, and I wish that I had gotten to it earlier. McLaren writes well and with considerable insight, and raises significant questions for all Christians to consider, especially those in leadership positions. The subtitle of his book captures the "flavor" of his work: "Why I am a missional, evangelical, post/protestant, liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical, charismatic/contemplative, fundamental/calvinist, anabaptist/anglican, methodist, catholic, green, incarnational, depressed-yet-hopeful, emergent, unfinished Christian." McLaren argues for a broader, more inclusive (and less confrontational) Christianity, one that values the "good" in each of the denominational forms, and in other religions, while recognizing the weaknesses. In his words, "To be a Christian in the generous, orthodox way is not to claim to have the truth captured, stuffed, and mounted on the wall. It is, rather, to live and grow in a loving community of people who are seeking the truth on the road of mission, and who have been launched on the quest by Jesus, who, with us, guides us still. Do we have it - have we taken hold of it? Not fully, not yet, of course not. But we keep seeking. We're finding enough to keep us going. But we're not finished. That, to me, is orthodoxy - a way of seeing and seeking, a way of living, a way of thinking and loving and learning that helps what we believe become more true over time, more resonant with the infinite glory that is God." (Introduction).

On the scholarly side, I've just finished Paul Bradshaw's "Eucharistic Origins." Since 1945, liturgical scholarship has largely been shaped by the work of Dom Gregory Dix ("The Shape of the Liturgy"). Bradshaw, who is Professor Liturgy at the University of Notre Dame, examines a number of commonly held views in this work, arguing (in my opinion, persuasively) that Dix's work was so "seductive" that it "blinded us to its shortcomings and thus mislead us all." (p. vi) I won't take this opportunity to summarize specific points, but will say that this work will result in my teaching this subject differently in the future.

On the fun side, I commend to you Julia Spencer-Fleming's "Out of the Deep I Cry." This mystery is set in upstate New York. Clare Fergusson, who is rector of Millers Kill Episcopal Church, is drawn into a complex puzzle when the roof develops a major leak and one parishioner comes forward with monies from a trust that was established by her mother following the disappearance of her husband and the death of four children.

Enjoy!

Thomas McCart