Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

I love the language of the Episcopal Church, the words that have been honed by the church over generations. At the same time, every now and then I try to read a blog by an Episcopalian and I feel like I’ve got to wade through the jargon to get at the meaning of the words.

A recent Episcopal News Service story explored the way that various priests, churches, and diocese are trying to get rid of jargon that is getting in the way of the Church’s mission. Some are calling their churches “praying communities” or “centers of mission,” identifying themselves by what they do. Others are simply making an effort to be translators, to explain Episcopal terminology when they use it. The article is worth a read.

If you ask me, some of these terms are just as loaded with assumptions as the word “church,” but I applaud any effort to open the doors of the church a little wider and speak our welcome a little more clearly.

In my twitter feed, Laura Catalano has pointed out that some of the language of the Book of Common Prayer, which I love dearly, may be difficult to understand if you haven’t been hearing it all your life or you lack formal education. Elsewhere, Episcopal Café points out that many people don’t understand the Eucharist, which may be due to the language we use.

Now, I don’t believe understanding is everything, and anyway not everything we do in church is fully explainable. Sometimes language that requires some work to understand is necessary and even edifying (Shakespeare, for example).

Nonetheless, these are questions we should continually be asking ourselves. Who are we speaking to, and how clearly are we speaking? What words are we using thoughtlessly? The Book of Common Prayer, though possibly difficult to understand for some, was created with care and intention. The language we use in our communication should be as well.