Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

I believe I experienced an entirely new understanding of love when I found, and joined, the Episcopal church. My previous perceptions of myself, my God, and what God could possibly think of me cannot simply be blamed on that old “Catholic Guilt” of my childhood. I befriended many evangelical friends throughout my teenage and college years who presented an alternative view. Still, I was continually directed towards this portrait of a God who expected perfection, performance, and success in a form that seemed more about outward portrayal than inward transformation. This was my experience through nine years of Bible studies and new-age churches, but, still merely my own.

When I found the Episcopal church, through relationships with priests and passionate friends, I found healing. It was then I realized I had spent nearly twenty years believing in a God that never approved of me—how, then, could I truly love myself? In the Episcopal church, I encountered a God who already loved me and was not asking me to earn anything, or torment myself for his approval. A God who accepted me despite my shortcomings, and wanted me to love myself the same.