| All
of us are products of this culture where violence and crime increase
daily; injustice and abuse abound. Fear and the pain of loss and
loneliness result in alienation, rebellion and
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
depression, which
then result in turn, in suicide, addiction and more crime. Surely
this culture has lost its moorings in God, denying the very source
of our only hope for freedom. This dilemma cannot be resolved
with the same tools that created it. Only the re-absorption of
the Judeo-Christian beliefs that have lain dormant for most of
our century can break this deadly cycle and bring us peace.
While government programs and state-sponsored education have their
value; while business and advances in science can enhance our
quality of life, these activities cannot be viewed as the sources
of life and the hope of our future. Modem culture's underlying
premise denies the relevance of God. It promotes such values as
victim consciousness and the rejection of personal responsibility,
and is unable to provide that divinely inspired environment of
worship in holiness which is required for our souls to grow spiritually:
individual and collectively.
Our modern culture refuses to accept that our relationship with
God requires effort. This relationship demands study, prayer,
sacrifice and surrender; choosing the difficult, narrow path and
eschewing the easier broad path. A relationship with God requires
us to place everything we desire before His majesty and surrender
our resistance to His Will; letting go of our childish demand
for immediacy. Often it requires us to step forth with faith,
relying upon Him alone.
We, at Church of the Transfiguration, contend that the only way
to successfully change our world is to approach the Holy with
regularity and to apply the truths and attitudes learned there
to our daily lives. It is imperative that we turn to God, not
with a compartmentalized life but in a total giving of ourselves
to God, every thought, word and action, every minute of each day.
We hold that a parish ministry should provide a place of encounter
with the Blessed Trinity through worship in the sanctuary, in
an atmosphere of stability where the depository of faith is taught
and practiced as a means of salvation. |
