Chotard Doll

Dear Friends in Christ,

A few days ago my husband and I passed through a border checkpoint in Arizona, and the heavily armed patrol officer peered in the window and asked, “Are you both American citizens?” It struck me that this “label” provides a unity which overrides the political, cultural and ethnic variety of this complex country.

We celebrate in the church today a gifted promoter of unity in the Episcopal Church. The end of the 19th Century was a time of church conflict, but William Reed Huntington (died 1909) had a passion for unity, and left his mark on the church as we know it today.

He was a promoter of Prayer Book Revision (accomplished in 1892), and worked hard to promote the efforts of women in the Diaconate. Largely due to his efforts, the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral was established, which serves as a guide for ecumenical discussion within Christian Denominations. Those standards are:

1) Scripture is the word of God and contains all things necessary for salvation.

2) The Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds are the standards of Christian Faith.

3) Baptism and Holy Communion are the sacraments instituted by Christ.

4) The historic episcopate is the keystone of unity.

As Psalm 133 exclaims in the lectionary today:  How good and pleasant it is when brethren live together in unity.

Faithfully,

—Chotard