We were serving in a Baptist church in the panhandle of Texas with 2 little boys at home. My husband, Jay, was the worship leader at the church and had discovered the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and the liturgical church calendar. Both things were new and foreign to our little Baptist/Bible Church upbringing. Jay fell in love with the BCP and would take it to his office at church and read it in secret with his door shut. If the other pastors knew what he was doing, they would not be very understanding. He began to try and incorporate things like Advent into our Sunday services, but he was met with quite a bit of resistance. The senior and associate pastors began to meet and try to figure out what to do with this guy who had obviously gone off his rocker. To find encouragement and support, he would sneak over to the Methodist church in town and share in confidence what he was learning with the pastor of that church. Sometimes he would even sit down and talk with the Episcopal priest in town!
After some time, Jay came to me and asked if he could start taking some classes at a school in Jacksonville, FL. The school happened to meet in an Episcopal church, and the church was going through a huge change where a group was disassociating from the Episcopal church and joining the Anglican church. The new church was looking for a worship leader and Jay was very interested. He gave me a call (while he was in Florida for classes) and asked what I thought about him applying for the job. I kind of scoffed and said, “Sure. But why would they hire a Baptist?” You see, Baptists don’t really hire people from other denominations, so I figured it was that way in every other denomination. I was wrong. We got a phone call soon after and the interview process began. I went along with it, but on the inside I was praying desperately for a way out. I thought that opportunity came when we received a phone call saying that something happened in the church, and they would have to hold off on the hiring process. I was relieved! I thought that God had heard my pitiful cries and saved me from leaving my familiar world.
A few months later, Jay told me that if that church called us back, he would really like to reconsider. We had already told them that we were no longer interested, so I very safely told Jay that, of course, if they called again, I would support that decision. Again, I was wrong. I was reading our email one evening (we shared an account at the time) and saw an email from the head of the search team. I started shaking and opened up the letter to find that they were asking Jay to reconsider. I started crying so hard. Jay was worried and started asking me what was wrong. I’m pretty sure that he thought someone had died. I told him what the email said and he started laughing and told me that we didn’t have to move. Through my tears I cried, “Yes we do! This is just the way that God does things with me!!!!” Pitiful.
Before I knew it, we were moving to a suburb of Jacksonville, FL. I had no idea what to expect of an Anglican church. To be honest, I thought it was most likely dead, boring, and reeking of incense. Much to my surprise, I encountered life, and lots of it! People loved God so deeply. I found so much freedom in that church. People didn’t carry their Bibles to church, and that was okay! Not everyone knew every answer to every spiritual question asked, and that was okay! Most people didn’t know who I was. Most people didn’t even know the senior pastor’s wife! If I wanted to sign up for VBS, it was my choice!!! If I didn’t help in the nursery, no one said “Boo!” There were absolutely no expectations of me.
But aside from all of the freedoms I found in the simple things, the greatest thing was experiencing God in a whole new way. I think that I cried in every service for a few weeks. When the priests would process in with the cross, I felt God’s power. When I would kneel at the rail to receive communion, I began to find healing in Jesus. And when everyone worshiped with one voice, the Holy Spirit became more and more alive to me.
All of this didn’t happen because I went from being a Baptist to an Anglican. I think it happened because God allowed me to get away from what I knew (and knew like the back of my hand). He took me out of my comfort zone and placed me right where I needed to be.
The day I finally told Jay that I was fine with being in an Anglican church, I told him to at least promise me that he wouldn’t become a priest. He laughed and said that he had no desire, but that he couldn’t promise. Good thing he was wise enough to never say never. I’m now married to an Anglican priest and wouldn’t have it any other way!
*Amy Wright has been married to Jay for 12 years. They've been in full time ministry since 2004. Jay started off serving as a music/worship pastor in Dalhart, Tx. They moved to Fleming Island, Fl to work at New Grace Church in 2008. Jay is now serving as worship leader/assistant priest at All Saints Church Dallas. They are looking forward to planting a church in east Dallas in the fall of 2015. They have 4 kids, Isaac (11 years), Josiah (9 years), Olivia (7 years), and Hadassah (3 years).
No comments:
Post a Comment