A telling comparison?

Someone who used to attend St Alban's recently pointed to the question of how Scripture is used on the websites of the Episcopal Church and of the Episcopal Diocese of Forth Worth. The diocesan site, fwepiscopal.org (pictured below), begins with a page of Scripture from the New Testament. If you click on it (or wait awhile), it will take you to the index page where you will discover that the Scripture verse you clicked on to enter (Ephesians 4:12) is also the mission statement of our diocese. There is no doubt what we believe in and what we are all about.


If you go to the Episcopal Church website, episcopalchurch.org (pictured above), you first find the motto: "The Episcopal Church welcomes you." On the front page (I love the layout, by the way), you'll find an alternating parishioner picture, links to information about the church, links to church news, and links to church websites. Church, church, church, church, church. There is no doubt what we believe in and what we are all about.

But except for what might be included in the news headlines at the time, what you will not find is any Scripture, nor of a mention of "God," "Christ," or "Jesus." Is it a telling comparison? Perhaps. I would say that's a bit of a stretch, that it is certainly not anything conclusive. But it is important to ask the questions: How are we seen? What looks most important to us in the eyes of others? What is our witness? I think we can always do more to direct attention to our Lord and less to ourselves.