Being Episcopalian and Charismatic

The issue of Liturgy entitled “Pentecostalism and Historic Churches,” guest-edited by Matthew Sigler, a professor of worship and historical theology at Seattle Pacific University and Seminary, offers a number of essays from scholars dealing with what he calls the “crosspollination between Pentecostal/Charismatic streams and what might be called ‘mainline’ or ‘historic’ denominations.” Here is an excerpt from an essay by the Guest Editor, Matthew Sigler, on charismatic renewal among Episcopalians in the 1960s and 1970s. –– Melinda Quivik

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The types of ecstatic experiences which had marked St. Luke’s since the early 1960s had coalesced by the end of the decade into what many were now calling the “Charismatic Movement.” Bennett bristled at the term, preferring to call it the “Charismatic Renewal”—a nuance which emphasized his conviction that what St. Luke’s was experiencing was nothing new. Through the Charismatic Renewal, Bennet would argue, the church had simply rediscovered “some of her forgotten treasures.” . . .

Around this time conflict had arisen between those within the Charismatic Renewal who identified with independent streams of Christianity and those within established denominations. The former often criticized the latter of clinging to empty rites and rituals. On multiple occasions Bennett defended his denomination’s ways of worship; one series was even entitled “Is it Ok to be an Episcopalian?” The multi-week teaching series highlighted Bennett’s firm believe that Episcopal liturgical practices and the Charismatic Renewal could go hand in hand. In the face of claims that the Episcopal Church was cold, stuffy, and “Babylonish,” Bennett responded that Episcopalians had “learned a lot in a few thousand years.”

The Episcopal Church was founded in 1789, but Bennett’s claim demonstrates his view that Anglican patterns of worship belonged firmly in the stream of the great tradition of ecumenical Christianity. Where some in the Charismatic Renewal believed that “only the bright shiny new things can be right,” Charismatic Episcopalians followed a pattern that had been vetted over time.

Fr. Bennet pointed to several Anglican liturgical practices that he found especially important. In the first place, he often commented on his love for the Christian year which, in his own words, is “a year-by-year dramatizing of the great events of the life of our Lord.” He especially liked the season of Advent: “I love it when the collects and old lessons come around.”

Second, he often reminded his parishioners of the ways in which the Prayerbook—the Book of Common Prayer (BCP)—was infused with the language of scripture. Bennett responded to Charismatics who critiqued Anglican patterns of worship by offering that his church read four times out of the Bible in every service. . .

Third, Fr. Bennett championed the role of hymnody in the church. It was not uncommon for him to end his sermons by inviting the congregation to sing a hymn together spontaneously. . . Bennett was quick to say that he enjoyed the praise songs and choruses birthed out of the Charismatic Renewal but was concerned that they would eclipse hymnody.

Lastly, he praised the Prayerbook for providing both flexibility and a common structure. “There’s a whole lot of things in the Episcopal church that you don’t have to do,” boasted Bennett in one of his sermons. He pointed to genuflecting and making the sign of the cross as two examples of optional practices.

On the other hand, there is a specific pattern that is maintained by Episcopalians in worship. “If you are going to be an Episcopalian,” Bennett offered, “the logical thing is to go about that structure and understand what it means.”

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The rest of this essay is available in the full digital and print editions of Liturgy. All of the essays in Liturgy 37, no. 3 are available by personal subscription and through many libraries.

Matthew Sigler holds a PhD in liturgical studies from Boston University and is associate professor of worship and historical theology at Seattle Pacific University and Seminary.

Matthew Sigler, “Fr. Dennis Bennet and the Charismatic Renewal at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church,” Liturgy 37, no. 3 (2022): 11–19.