Bishop Salmon Laid to Rest
I (TJ) wish to begin this blog by paying my respects. The Rt. Rev. Edward Salmon passed away recently. He was a Bishop and the 19th Dean of Nashotah House Seminary. He is also the reason I felt the call to go to Nashotah. I first heard about the seminary while listening to a lecture from one of my favorite theologians, N.T. Wright. He spoke very highly of the institution and how it held unwaveringly to the more "Catholic" side of Anglicanism. Since Wright was (and still is) one of my favorite theologians, I had to look more into this school which he so enthusiastically endorsed. So, a few years ago, I felt like I needed to start thinking more seriously about continuing my education but none of the seminaries out there really appealed to me. They all seem to promote this notion that the human person is nothing more than a "brain on a stick." I didn't see how one learned ministry in a classroom. Furthermore, so much of seminary seems to neglect the life of prayer and one's pursuit of Christ. I didn't simply want to study more about Christ. I wanted to know Him more in the depths of my heart. So, I felt as though seminary would pose itself as an obstacle to this pursuit by only seeking to engage my intellectual side. If I were going to go somewhere, I knew that I needed to go where they were doing seminary differently, where study was more holistic. Then, I remembered N.T. Wright's endorsement of Nashotah House and I began really researching it for the first time.
Somewhere along the way I came across a video of Bishop Salmon. He was delivering a defense of an action he had taken and come under some heat for at the seminary. To make a long story short, there has been much turmoil between the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in North America for years now. If you are not familiar, the Anglican Church in North America broke off of the Episcopal Church after the Episcopal Church ordained its first openly gay (and practicing) bishop. Whenever this happened, the seminaries in the denomination had to make the choice: "who are we going to go with? Do we go with the Anglican Church or stay with the Episcopalians?" So, the seminaries chose one side of the line drawn in the sand, most staying within the Episcopal Church. The leaders at Nashotah House, however, refused to choose. They somewhat ignored the schism and opted to train both Episcopalian and Anglican priests. This is a position that they have taken no shortage of flak for.
While I was listening to Bishop Salmon give his defense of the school's choice to hold everything in the balance, I was struck. I was impressed by the unconventional demeanor which the school held under the leadership of its Dean. Regardless of anyone's opinion on the ordaining of gay clergy, schism is never a good thing and the fight for Christian unity, even whenever sides seem to be utterly irreconcilable, is always a noble cause in my mind. There was something in the Bishop's words which deeply resonated with me. So, Ashley and I scheduled a campus visit a few years ago.
I was only able to talk with the Bishop once while we were there. All that I remember was that the conversation was filled with grace. While we all participated in the chapel service together (Nashotah prays the Hours twice a day), I just remember how poignantly he seemed to me to be a living icon of Christ. The way in which he celebrated the liturgy imaged Christ to me in a powerful way. I was hooked and the rest is history.
I am saddened by the Bishop's departure, but am grateful for the rest he is now receiving. His funeral was actually held in St. Louis (he was a the Rector at a church in the city for a long time) and I was able to go and pay my respects. My heart was so warmed by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the funeral liturgy that I was moved to tears and was led to thankfulness for this man's life and his resound commitment to Christ's Kingdom.
As I close, I find myself reflecting on how the little things that people do in this life can have such a significant impact. If it were not for this man making a Youtube video defending the decisions he and his school made, my family would have never set out on the course we are currently on. My conversation with the Bishop, in the end, was quite succinct, but his personhood has effected me forever.
Think upon the little things that others do in this life that have had a significant impact on your life's trajectory.
May the grace of Christ be with you all.
https://www.nashotah.edu/article/nineteenth-dean-nashotah-house-laid-rest
Somewhere along the way I came across a video of Bishop Salmon. He was delivering a defense of an action he had taken and come under some heat for at the seminary. To make a long story short, there has been much turmoil between the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in North America for years now. If you are not familiar, the Anglican Church in North America broke off of the Episcopal Church after the Episcopal Church ordained its first openly gay (and practicing) bishop. Whenever this happened, the seminaries in the denomination had to make the choice: "who are we going to go with? Do we go with the Anglican Church or stay with the Episcopalians?" So, the seminaries chose one side of the line drawn in the sand, most staying within the Episcopal Church. The leaders at Nashotah House, however, refused to choose. They somewhat ignored the schism and opted to train both Episcopalian and Anglican priests. This is a position that they have taken no shortage of flak for.
While I was listening to Bishop Salmon give his defense of the school's choice to hold everything in the balance, I was struck. I was impressed by the unconventional demeanor which the school held under the leadership of its Dean. Regardless of anyone's opinion on the ordaining of gay clergy, schism is never a good thing and the fight for Christian unity, even whenever sides seem to be utterly irreconcilable, is always a noble cause in my mind. There was something in the Bishop's words which deeply resonated with me. So, Ashley and I scheduled a campus visit a few years ago.
I was only able to talk with the Bishop once while we were there. All that I remember was that the conversation was filled with grace. While we all participated in the chapel service together (Nashotah prays the Hours twice a day), I just remember how poignantly he seemed to me to be a living icon of Christ. The way in which he celebrated the liturgy imaged Christ to me in a powerful way. I was hooked and the rest is history.
I am saddened by the Bishop's departure, but am grateful for the rest he is now receiving. His funeral was actually held in St. Louis (he was a the Rector at a church in the city for a long time) and I was able to go and pay my respects. My heart was so warmed by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the funeral liturgy that I was moved to tears and was led to thankfulness for this man's life and his resound commitment to Christ's Kingdom.
As I close, I find myself reflecting on how the little things that people do in this life can have such a significant impact. If it were not for this man making a Youtube video defending the decisions he and his school made, my family would have never set out on the course we are currently on. My conversation with the Bishop, in the end, was quite succinct, but his personhood has effected me forever.
Think upon the little things that others do in this life that have had a significant impact on your life's trajectory.
May the grace of Christ be with you all.
https://www.nashotah.edu/article/nineteenth-dean-nashotah-house-laid-rest
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