This is getting fun indeed. I agree with the recent comment that CCP is consciously evangelical. I also agree that the Episcopalians of decades past certainly did not consider themselves evangelical and viewed the evangelicals of their day as close to snake handlers –a view that was heavily affected by related issues of taste and class. But subsequent developments have changed the landscape.

For one thing, being an evangelical (and self-identifying as one) is much more socially acceptable today. If you don’t believe me, visit Park Cities Presbyterian, which combines conscious evangelicalism with as many folks who are in the Dallas Social Directory as any Episcopal church has ever had. Additionally, the flood tide of theological liberalism within the Episcopal church has forced the old timers and their next-generation successors to make some hard choices.

But if you really believe the Articles of Religion, it’s a lot easier to get over your discomfort with evangelical manners than it is to listen to contra-scriptural preaching. It’s in this light that I see CCP as a real successor to mid-century Episcopalianism.

As far as it goes, that’s an interesting point made by the FBvian who sees Christ Church Plano as a “continuation of the theologically conservative, liturgy-loving suburbanites who filled the pews of many Episcopal churches 40 or 50 years ago. (The main difference is that most people dress much more casually today.)”

While his view of southern Episcoplians of decades past is accurate, his characterization of CCP is not. The real main difference between CCP and early-to-mid-20th-century Episcopalians is that Christ Church is evangelical, which would have been seen as akin to snake-handling by those Episcoplians of decades past.