“I am the very model of a good Episcopalian”
sung to the tune of “I am the very model of a modern Major-General"
I am the very model of a good Episcopalian;
In any other church I would be nothing but an alien.
It permeates my family, it’s part of my environment,
And furthermore it’s suited to my habits and my temperament.
Of course I do not go to church with any kind of frequency,
But just enough to satisfy my sense of right and decency.
And though my knowledge of her teaching and her faith is very dim,
I’m sure that she’s the only church to marry and be buried in.
Chorus: We’re sure that she’s the only church to marry and be bury, buried in…
As I have lived so shall I die an Anglican quite typical.
I shall not fear for I shall give my preference as Episcopal
and when the gates are open I am sure that I’Il go sailing in
for I’m the very model of a good Episcopalian.
And when the gates are open we are sure that we’ll go sailing in,
For we’re the very model of a good Episcopalian.
I don’t know much about my church except it has a history.
Theology and all that stuff to me is just a mystery,
I always get confused about the Old and the New Testaments.
I can’t recite the creed or give the names of all the vestements.
I do not know the meaning of the twenty-second article
but I can’t help but feel these lapses matter not a particle.
I’m sure that God above all else wants us to be respectable,
Religion, like suspenders, should be there but not detectable.
Religion, like suspenders, should be there but not detecta-tectable…
As I have lived so shall I die an Anglican quite typical.
I shall not fear for I shall give my preference as Episcopal
And when the gates are open, I am sure that I’ll go sailing in,
For I’m the very model of a good Episcopalian.
And when the gates are open we are sure that we’ll go sailing in,
For we’re the very model of a good Episcopalian.
—lyrics avaliable at http://www.allsoulsparish.org/media/newsletters/2010/Pathfinder_February_2010.pdf
Original authorship still being determined.
