A Sermon delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on Pentecost Sunday, May 11, 2008, at the Convent Chapel of St. Mary's Medical Center, Huntington, WV.
From our scripture readings today: Acts 2:1-11; I Cor. 12:4-13, and John 20:19-23, it is apparent that the gift of the Holy Spirit is power for ministry and witness. On the day of Pentecost, the spirit comes with such power that it sounds like a mighty rushing wind, giving the disciples the gift of communicating the Gospel in other tongues. Tongues of fire appear over the head of each one, giving us our liturgical color red for this day.
In the Gospel lesson, Jesus specifically tells the disciples he is sending them out, just as the Father sent him and he gives them the breath, the wind, of the Spirit to help them and comfort them. Incidentally, this is one of the verses that theologians point to, to explain the so-called ‘procession of the Holy Spirit’. In the Nicene Creed we say that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, and this is the literal description of that procession.
So the ministry of the Spirit is about empowerment for ministry. God knows we need it. What we have been asked to do as Christians is impossible without God’s power. In the first place, the task of going into all the world and making disciples of all nations is too big for human effort alone. In the second place, we are involved in a pitched battle with forces who do not love God and who try to thwart God’s will be neutralizing or even taking us out if possible.
On Friday evening, after we finished building the forms for the concrete at Hope House, Mel Cummings Cindy and a story about how he had had a very close call the day before. He was driving up the steep road that leads from fifth street hill up to the museum and as he was going up the steepest part, a tree fell across the road taking out power lines with it causing the ancient tree to catch on fire immediately. Apparently it was quite the fireworks show – and it all happened only about 20 feet in front of Mel. He told us that he was sobered by the realization that had he been going just a little faster, he could have been killed by this falling tree or electrocuted by the downed power lines.
Now Mel is a very important person to the work of Hope House. I believe that God sent him our way, because he is a man of many skills and someone who has given us the full benefit of his years of building experience – all at a 20% discount! I really think the Spirit led him to us. I really think the Enemy tried to take him out. And I really think that the Spirit protected Mel from death – not only for his family’s sake, but also because we need him for this work that the Lord has called us to do. So the Spirit empowers us for ministry – and I think he protects us for that ministry when he needs to.
Since God has commissioned us to go out and minister to the world, I also think that the Holy Spirit arranges meetings for us. On Friday, same day that we heard Mel’s story, Cindy and I had just pulled up over at Hope House, when a young black man walked by. We greeted him and he stopped and remarked that his niece and dated Donte Ward, that he himself attended St. Jospeph Catholic Church, and that we were doing a good work at the house. He told us his name was Rich.
As he talked with us some more, he also told us that he was from Miami and had moved here recently after having been robbed and shot by a young man who had originally asked him for a dollar on the streets of Miami – in broad daylight! . For the thirty dollars that he had in his pocket, the robber put a .38 in Rich’s mouth and pulled the trigger – propelling the bullet through the side of his cheek. (The scar was still plainly visible.) Rich was also shot in the belly and when he dropped to the ground, the robber shot him twice in the back and attempted to shoot him in the head twice – but these bullets missed him. He went to the emergency room at Jackson Memorial Hospital in downtown Miami and waited 12 hours without being seen because the staff was too busy treating other gunshot wounds.
Finally in frustration, Rich, dug the bullet out of his belly himself with his pocket knife ( he is a paramedic by training) and dropped the bullet on the nurses desk, saying ‘Thanks for nothing”. He walked out and still carries two bullets in his back! There was more to his story – but believe me, it’s too awful to relate to you here today. The point is, that somehow Rich walked by Hope House at the precise moment we were there to great him.
At one point in his story, he began to cry. We awkwardly tried to console him, and after a minute or two of conversation, he walked off down the street. We started in to work, and all of a sudden, who should appear but Rich, saying that ‘something’ told him to come back and help us – which he did. He picked up a sledge hammer and busted up some concrete before going off down the street.
What was the something that told him to come back? What was it that caused our paths to cross? I believe it was the work of the Spirit.
I don’t claim to understand it and I don’t have any idea whether or not I will ever see Rich again. I only know that as Christians, when we attempt to be directed by, and controlled by the Spirit, all kinds of interesting things happen to us.
We are called to go into the world, taking salvation, healing and reconciliation with us into the midst of the world's pain. Being available to the Holy Spirit as his vehicle is not necessarily comfortable. It might even be dangerous at times. But there’s nothing more exciting or interesting in life either.
I fully expect that in the next week, we are going to see marvelous things take place in the run-up to our Day of Hope on May 17. I’m confident that we will also experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit during the day, especially at the Memorial service. At the present time, we have some ten different churches cooperating to contribute to this event! That alone is a minor miracle!
I pray for us as a church that God would give us the grace to put ourselves out on a limb for Him. As we do so, I am confident that we will see God do great works in our midst, for truly, God’s power is perfected in weakness, and he gives help to those who realize they are too small to help themselves. Amen.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Sunday, May 04, 2008
That They All May Be One
A sermon delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on May 4, 2008, at the Convent Chapel of St. Mary's Medical Center, Huntington, WV, based on John 17:1-11.
Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life,that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. "
When Doc Loomis visited with us last week, there was lots of talk about what is happening in the Anglican Communion at this time. After he left, he responded to a couple of questions via email, clarifying some of his statements about current events. He says in part:
A new US Province will ultimately form, and the AMiA will almost certainly be a part of it. The overarching relationship scheme is difficult to predict as many issues must needs be addressed by the (Southern Sponsored) American Anglican groups who desire unity…but the final outcome will likely be ONE new province (in a worldwide communion of provinces) and the AMiA will serve as a Missionary Order within that province. At this moment, we are a Missionary Jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of Rwanda… On a prophetic note: the A[nglican] C[ommunion], as we now understand it, will likely begin the final stages of its inevitable unraveling at GAFCON [Global Anglican Future Conference]. So, whatever forms here will almost certainly not be a part of Canterbury’s lot. So, ECUSA will not be in communion with us then, as they are not now.
Jesus, in his so-called ‘high priestly prayer, prays for unity in the church. He asks that we may be One as He is one with the father. Now that’s a big ticket – being unified. And at first glance, we might think that this prayer has gone unanswered – or that we Christians have been so rebellious that we have thwarted God’s will.
But we must see this in light of God’s overarching will for his people – to be One in the spirit. Whatever else we might think about organizational unity in the church, such unity was lost officially in 1054 with the Great Schism between East and West. But it really began to go south about 200 years prior to that when there grew to be a conflict about who was going to be the head honcho – Rome or Constantinople. The Church of Rome has also had its splits. During one infamous period of time between 1305 and 1376 when there were actually Pairs of Popes – one in Rome and one in Avignon France.
While I’m sure Jesus would have liked nothing better than for us to be organizationally unified, yet the church has been compared rightfully to a family – and we know that families often have trouble with unity amongst themselves. We can see that with Jesus’ own family. He begins his earthly ministry in Capernaum and his family comes to get him and try to drag him back home. They think he has lost his marbles, or come down with a case of delusions of grandeur. Jesus replies to their concerns with the rather caustic response, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Here, I think, we can see something of what it means to be truly unified. We become unified in our faith, in the Spirit, in our dedication to Christ. When people loose that, they are no longer truly unified and whether they attend the same church doesn’t really matter. The spirit of unity has fled. In our own experience we know that even though we belong to a family with a certain name –Counts or Walker or Arbogast or Brown, we often are not really at one or unified with our own family members. Our interests can diverge to such an extent that we can’t imagine how it was we happened to fall into the same genetic sibling group. (Who knows, perhaps we were indeed seeded here by aliens, as Richard Dawkins suggests…).
At any rate, unity does not come about simply because you are part of the same organization. This can be true in the business world, where we work for the same company but are radically different from our fellows in our approach to our jobs. It can perhaps be suggested, that truly great companies are those that have figured out how to be unified under a great leader, a great vision, or a great set of organizational principles. True unity is of the spirit, not necessarily the flesh.
One of the things that Doc spoke about when he was here was the idea that the church is going through a reformation, not realignment. The latter speaks of a rearrangement of something that was already there. You get your car’s wheels re-aligned when they get out of alignment. It’s an adjustment of what it already there. But with a reformation, something different takes place. A reformation is where you take your car in to the shop and they remove the front wheel assembly and rebuild it completely. It’s a fundamental change.
Now during the history of the church, there have been several reformations. The first reformation came in response to the widespread acceptance of Christianity as an official religion of Rome. When whole armies of soldiers were baptized by marching them through rivers on their horses, something fundamental changed about the nature of professing faith. The desert fathers and mothers of Egypt went out to the waste places to practice the true faith and to really meet God. Through their asceticism, they showed the church how to reach the height and depth of true belief and sanctity. St. Benedict took the wisdom and insight of these desert fathers, such as Anthony and Basil, and adapted it to a communal lifestyle. In so doing he created the pattern for the evangelization of Western Europe. He wasn’t starting out to make a reformation; he was only trying to live the gospel in the presence of a few others who were trying to do the same. But his divinely inspired Rule became the blueprint for the next thousand years of Christian growth.
By the time that St. Francis came around in the 1200’s, the church had fallen into corruption and laziness. It was badly in need of a reformation. Jesus conveyed this to Francis when he spoke to Francis from the cross at San Damiano. “Rebuild my church” was the message given to the young Italian. Taking the message literally, Francis proceeded to beg rocks and mortar to rebuild churches that had fallen into disrepair. But soon enough, it became apparent that Jesus was interested in a more profound reformation than just stones and mortar. For within Francis’ lifetime, he had made such a huge impact on ordinary believers, that he single-handedly brought reformation to the Catholic Church of his day. Amazingly enough, Francis inspired true reformation while maintaining complete loyalty to the Pope, whom he saw as God’s true representative on earth. His was not an organizational reformation, but a reformation of the heart. In a sense we can say that what Benedict started, Francis reformed through the same radical spirit of love and devotion to Jesus Christ.
Skipping ahead to the “Reformation” proper of Martin Luther, John Calvin and the Church of England, here we have an example of a different type of reformation, one that resulted in unintentional organizational breaks from the Roman Catholic Church. Luther was keen to reform the church from within, not to start his own church. And had he lived in Francis’ time instead of his own, it’s possible that he may not have had to split from Rome. But with the prevailing political climate what it was in Europe and with the new technology of the printing press, Luther faced circumstances that Francis could not even have imagined.
As doc related to us, some have said that the first Reformation was about getting the Word into the hands of the people – and this effort was met with such resistance from Rome that organizational unity was broken.
The Church of England, of course, tried to find a middle way, reforming but remaining Catholic in spirit and worship practice. Here too, however, the organizational split between Rome and King Henry might never have come about if Henry hadn’t had difficulty producing an heir and trying to find money for his government. Politics and money have always had an impact on the church. We are, after all, in the world.
Granted, Jesus told us that we should be in the world but not of the world, and some of our problems in the church have come about because the world was too much in the church and some of us couldn’t stand it. This is just as much a part of reformation as politics and money. Some believers are truly zealous for truth and can’t stand the idea of sharing the communion rail with people who openly reject what we believe as Christians: namely: this is eternal life , that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent
In our own time, the Apostasy of the Episcopal Church has compelled us to walk away from a church that can no longer be recognized as distinctly Christian. Thus we find ourselves in flight from heresy, but also drawn to something that we can hardly imagine: another Reformation. If indeed the First Reformation was about getting the Bible into the hands of the people, then the second reformation has been prophetically labeled ‘getting the ministry into the hands of the people’
As with any Reformation, one looks back on hundreds of years, not tens of years to assess what has actually come to pass. Five hundred years after the first Book of Common Prayer, historians are still writing books about the first reformation. Thus as we live through these trying and uncertain times, we must remember that all of us here will die before the next crop of historians figure out what our time was really about.
One thing we do know is that the current movement of the Holy Spirit is operating across denominational lines. Denominations are not being erased, but there is a new cooperation across lines, while Churches still affirm their own unique identity. Thus, on Thursday, I participated with the leaders of several other congregations to pray for our nation and our institutions. We were from different groups but there was a spirit of unity present –largely because we had come to know each other over many years. Almost without exception, the people in the room had prayed and worked together many times previously, and have come to love and appreciate each other, while holding on to their own denominational distinctives.
Politically, we live in an era when people are not as dedicated to parties or organizations as they once were. This affects the church negatively in that people don’t grow up Methodist and stay Methodist ‘just because’ they grew up that way. Rather, people affiliate by Affinity with those to whom they feel a soul connection.
And it is in this spirit that we can often find a true spirit of unity with our brothers and sisters from other churches. I have come to respect and appreciate Darrel Buttram from the 10th Avenue Church of God, as a very spiritually sensitive, gifted and passionate preacher. I don’t have the same affinity for his denomination as he does, (and to hear him tell it, he struggles with it himself)…but we have enough in common that we can appear on the same platform together at our upcoming community memorial service.
In a recent pastors’ meeting, Darrel said to me that one of the things that All Saints Anglican Church can really do for our community is to offer Communion again as we did last year. Our understanding of the Lord’s Table is one of the unique gifts that we have to offer our World, and folks from other traditions see and appreciate this. While they may not understand our sacramental view of the Lords’ supper or agree with it, yet there is a respect present. Chuck Lawrence from Christ Temple remarked to me after last year’s Memorial service, that it really was very beautiful.
So again, here is where we find unity, in the spirit of love and mutual respect, based in our love for Jesus Christ. Our true brothers and sisters are those believers who love Jesus and are unafraid to proclaim this love. Given a choice between a Jesus-lovin’ Pentecostal and a Unitarian fish wife who can’t articulate why she goes to a Christian church, I’ll pick the Pentecostal any day!
We are continuing to pray for discernment as a church regarding affiliation with AMIA vs. CANA. We still have some questions to ponder. For instance, here’s docs’ response to the question of Womens’ Ordination:
...whatever happens here, [in America] the AMiA will not support the ordination of women to the presbyterate,[everbody say prez- boo- er- ate] and will not come under the specific authority of leaders who do.
In contrast, here is what the CANA web site says on this issue:
CANA recognizes that there are differing theological positions in the Anglican Communion about women in ordained ministry. CANA acknowledges the integrity of those who understand Holy Scripture to permit the ordination of women to the presbytereate and those who believe the Scripture prohibits women’s ordination. Because of the differing positions, CANA policies regarding the ordination of women will be developed from a biblical and pastoral perspective. CANA is committed to modeling for American Anglicans the possibility of respecting both integrities regarding the ordination of women within one ecclesial body. There has been at least one woman deacon ordained by a CANA bishop and there are several other women clergy who have been licensed. Yet, a CANA congregation which objects to women in the presbytereate will not be expected to endorse or call women clergy to serve in their community.
How will this issue affect our ability to come together as a unified body of orthodox Anglicans? I myself would accept a woman deacon, but not a priest. I cannot in good conscience affiliate with a group that accepts women priests, yet I know that there are orthodox Anglicans who do, and I want to accept them, but not their view on that issue. Beyond this, there is the simple expedient of which group is geographically closest to us and can best support us. Which group most closely matches our personality and mission as a congregation?
If we had the advantage of a hundred years of history upon which to base our decision, perhaps it wouldn’t be so seemingly complex. But we don’t. We have to live through this Reformation and wait to see what it becomes – if we live that long. Therefore, let us seek out those with whom we have unity of Spirit, kindred hearts, and minds set upon similar purposes, and let us boldly move ahead, secure in the knowledge that God has more power to lead us than the Devil has to deceive us. AMEN.
Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life,that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. "
When Doc Loomis visited with us last week, there was lots of talk about what is happening in the Anglican Communion at this time. After he left, he responded to a couple of questions via email, clarifying some of his statements about current events. He says in part:
A new US Province will ultimately form, and the AMiA will almost certainly be a part of it. The overarching relationship scheme is difficult to predict as many issues must needs be addressed by the (Southern Sponsored) American Anglican groups who desire unity…but the final outcome will likely be ONE new province (in a worldwide communion of provinces) and the AMiA will serve as a Missionary Order within that province. At this moment, we are a Missionary Jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of Rwanda… On a prophetic note: the A[nglican] C[ommunion], as we now understand it, will likely begin the final stages of its inevitable unraveling at GAFCON [Global Anglican Future Conference]. So, whatever forms here will almost certainly not be a part of Canterbury’s lot. So, ECUSA will not be in communion with us then, as they are not now.
Jesus, in his so-called ‘high priestly prayer, prays for unity in the church. He asks that we may be One as He is one with the father. Now that’s a big ticket – being unified. And at first glance, we might think that this prayer has gone unanswered – or that we Christians have been so rebellious that we have thwarted God’s will.
But we must see this in light of God’s overarching will for his people – to be One in the spirit. Whatever else we might think about organizational unity in the church, such unity was lost officially in 1054 with the Great Schism between East and West. But it really began to go south about 200 years prior to that when there grew to be a conflict about who was going to be the head honcho – Rome or Constantinople. The Church of Rome has also had its splits. During one infamous period of time between 1305 and 1376 when there were actually Pairs of Popes – one in Rome and one in Avignon France.
While I’m sure Jesus would have liked nothing better than for us to be organizationally unified, yet the church has been compared rightfully to a family – and we know that families often have trouble with unity amongst themselves. We can see that with Jesus’ own family. He begins his earthly ministry in Capernaum and his family comes to get him and try to drag him back home. They think he has lost his marbles, or come down with a case of delusions of grandeur. Jesus replies to their concerns with the rather caustic response, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Here, I think, we can see something of what it means to be truly unified. We become unified in our faith, in the Spirit, in our dedication to Christ. When people loose that, they are no longer truly unified and whether they attend the same church doesn’t really matter. The spirit of unity has fled. In our own experience we know that even though we belong to a family with a certain name –Counts or Walker or Arbogast or Brown, we often are not really at one or unified with our own family members. Our interests can diverge to such an extent that we can’t imagine how it was we happened to fall into the same genetic sibling group. (Who knows, perhaps we were indeed seeded here by aliens, as Richard Dawkins suggests…).
At any rate, unity does not come about simply because you are part of the same organization. This can be true in the business world, where we work for the same company but are radically different from our fellows in our approach to our jobs. It can perhaps be suggested, that truly great companies are those that have figured out how to be unified under a great leader, a great vision, or a great set of organizational principles. True unity is of the spirit, not necessarily the flesh.
One of the things that Doc spoke about when he was here was the idea that the church is going through a reformation, not realignment. The latter speaks of a rearrangement of something that was already there. You get your car’s wheels re-aligned when they get out of alignment. It’s an adjustment of what it already there. But with a reformation, something different takes place. A reformation is where you take your car in to the shop and they remove the front wheel assembly and rebuild it completely. It’s a fundamental change.
Now during the history of the church, there have been several reformations. The first reformation came in response to the widespread acceptance of Christianity as an official religion of Rome. When whole armies of soldiers were baptized by marching them through rivers on their horses, something fundamental changed about the nature of professing faith. The desert fathers and mothers of Egypt went out to the waste places to practice the true faith and to really meet God. Through their asceticism, they showed the church how to reach the height and depth of true belief and sanctity. St. Benedict took the wisdom and insight of these desert fathers, such as Anthony and Basil, and adapted it to a communal lifestyle. In so doing he created the pattern for the evangelization of Western Europe. He wasn’t starting out to make a reformation; he was only trying to live the gospel in the presence of a few others who were trying to do the same. But his divinely inspired Rule became the blueprint for the next thousand years of Christian growth.
By the time that St. Francis came around in the 1200’s, the church had fallen into corruption and laziness. It was badly in need of a reformation. Jesus conveyed this to Francis when he spoke to Francis from the cross at San Damiano. “Rebuild my church” was the message given to the young Italian. Taking the message literally, Francis proceeded to beg rocks and mortar to rebuild churches that had fallen into disrepair. But soon enough, it became apparent that Jesus was interested in a more profound reformation than just stones and mortar. For within Francis’ lifetime, he had made such a huge impact on ordinary believers, that he single-handedly brought reformation to the Catholic Church of his day. Amazingly enough, Francis inspired true reformation while maintaining complete loyalty to the Pope, whom he saw as God’s true representative on earth. His was not an organizational reformation, but a reformation of the heart. In a sense we can say that what Benedict started, Francis reformed through the same radical spirit of love and devotion to Jesus Christ.
Skipping ahead to the “Reformation” proper of Martin Luther, John Calvin and the Church of England, here we have an example of a different type of reformation, one that resulted in unintentional organizational breaks from the Roman Catholic Church. Luther was keen to reform the church from within, not to start his own church. And had he lived in Francis’ time instead of his own, it’s possible that he may not have had to split from Rome. But with the prevailing political climate what it was in Europe and with the new technology of the printing press, Luther faced circumstances that Francis could not even have imagined.
As doc related to us, some have said that the first Reformation was about getting the Word into the hands of the people – and this effort was met with such resistance from Rome that organizational unity was broken.
The Church of England, of course, tried to find a middle way, reforming but remaining Catholic in spirit and worship practice. Here too, however, the organizational split between Rome and King Henry might never have come about if Henry hadn’t had difficulty producing an heir and trying to find money for his government. Politics and money have always had an impact on the church. We are, after all, in the world.
Granted, Jesus told us that we should be in the world but not of the world, and some of our problems in the church have come about because the world was too much in the church and some of us couldn’t stand it. This is just as much a part of reformation as politics and money. Some believers are truly zealous for truth and can’t stand the idea of sharing the communion rail with people who openly reject what we believe as Christians: namely: this is eternal life , that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent
In our own time, the Apostasy of the Episcopal Church has compelled us to walk away from a church that can no longer be recognized as distinctly Christian. Thus we find ourselves in flight from heresy, but also drawn to something that we can hardly imagine: another Reformation. If indeed the First Reformation was about getting the Bible into the hands of the people, then the second reformation has been prophetically labeled ‘getting the ministry into the hands of the people’
As with any Reformation, one looks back on hundreds of years, not tens of years to assess what has actually come to pass. Five hundred years after the first Book of Common Prayer, historians are still writing books about the first reformation. Thus as we live through these trying and uncertain times, we must remember that all of us here will die before the next crop of historians figure out what our time was really about.
One thing we do know is that the current movement of the Holy Spirit is operating across denominational lines. Denominations are not being erased, but there is a new cooperation across lines, while Churches still affirm their own unique identity. Thus, on Thursday, I participated with the leaders of several other congregations to pray for our nation and our institutions. We were from different groups but there was a spirit of unity present –largely because we had come to know each other over many years. Almost without exception, the people in the room had prayed and worked together many times previously, and have come to love and appreciate each other, while holding on to their own denominational distinctives.
Politically, we live in an era when people are not as dedicated to parties or organizations as they once were. This affects the church negatively in that people don’t grow up Methodist and stay Methodist ‘just because’ they grew up that way. Rather, people affiliate by Affinity with those to whom they feel a soul connection.
And it is in this spirit that we can often find a true spirit of unity with our brothers and sisters from other churches. I have come to respect and appreciate Darrel Buttram from the 10th Avenue Church of God, as a very spiritually sensitive, gifted and passionate preacher. I don’t have the same affinity for his denomination as he does, (and to hear him tell it, he struggles with it himself)…but we have enough in common that we can appear on the same platform together at our upcoming community memorial service.
In a recent pastors’ meeting, Darrel said to me that one of the things that All Saints Anglican Church can really do for our community is to offer Communion again as we did last year. Our understanding of the Lord’s Table is one of the unique gifts that we have to offer our World, and folks from other traditions see and appreciate this. While they may not understand our sacramental view of the Lords’ supper or agree with it, yet there is a respect present. Chuck Lawrence from Christ Temple remarked to me after last year’s Memorial service, that it really was very beautiful.
So again, here is where we find unity, in the spirit of love and mutual respect, based in our love for Jesus Christ. Our true brothers and sisters are those believers who love Jesus and are unafraid to proclaim this love. Given a choice between a Jesus-lovin’ Pentecostal and a Unitarian fish wife who can’t articulate why she goes to a Christian church, I’ll pick the Pentecostal any day!
We are continuing to pray for discernment as a church regarding affiliation with AMIA vs. CANA. We still have some questions to ponder. For instance, here’s docs’ response to the question of Womens’ Ordination:
...whatever happens here, [in America] the AMiA will not support the ordination of women to the presbyterate,[everbody say prez- boo- er- ate] and will not come under the specific authority of leaders who do.
In contrast, here is what the CANA web site says on this issue:
CANA recognizes that there are differing theological positions in the Anglican Communion about women in ordained ministry. CANA acknowledges the integrity of those who understand Holy Scripture to permit the ordination of women to the presbytereate and those who believe the Scripture prohibits women’s ordination. Because of the differing positions, CANA policies regarding the ordination of women will be developed from a biblical and pastoral perspective. CANA is committed to modeling for American Anglicans the possibility of respecting both integrities regarding the ordination of women within one ecclesial body. There has been at least one woman deacon ordained by a CANA bishop and there are several other women clergy who have been licensed. Yet, a CANA congregation which objects to women in the presbytereate will not be expected to endorse or call women clergy to serve in their community.
How will this issue affect our ability to come together as a unified body of orthodox Anglicans? I myself would accept a woman deacon, but not a priest. I cannot in good conscience affiliate with a group that accepts women priests, yet I know that there are orthodox Anglicans who do, and I want to accept them, but not their view on that issue. Beyond this, there is the simple expedient of which group is geographically closest to us and can best support us. Which group most closely matches our personality and mission as a congregation?
If we had the advantage of a hundred years of history upon which to base our decision, perhaps it wouldn’t be so seemingly complex. But we don’t. We have to live through this Reformation and wait to see what it becomes – if we live that long. Therefore, let us seek out those with whom we have unity of Spirit, kindred hearts, and minds set upon similar purposes, and let us boldly move ahead, secure in the knowledge that God has more power to lead us than the Devil has to deceive us. AMEN.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Prayer for Families
A Prayer composed for the National Day of Prayer, May 1, 2008. Given at the West Virginia State Capitol Rotunda
Holy and Gracious Father, in your infinite love, you created the Family and ordained it to be the institution by which our children are nurtured in safety and first come to know You. We humbly pray you to forgive us for our failure to live up to our high calling to lead godly lives before You, and to reproduce a godly heritage.
We have not been faithful to protect marital bonds. We have pursued our own selfish ambitions to the detriment of our children. We have put the pursuit of material things above the spiritual wellbeing of our loved ones and we have reaped a whirlwind of brokenness and conflict, reproducing failure upon failure.
God be merciful and forgive us and cause your face to shed its light upon us. Give us grace to humble ourselves before You and cry out for strength to live sober and disciplined lives, that our works may find favor in your sight, and that our families may be blessed with fruitfulness.
God turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. God be gracious to all mothers, and especially to those who struggle valiantly to raise their children alone. God remember all long-suffering grandparents who courageously care for their grandchildren. God give us all a spirit of adoption, by which we reach out to care for the orphan and the abandoned, to those who are in danger because of abuse, or who suffer neglect and want because of the careless disregard of the adults around them.
Have mercy on us O Lord, Have mercy, for in you is found forgiveness and You shall redeem us from all our sins, even as we put our hope in You. All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ. By Him and with Him, and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. AMEN.
Holy and Gracious Father, in your infinite love, you created the Family and ordained it to be the institution by which our children are nurtured in safety and first come to know You. We humbly pray you to forgive us for our failure to live up to our high calling to lead godly lives before You, and to reproduce a godly heritage.
We have not been faithful to protect marital bonds. We have pursued our own selfish ambitions to the detriment of our children. We have put the pursuit of material things above the spiritual wellbeing of our loved ones and we have reaped a whirlwind of brokenness and conflict, reproducing failure upon failure.
God be merciful and forgive us and cause your face to shed its light upon us. Give us grace to humble ourselves before You and cry out for strength to live sober and disciplined lives, that our works may find favor in your sight, and that our families may be blessed with fruitfulness.
God turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. God be gracious to all mothers, and especially to those who struggle valiantly to raise their children alone. God remember all long-suffering grandparents who courageously care for their grandchildren. God give us all a spirit of adoption, by which we reach out to care for the orphan and the abandoned, to those who are in danger because of abuse, or who suffer neglect and want because of the careless disregard of the adults around them.
Have mercy on us O Lord, Have mercy, for in you is found forgiveness and You shall redeem us from all our sins, even as we put our hope in You. All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ. By Him and with Him, and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. AMEN.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)