Liturgysmithing

One of the big projects I am working on here at St. Mark's right now is creating (or "smithing") a Saturday evening vespers prayer service that will be aimed at folks who are of no faith, or who have faith but have not found a place to call "home" and a community to call "family." I'm finding, though, that this is quite a challenge.

One of the things that the Anglican tradition offers as one of its strengths is an ethos of mysterium tremendum in our worship services. It was something that many of the free churches that I was a part of in the past were frankly not very good at. Sure, their music was good and the speaker was dynamic, but the gatherings were so domesticated and so like the surrounding cultural influences that I sometimes felt like Jesus was just my "homeboy," or even worse...my "prom date."

Yet, one of the weaknesses of the Anglican/Episcopal tradition as I have received it here in Beaumont is that though it does a great job of bringing to our awareness the transcendence of God, the worship forms (especially the music) can be so foreign to people that is as emotionally unintelligible as doing the service in Latin would be intellectually unintelligible.

So, how to create a service that both creates an awareness of God's transcendence AND imminence (nearness)? How to create a service that feels accessible, but not domestic? How to create a service of mysterium tremendum et fascinans, without it feeling detached or remote? That is the challenge before me. And perhaps the biggest pitfall: making St. Mark's the "new cool thing." I am scared to death of using all the little emotional and spiritual gimmicks that many churches fall into to get an emotional high out of people. I don't want to be a marketer or a spinster, I want to, in the words of the Book of Common Prayer, work to "perfect the praises offered by [God's] people on earth; and be granted, even now, glimpses of [His] beauty." Please pray for me.

A Prayer for Liturgysmithing:

O God, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven: Be ever present with your servants who seek through art and music and liturgy to perfect the praises offered by your people on earth; and grant to them even now glimpses of your beauty, and make them worthy at length to behold it unveiled for evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

New Bishop of Texas is Seated

C. Andrew Doyle was seated at Christ Church Cathedral, Houston on June 7, 2009 with trumpets volleys and kettledrums reverberating among the 1000 plus congregation. Bishop Doyle promised to “be a faithful shepherd and servant,” and processed with the dean to the front of the church where, facing Bishop Don Wimberly, he petitioned to be recognized, invested and seated as the new head of the diocese. Marking the historic transition of leadership, Bishop Wimberly invited the two former diocesan bishops, Claude Payne and Maurice Benitez to participate in asking. All three stood side by side to ask Bishop Doyle to reaffirm the promises he made when he was ordained and consecrated a bishop on November 22, 2008. He promised to support all the baptized, guard the faith, unity and discipline of the Church and share in the government of the whole Church. Then with all three holding the 160 year old, ornate brass crosier as Bishop Wimberly said, “Now I, by the authority committed to me, and with the consent of those who have chosen you, do invest you, Charles Andrew Doyle, as Bishop of Texas, with all the temporal and spiritual rights and responsibilities that pertain to that office … On behalf of the people and clergy of the Diocese of Texas, I give into your hands this pastoral staff. May Christ the Good Shepherd uphold you and sustain you as you carry it in his name...”

Bishop Doyle received the pastoral staff as he promised to fulfill the responsibilities and obligations of the office as leader of the 154 congregations, 67 schools and 11 institutions of the Diocese of Texas. Dean Reynolds escorted him to the Bishop’s see, a highly carved chair to the left of the Cathedral’s altar saying, in the name of the Cathedral and on behalf of the people of the diocese, “I install you, Andrew, in the chair appointed to our office. May the Lord stir up in you the flame of holy charity, and the power of faith that overcomes the world. Amen.” Bishop Doyle took his seat momentarily before proclaiming the Peace and Celebrating the Holy Eucharist.

Nepal Church Bombing

Two persons, including a minor, were killed and 15 other injured when a powerful bomb went off at the Roman Catholic Church of Assumption in Lalitpur (a town near Kathmandu) on Saturday morning. The bomb exploded with about 100 people praying inside the church. Investigations are under way to determine who planted the bomb. The deceased have been identified as Cilesi Joseph, 15, and Deepa Patrick, 30.

A statement from the Anglican Church of Nepal:

We are shocked and saddened by the violence used against Christians while worshipping in Nepal this morning. We deplore the use of terror and the targeting of innocent civilians in this atrocity. May God comfort the families of the deceased in their grief and may they sense the presence of Jesus Christ with them in their sorrow and loss. We will keep them and the injured in our prayers. We extend our condolences to them, to the Roman Catholic community of the Church of the Assumption and to the wider Catholic community in Nepal. We are also aware that this leaves many other Christian Churches in Nepal in an unsettled and anxious state. We extend to all our prayers for peace and for safety.

The Revd Norman Beale

Dean

Anglican Church of Nepal

Prayer for the Persecuted Church:
Almighty and everlasting God, hear the cries of your people as we call to you for your suffering church throughout the world. As you heard the cries of your ancient people in bondage in Egypt and came down to deliver them, so now hearken to the suffering of the persecuted church in our time. Give bread to those who are hungry, comfort to the imprisoned, strength to the tortured and all for the sake of Jesus who lived and died for us, who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Memorial Day As Seen By Stanley Hauerwas

A Pacifist's Look at Memorial Day

Dan Brown’s America

The NYT online has a nice Op-Ed piece on Religion in America and the Dan Brown business:
Dan Brown's America

A few nice excerpts:

"...if you want to understand the state of American religion, you need to understand why so many people love Dan Brown. "

"The polls that show more Americans abandoning organized religion don’t suggest a dramatic uptick in atheism: They reveal the growth of do-it-yourself spirituality, with traditional religion’s dogmas and moral requirements shorn away. The same trend is at work within organized faiths as well, where both liberal and conservative believers often encounter a God who’s too busy validating their particular version of the American Dream to raise a peep about, say, how much money they’re making or how many times they’ve been married.

These are Dan Brown’s kind of readers. Piggybacking on the fascination with lost gospels and alternative Christianities, he serves up a Jesus who’s a thoroughly modern sort of messiah — sexy, worldly, and Goddess-worshiping, with a wife and kids, a house in the Galilean suburbs, and no delusions about his own divinity.

But the success of this message — which also shows up in the work of Brown’s many thriller-writing imitators— can’t be separated from its dishonesty. The “secret” history of Christendom that unspools in “The Da Vinci Code” is false from start to finish. The lost gospels are real enough, but they neither confirm the portrait of Christ that Brown is peddling — they’re far, far weirder than that — nor provide a persuasive alternative to the New Testament account. The Jesus of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — jealous, demanding, apocalyptic — may not be congenial to contemporary sensibilities, but he’s the only historically-plausible Jesus there is.

For millions of readers, Brown’s novels have helped smooth over the tension between ancient Christianity and modern American faith. But the tension endures. You can have Jesus or Dan Brown. But you can’t have both."

The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner responds to ACC

The Wisdom of the Cross: Some Reflections on ACC-14 and the Anglican Covenant

My respect for this man continues to increase.

What Happened at ACC (for those who care)

At the Battle in Jamaica for the Anglican Covenant there was a strategic loss for the Anglican Covenant Design Group that anticipated the timeline to go from the ACC-14 to the churches.

815 won a strategic decision to delay the Anglican Covenant.

815 won a strategic decision in separating Section IV from the rest of the Covenant.

Lambeth won a strategic decision in not divorcing Section IV from the Covenant, but keeping the Covenant together as a whole.

Lambeth won a strategic decision to gain control over who "studies" Section IV. There's a split decision between 815 and Lambeth on the establishment of the Joint Standing Committee as the final arbiter (thereby lifting the JSC as a near equal "instrument of communion") on the Anglican Covenant before it's sent on for ratification.

There is a win for ACNA and the Communion Partners in that there are still no restrictions in place for them to vote on the Anglican Covenant.

There is a loss for the Communion Partners in the delay of the Anglican Covenant to go before General Convention 2009 and the possible pieces of legislation that could both delay the Anglican Covenant to years after they have all retired, as well as possible legislation that will isolate them from their province.

There is a win for Katharine Jefferts Schori in successfully delaying the Anglican Covenant as long as she remains in office.

There is a win/loss for Rowan Williams in that he was able to keep the Covenant together and not fragment, but he was isolated and unable to bridge the widening chasm that separates provinces in the Anglican Communion. In fact, we saw evidence of a widening gap between Canterbury and the Church of England as the CoE representative seemed to side with 815, along with Wales and Ireland and Scotland, while the New Zealand and Australian delegations seemed to be split.And there is a loss to the Global South in the realization that they are merely bit players in this larger power struggle between Lambeth and 815.

But there was a major win for the Global South for through it all they hung together, even as chaos broke out on the floor and in the backrooms, they hung together. This is a key point for ACNA and the Communion Partners and, God willing, the Archbishop of Canterbury himself.

Source: Baby Blue

One Year In...

My journey into Anglicanism has been nothing short of interesting so far. I think I have had as good a tour of my new church as anyone can in the first year... I have been confirmed, met the Bishop of Durham, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, gone to two theological conferences, spent a day with the Archbishop of Burundi, not to mention meeting three bishops of Texas, and securing employment as a lay minister at my local parish. Phew! What a year.

So what has that got me? Well, for starters, I am as spiritually happy and healthy as I have ever been. The Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion have given me a good sense of both God's transcendence (greatness and majesty) and his immenence (nearness and closeness) which I found difficult, if not impossible, to hold together in my former protestantism. The Liturgy especially creates a wonderful sense of the mysterium tremendum right here in American-as-apple-pie Beaumont. Also, I feel a sense of connectedness with other Christians, both those around the world and those who have come before me, that I have never felt before. More and more, that "great cloud of witnesses" and our "oneness in Christ" are becomeing not simply abstractions, but living realities for me. This, in turn, has given rise in me to a burning desire to see the reunification of The Church of Jesus. May it be so, Lord.

With the structure provided by the Daily Office, I have found prayer both more accessible and richer that when I felt prayer had to always be an extemporanious list of petitions and praise. Not only that, it has made it much easier to pray together with my wife. I had often, as a protestant, heard said that liturgy and written prayer was constraining, but I have found it to be exactly the opposite. Oh, the freedom of consistency and commitment! And lastly, though I still call myself an evangelical, I am finding the "high church" and "anglo-catholicism" more and more appealing. Who knows where all this will lead next?

Brilliant Commentary

This is the best commentary I have seen so far on the recession. Brilliant...just brilliant.

My New Job

As of this coming Wednesday I will no longer be a forester. I have been offered, and have accepted, the position of Director of Lay Ministries and Evangelism at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Beaumont.

I could hardly have wished for a better opportunity and church community when we moved to Texas, and yet here I go. I am beside myself with excitement, and very grateful for this tremendous opportunity (especially for an unordained aspirant). I covet your prayers this coming year as I try to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in bringing the Gospel, the Kingdom, and Redemption to Southeast Texas.

Those of you who know me, know that I am always scheming and dreaming about what things the church could be doing different or better here in America. Well, I'm about to find out the difference between speculating and doing. Again, please keep Jenny and I in your daily prayers.

He Paints

A dear artist friend (and groomsman) of mine has started a website to showcase his works. It is more than worth your time. From his website Jared Paints:

"the desire and ability to create and behold things we deem beautiful, ultimately reflects the one who created us. as humans we create because we were made in the image of God (the One True Creator/Artist), so in doing this work i hope to bear a small and true reality of the image of God in His creativity. "

So, hop on over and check it out at: http://www.jaredpaints.com/

The Best Books I Read in 2008

1. Encountering the Mystery by His All Holiness Eccumenical Patriarch Bartholemew:

Orthodoxy is neither just a theological system nor just a set of liturgical disciplines; it is in the most serious and full sense wisdom – a perspective of Spirit-led insight that transforms both vision and action. In this exceptional book, Patriarch Bartholomew inducts his readers into this wisdom and demonstrates with authority how it bears upon a range of global issues. There is nothing archaic here, though plenty that is traditional; nothing merely fashionable, though plenty that is sharply contemporary. It is a treasury of sane and generous theology, from one of the truly great figures in the Christian world today

2. Surprised by Hope by NT Wright:

Subtitled, Rethingking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, I could have just as easily listed this one as number one. N.T. Wright can write. . . when it comes to questions of Christ’s resurrection and what that means, no one is more persuasive. Wright’s new book, Surprised by Hope, builds on C.S. Lewis’ succinct defense of the faith and takes it to a new level. A crystal-clear, powerful course-correction for all of us--Christian or otherwise. If you want to know what Easter is about, get yourself a copy of Surprised by Hope and hunker down for the read of a lifetime....literally.

3. Tokens of Trust by Rowan Williams:

The first book I have read by the renowned Archbishop of Canterbury, and I was not let down in the least. In this thematic group of reflections based on the ancient creeds of Christendom, the 104th archbishop of Canterbury once again demonstrates his stature as a scholar with a deep concern for the spiritual welfare of contemporary believers. At times sober, but rarely inaccessible, the learned archbishop brings a restrained passion to these meditations that will make them more available to readers seeking pastoral guidance along with their theology.

4. Jayber Crow & Selected Poems by Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry is an American man of letters, academic, cultural and economic critic, and farmer. He is a prolific author of novels, shorts stories, poems, and essays. If you have never heard of him or read him, this is a great place to start. A breath of fresh air in our day and age.

Archbishop of Canterbury's Advent Reflections

The Orthodox Resistance

Here in the Episcopal Church, the Orcs of Mordor have taken the castle (metaphorically speaking). Meet the worthy, peaceful resistance:

American Anglican Council

The Anglican Communion Institute

May God give them humility, wisdom, long-suffering patience, and love.

"Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” - Daniel 3:17-18

Post Tenabras, Lux!

What the ...?

Snow in Orange, Texas? You betcha. As you can see, it isn't much, but they have announced that all the schools will be starting two hours later to give people a chance to get a grip on this turn of events. You'd think unicorns and centaurs were walking around town. As far as people in Orange County are concerned, this isn't far removed from sorcery or magic.

Meeting a Hero

A picture of me meeting NT Wright in Toronto, Canada at the Anglicanism: A Gift in Christ conference last week.

Advent Underground: The Resistance Movement

The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love. So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists. And when it's all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas? What if Christmas became a world-changing event again?

Welcome to Advent Conspiracy.

Bound for the Black Hills

My wife and I are flying out tomorrow morning to South Dakota to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family there. I am one of those rare people who deeply enjoy their in-laws. My in-laws, Jenny's whole family (parents, siblings, aunts & uncles, cousins, etc.), are precious people, brothers and sisters of the Faith, with great senses of humor and tremendous loyalty. Time with them is always such a refreshment to me. My own private favorite tradition is early morning coffee on a cool morning with my Mother and Father-in-law. The landscape of the Black Hills is enchanting and I am looking eagerly forward to some easy walks through the granite, junipers, aspens, and sage as well.

Two other items of excitement for the holiday: 1.) I'm going to Toronto quickly for an Anglican conference at which NT Wright+ will be the keynote speaker. As most of you know, to say that Bishop Wright has been an inspiration to me would be an understatement. I'll be there with a few people from our church and my dear brother Matt Larsen. 2.) Jenny's beloved friend from college, Britta, is going to be joining us in South Dakota for the holiday. Few people bring as much joy to my wife's heart as Britta, and for her company this holiday I am very grateful.

Also, you never know when we might drop in to Boulder when we are in that part of the world.

Reading list for the Holiday:

The Hauerwas Reader by Stanley Hauerwas and Jayber Crow by Wendel Berry.

Traveling Tunes:

Josh Garell's new album, Jacaranda.

A Monastery in Beaumont?

My wife and I spent this past Saturday at a spiritual retreat at the Holy Cross Monastery in Beaumont, Texas. I had never before been to a monastery, and having grown up in the Church of Christ and Southern Baptist Church, I suppose my disposition is to be suspicious of such enterprises. Yet, I found the day to be entirely pleasant and of great spiritual benefit.

We started the day celebrating the Holy Eucharist. It was a lovely celbration, appropriately punctuated by periods of meditative silence when the wind could be heard blowing through the trees outside and the scripture lessons we were reading could be ruminated upon and digested. We then ate a meal together prepared for us by the monks, and had an afternoon's discussion on humility and how it is attained. We ended the day by chanting Psalms 119 and praying together. Through the course of the day it dawned upon me anew how good silence, prayer, nature and meditation are for the soul. I confess to having far less than would be good for me, and hope to make those disciplines part of my regular practice as a disciple of Christ. My wife said the day was beautiful and relaxing... a bit of heaven come to earth. Apparently, they have similar retreats the third Saturday of every month. I suspect those monks have not seen the last of the Ballards.

The Early Church on War and Violence

I say as often as I can that I am, as a Christian, a pacifist and that I believe all Christians should be pacifists. Along those lines, I was very pleased when I discovered that the peer reviewed theological journal Themelios put out by The Gospel Coalition recently included an article entitled, Nonviolence in the Ancient Church and Christian Obedience. I thought some of the quotes from the early church were worth posting here:

"We who once murdered each other indeed no longer wage war against our enemies; moreover, so as not to bear false witness before our interrogators, we cheerfully die confessing Christ." -- Justin Martyr (110–165), the early church’s foremost apologist.

"But now inquiry is being made concerning these issues. First, can any believer enlist in the military? Second, can any soldier, even those of the rank and file or lesser grades who neither engage in pagan sacrifices nor capital punishment, be admitted into the church? No on both counts—for there is no agreement between the divine sacrament and the human sacrament, the standard of Christ and the standard of the devil, the camp of light and the camp of darkness. One soul cannot serve two masters—God and Caesar. And yet some people toy with the subject by saying, "Moses carried a rod, Aaron wore a buckle, John the Baptist girded himself with leather just like soldiers do belts, and Joshua the son of Nun led troops into battle, such that the people waged war." But how will a Christian engage in war—indeed, how will a Christian even engage in military service during peacetime—without the sword, which the Lord has taken away? For although soldiers had approached John to receive instructions and a centurion believed, this does not change the fact that afterward, the Lord, by disarming Peter, disarmed every soldier." -- Tertullian (197–212)

"Shall it be regarded lawful to make an occupation of the sword, when the Lord proclaims that he who takes the sword shall die by the sword? Shall the child of peace join in the battle when he is not even permitted to sue at law? . . . Shall he carry a flag, despite its hostility to Christ? Shall he request a command from the Emperor who has already received one from God? . . . The very transporting of the Christian name from the camp of light over to the camp of darkness constitutes a violation of God’s law." -- Tertullian

"It needs to be emphasized that when someone becomes a believer and his faith is sealed, there must be an immediate abandonment of military service." -- Tertullian

"A soldier, being inferior in rank to God, must not kill anyone. If ordered to, he must not carry out the order, nor may he take an oath (sacramentum) to do so. If he does not accept this, let him be dismissed from the church. Anyone bearing the power of the sword, or any city magistrate, who wears purple, let him cease from wearing it at once or be dismissed from the church. Any catechumen or believer who wishes to become a soldier must be dismissed from the church because they have despised God." -- Hippolytus (199–217)

"Rulers entrusted with the authority to take life and soldiers must not kill anyone, even if they are commanded to do so. . . . Anyone holding a prominent position of leadership or a ruler’s authority who does not keep himself disarmed, as the gospel necessitates, must be dismissed from the flock. Let no Christian become a soldier. Any official obligated to carry a sword must not bring bloodguilt upon himself; if he does, he must not participate in the mysteries until he is purified through correction, tears, and groans." -- Hippolytus (199–217)

"We must delightfully come to the counsels of Jesus by cutting down our hostile and impudent swords into plowshares and transforming into pruning-hooks the spears formerly employed in war. So we no longer take up the sword against nations, nor do we learn war anymore, since we have become children of peace, for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader, instead of those whom our ancestors followed." -- Origen (240–48)

Anglican History

Since my wife and I have become Episcopalian/Anglican, the questions that I have been asked the most regarding that decison have, surprisingly, been questions regarding the history of the Anglican church. So, I thought perhaps a well researched answer was in order. Enjoy:

Christianity arrived in Britain in the first or second century (probably via the tin trade route through Ireland and Iberia), and existed independently of the Church of Rome, as did virtually all other Christian communities of that era. Most scholars believe that Christianity arrived in Brittania about A.D. 44 around Glastonbury (roughly 11 years after Christ's Crucifixion!) The first English martyr is Alban in A.D. 209. Alban reportedly sheltered a Christian missionary from Gaul and was executed because Christianity was illegal in the Roman Empire at that time. The earliest historical written evidence of an organized Christian church in England is found in the writings of such early Christian fathers as Tertullian and Origen in the first years of the 3rd century. Three English bishops, including Restitutus, are known to have been present at the Council of Arles 314, and bishops from Britannia were present at the council of Nicea in 325. Others attended the Council of Sardica in 347 and that of Ariminum in 360, and a number of references to the church in Britain are found in the writings of 4th-century Christian fathers.

Pagan Anglo-Saxons from Germany and Scandinavia began to occupy Britain without resistance from the passive (Christian) Britons in around 370. (Wales remained unconquered and Christian.) The Roman empire fell in Britain and no evidence of Roman occupation is found after about 407. The conquest of Britain is greatly accelerated in 410 when Britons under Vortigern invite Saxon mercenaries to their land to help keep order. The Briton Christians are on their own at this point. On the mainland, the Roman empire and therefore the church (Christianity being the official religion of the empire) were in significant turmoil and disarray. Meanwhile, back in Britain, it is the era of Celtic Christianity. The Celts effectively preserve Christianity on the British Isles while the Roman empire (and seemingly, the whole world) falls apart. For nearly 200 years, the scholarship and culture of Celtic/Anglo-Saxon Christianity developed utterly unconnected with Rome, though some correspondence and unity with mainland Christianity continues. For instance, we know that Deacon Palladius was sent by the bishop of Rome (not Pope!) as a "bishop to the Scotti [Irish] who believe in Christ."

Previous to the fall of the Roman Empire, the church was governed by the Patriarchs (bishops) of the ancient and influential sees of Jerusalem, Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, as well as by Councils of bishops held periodically to make important decisions. As the Roman empire fell apart, and the world and the church was in disarray, people generally, and Christians included, looked to the ancient capital of the empire for leadership. Hence the development of the office of Pope. Leo the Great was the bishop of Rome at this time, and he was the first bishop to assert the universal jurisdiction of the Roman bishop and the doctrine of "Petrine supremacy." He was declared Pope in 451 by the Council of Chalcedon which declared, "Peter has spoken by Leo." He solidified his role as the primary patriarch and leader of the Church when he met Attila the Hun outside the gates of Rome in 452 and persuaded him not to raze the city to the ground and to withdraw. With the rest of the empire in such a mess, no one was really in a position to disagree with him. In fact, they were glad to have such an able, intelligent, charismatic, brave, and strong leader. Anglicans still celebrate a feast day in his honor on November 10 as the Bishop of Rome.

When things began to settle down, and the world began to reorganize post-empire, Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine from Rome to evangelise the Angles in 597. When he got there, he discovered that they were already a number of Christians and established churches. He declared them Roman Catholic, and with the help of Christians already residing in Kent he established his church in Canterbury, the former capital of Kent, and became the first in the series of Archbishops of Canterbury. Augustine developed a liturgy and other practices especially for the English-speaking people, which was a combination of the Celtic and Roman rites. Later archbishop, the Greek Theodore of Tarsus, also contributed to the organisation of English Christianity in that period. Simultaneously, the "Celtic Church" continued to evangelize Scotland. The Celtic Church of North Britain finally submitted in some sense to the "authority" of Rome at the Synod of Whitby in 664. Over the next few centuries, the Roman system introduced by Augustine gradually absorbed the pre-existing Celtic, Britannia, Saxon, and Angle churches. Anglicans still celebrate a feast in Gregory's honor as "the Apostle of the English" and the Bishop of Rome on March 12.

The Anglican church then was under the purview of Rome for roughly 870 years. When the Great Schism occurred in 1054 and split the church into Western Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, the Anglican church being in the West, sided with Rome. There is a public perception, especially in the United States, that Henry VIII created the formal Anglican split from Rome in 1534 because of the Pope's refusal to grant his divorce, but the historical record indicates that Henry spent most of his reign challenging the authority of Rome, and that the divorce issue was just one of a series of acts that collectively split the English church from the Roman church in much the same way that the Orthodox church had split off five hundred years before. A theological separation had been foreshadowed by various movements within the English Church for years, and there was significant pressure put on Henry by his Reformation-minded clergy to, in fact, separate from Rome. Under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, a thorough reformation proceeded. A new pattern of worship was set out in the Book of Common Prayer which was based on the older and more ancient liturgies, without the developments of the middle ages such as Maryology, the Papacy, and the Cult of Saints. It is this Book of Common prayer and form of worship that is still the framework for Anglicanism worldwide. Anglicanism represents the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox communions. The number of Anglicans in the world is slightly over 77 million.

Aspirations

Since moving to Texas, Jenny and I have joined St. Mark's Episcopal Church and will be confirmed in the broader Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion in just a few weeks. It is a really exciting time for us. After a spending at least some part of our young lives in the Church of Christ, the Methodist Church, the Southern Baptist Church, the Evangelical Free Church, the Presbyterian Church, and a non-denominational church plant, we have found a place in Christendom where we feel at home and where we feel the Holy Spirit has led and called us.

As many of you also know, I have long sensed a calling to vocational ministry in the church and I am now, in fact, pursuing ordination (or holy orders) as a priest in the Episcopal Church. The process looks something like this:

Step 1: Aspirant - Aspirancy begins with conversations between the aspirant and their priest about the aspirant's sense of calling. When these conversations reach the point that the aspirant and his or her priest feel the aspirant is ready for a next step, the priest presents the aspirant to the Bishop.

Step 2: Postulant - The canonical authority for inviting an aspirant to a postulancy lies with the Bishop. The postulancy involves background checks, physical and psychological evaluations, training, spiritual formation, and seminary.

Step 3: Candidate - The term candidate reflects the church's expectation that by this stage of the ordination process the postulant is able to integrate their academic studies, spiritual development, and field experience and are prepared to offer themselves as candidates for ordination.

Step 4: Deacon - After seminary and candidacy, I will (Lord willing) be ordained as a transitional deacon.

Step 5: Priest - After a period of time serving the church as a deacon, I will (Lord willing) be ordained as a priest.

As you can see, this is quite a lengthy process and Jenny and I would appreciate your prayers as we move through my discernment process.

Also, if any of you are in the Beaumont area on November 9 we would love to have you at our confimation. It is a big step for us, and a big day.

In the mean time, Jenny and I are still planning to be very connected to Nepal and PRC's ministry there. More on that later.

Extreme Blog Makeover

After a few years of blogging, and a few months of radio silence I decide it was time for a blog makeover. The change in visual theme also comes with a change in the stated purpose of the blog. When I started the blog, it was to give myself an outlet for creative thinking and writing. While I still use the blog for that purpose, it has grown also to include updates about my life and information about things that I find interesting, though the thoughts may not be my own. The blog is no longer just a writing outlet, it is a way for friends and family to keep up with Jenny and I, and for us to share things that we feel are important, funny, or pertinent.

Prayer for Ike Aftermath

Our Creator and Father,

Through the storm, through the night, lead us on to the light.Take our hand, precious Lord, lead us on. Be present, O God, with those who are discovering that loved ones have died, that homes and jobs are gone. Embrace them in your everlasting arms. Be present, O God, with those who suffer today in shelters, hot and weary from too little sleep and too much fear. Let them know they are not alone. Be present, O God, with those who wonder what they will find when they return to homes battered by the storm. Teach them to hope. Be present, O God, with those who have not been able to reach loved ones, who are frantic with worry. Offer them consolation. Be present, O God, with those who have hardly recovered from previous storms, who are unsure how much they can bear, who yearn only for quiet. Grant them peace. Be present, O God, with all who respond - mayors, police, firefighters, FEMA employees, Red Cross workers, pastors, church disaster response coordinators, and all others. Their work is just beginning, and may not end for many months. Strengthen them for service. Be present, O God, with the people of any destroyed houses of worship, and with the people of your Christian Church in storm damaged areas, and especially with the staff and members of the Episcopal Dioceses of Texas and Louisiana where we fear so much has been damaged. Inspire us by their determination to care for others amid their own trials. Be present, O God, to each of us as we pray, that distance may not deter us from generous giving and enduring companionship. Help us remember tomorrow, and next week, and next month. Be present, O God, with all affected by this storm, and with those still suffering from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gustav.

May Immanuel, God with us, our precious Jesus, take every hand and lead us on.

Amen.

Sad Day on the Home Front

Ike in Bridge City

According to CNN.com, "The coastal town of Bridge City was flooded by the Neches River and 9 feet of water was reported downtown."

According to FoxNews.com "Farther up the coast, much of Bridge City and downtown Orange were under up to 8 feet of water and rescue teams in dump trucks were plowing through in an effort to reach families trapped on roofs and inside attics."

Please pray for my community and family. It is likely that we have all lost a lot.

Mark Twain was Right

...truth is stranger than fiction. I am absolutely not making this up:

Spectators cheered as entire Cambodian Midget Fighting League squared off against an African Lion. Tickets had been sold-out three weeks before the much anticipated fight, which took place in the city of Kâmpóng Chhnãng. The fight was slated when an angry fan contested Yang Sihamoni, President of the CMFL, claiming that one lion could defeat his entire league of 42 midgets.

Sihamoni takes great pride in the league he helped create, as was conveyed in his recent advertising campaign for the CMFL that stated his midgets will "... take on anything; man, beast, or machine." This campaign is believed to be what sparked the undisclosed fan to challenge the entire league to fight a lion; a challenge that Sihamoni readily accepted. An African Lion (Panthera Leo) was shipped to centrally located Kâmpóng Chhnãng especially for the event, which took place last Saturday, April 30, 2005 in the city’s coliseum.

The Cambodian Government allowed the fight to take place, under the condition that they receive a 50% commission on each ticket sold, and that no cameras would be allowed in the arena. The fight was called in only 12 minutes, after which 28 fighters were declared dead, while the other 14 suffered severe injuries including broken bones and lost limbs, rendering them unable to fight back.

Sihamoni was quoted before the fight stating that he felt since his fighting midgets out-numbered the lion 42 to 1, that they “… could out-wit and out-muscle [it].” Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Source