In this early stage of Year A, with the Gospel of Matthew as our guide, we are walking with Jesus through the early stages of his ministry in Galilee. Starting with Proper 10A, for three consecutive Sundays, we will sit with the crowds to whom Jesus tells his parables focused on planting, sowing, and growth…
George Washington: Vestryman and Lifelong Anglican
George Washington was born into a deeply Anglican family and remained a faithful Anglican layman for his entire life. He was baptized in the church as an infant, married a pious Anglican woman, and was buried with the burial office from the 1789 Book of Common Prayer. In between these sacramental milestones, Washington served as…
Bless Me, for I Have Sinned
What I was really asking God for was relief, happiness, help, healing, strength, and understanding.
Today in the Spirit: Proper 9A
In Year A, having finished three consecutive weeks of Jesus’ hard instructions to his disciples going out on mission, the character of our worship in Proper 9A takes on a more peaceful tone. The Gospel reading from Matthew 11:25-30 is a bridge assignment between the end of Matthew’s second teaching discourse and the third discourse,…
The Liturgical Home: The Feast of St. Peter & St. Paul
There are few days on the liturgical calendar that bring together two figures as different from one another as Peter and Paul.
J.I. Packer: A Rookie Anglican Guide
J.I. Packer became an international figure through scores of pamphlets and books, especially his 1973 bestseller, Knowing God. Packer’s institutional engagement is less famous than his books but arguably even more influential.
The Nativity of John the Baptist: A Rookie Anglican Guide
John the Baptist, in his wonderful birth, stands as an icon of life. In fact, the Church liturgically remembers the earthly birth—rather than death—of only three people: the Virgin Mary, Our Lord himself, and John.
Today in the Spirit: Proper 8A
It is still hard going in this early stage of Pentecost Year A. Through the collect and readings assigned for Proper 8A, the church calls for worship, yielding faith in the face of opposition, even judgment of end-time proportions. The assigned Gospel reading, Matthew 10:34-42, brings us to the third and final section of Jesus’…
Equipped by the Historic Episcopate (Jerusalem Declaration 7.1)
We recognise that God has called and gifted bishops, priests and deacons in historic succession to equip all the people of God for their ministry in the world.
Today in the Spirit: Proper 7A
The major themes of Jesus’ teaching discourse to the disciples as they prepare to go on mission are the priority of proclaiming the gospel in Christian service and the inevitable resistance all messengers of the gospel will face. It is no wonder, then, that the messaging of the church in these early weeks of Pentecost…
The Standard of Prayer Book Worship (Jerusalem Declaration 6)
We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.
The Governance of a Global Communion (Jerusalem Declaration 7.2)
When the Gafcon Primates announced a Global Anglican Communion of churches committed to the Jerusalem Declaration, it naturally followed that they would order it with the threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons.