We are living through what is objectively the most widespread and devastating pandemic in living memory. As of March 19, most state and local authorities are banning meetings of more than 50 people, and President Trump has counseled, along with many public health officials, that people not gather in groups of 10 or more. John Inazu has recently written that [...]
The Anglican Church in North America's 2019 Book of Common Prayer is available for free online here. However, I've heard that people are looking for an easy-to-navigate bookmarked PDF. (Granted, an app or something like http://www.bcponline.org/ would be better! But for now a PDF must suffice.) Special thanks are due to Matthew Heflin, who took the time to go through [...]
Editor’s Note: You can listen to this Ash Wednesday Sermon on Restoration Anglican Church’s podcast. The life of Jesus is marked by healing. We marvel at the messiah as he travels through Galilee and Judea performing miracle after miracle, bringing wholeness and restoration to those who feel broken. Does the solemn reminder of mortality we receive at the outset of [...]
“The Psalms are the single best guide to the spiritual life currently in print.” – Ellen Davis, Getting Involved with God “The Psalms are inexhaustible, and deserve to be read, said, sung, chanted, whispered, learned by heart, and even shouted from the rooftops. They express all the emotions we are ever likely to feel (including some we hope we may [...]
I belong to the generation that no one appears to understand: The Millennials. We have been referred to by the “e” word (entitled), and some spend thousands to purchase books and attend conferences in an attempt to understand this “everyone gets a trophy” generation. It’s pretty wild. We are the generation that grew up with the rise and transformation of [...]
Despite its focus on repentance, Lent is no exception to the gracious focus of all Scripture—Jesus Christ himself. Scripture is always about redemption. How should we read Scripture in Lent? Before we look at that question, we have to lift a few burdens. First, not all of us are expert Bible scholars, and that’s okay. As the Church Father Tertullian [...]
Learning to Love Lent The very first time I gave anything up for Lent, I did it with a desperate heart: not sure what I needed, not sure what I wanted, and not sure what the whole thing was about anyway. I was raising and homeschooling three growing children, teaching literature at my homeschool co-op, running 30+ miles a week, [...]
Ash Wednesday If you are new to Lent, you can go to any Anglican, Lutheran, or Roman Catholic Church on Ash Wednesday. Or find another type of church that has an “Ash Wednesday” sign. None of the traditions listed here require that you be a member to participate in the Ash Wednesday service. Just note that Orthodox churches (Greek, Russian, [...]
The following list (drawn from our book, Lent: The Journey from Ash Wednesday through Holy Week) is not exhaustive, but consider these Lenten lessons. Lent reminds us that we are sinners and we need to repent. We are sinners and we need to repent—even after we are baptized, saved, forgiven, and healed. Yes, we continue to be a part of [...]
The following is an excerpt from the Anglican Church in North America’s catechism, To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism (Crossway, 2020), pp. 81–87. You can download a PDF of the entire catechism here. A Rule of Prayer: Scripture, Prayer, and Worship 224. What is a “rule” of prayer? A rule of prayer is a regular discipline by which I cultivate a life [...]
From The ACNA Catechism The following is an excerpt from the Anglican Church in North America’s catechism, To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism (Crossway, 2020), pp. 29–35. You can download a PDF of the entire catechism here. The Apostles' Creed and the Life of Faith All genuine Christians affirm that authentic Christianity is apostolic Christianity. Apostolic Christianity rests on the historic, eyewitness [...]
From The ACNA Catechism The following is an excerpt from the Anglican Church in North America's catechism, To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism (Crossway, 2020), pp. 55–63. You can download a PDF of the entire catechism here. Concerning Sacraments 121. What is a sacrament? A sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. God [...]
As an update to the 2014 “Working Edition,” The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) has released the “Approved Edition” of its catechism: To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism (Crossway, 2020). (You can download a free and easy-to-navigate PDF of the catechism by clicking here.) In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, a “catechism” is “a text used for [...]
Who is this book for? This book is for anyone and everyone interested in the ancient Christian season of Lent. If you’ve never observed Lent before, there’s plenty to learn! But even if you’ve been observing Lent for a long time, we trust that the personal reflections and collect reflections we’ve assembled will add richness and depth to your Lenten [...]
We first enter through the bright red doors of an Anglican church, a preteen and two teenagers in tow. Questions permeate my thoughts, how will our children endure this shift, especially at this stage of their spiritual development? Is this even the right choice for our family? We have all grown up within the church; however, never exposed to liturgical [...]
How do we know if our experiences of God are real or not? If we thought that we, or our congregations, were experiencing revival, or renewal, how would we discern if it was really from the Holy Spirit? What would be happening? What wouldn’t be happening? If we pray for God’s work in our own hearts, and in the lives [...]
So you’re thinking about ordained ministry in this or that Anglican community. (If you need guidance on the question, check out this article.) Maybe you’re already ordained in some other denomination. Maybe you’ve been serving in ministry for years but as a layperson (that was my experience). What are some of the general guidelines and things to take into account [...]
What is Epiphany? Epiphany is a Christian feast day celebrated on January 6 every year. It's also known as "Three Kings' Day." As mentioned in our Rookie Anglican Guide to Advent, the Christian year begins with the season of Advent, which leads up to Christmas on December 25. Then come the 12 Days of Christmas (Dec. 25–Jan. 5), which lead [...]
Epiphany is January 6th. And as the kings discovered Jesus as King, so others have and others will. Lord Jesus may your light shine our way, as once it guided the steps of the magi: that we too may be led into your presence and worship you, the Child of Mary, the Word of the Father, the King of nations, the Saviour [...]
Many people coming to Anglicanism stumble over infant baptism. They come for the beauty of the liturgy, the appreciation of both Word and Sacrament, of Scripture and Tradition. But for many, whether Baptist or not, infant baptism is a hang-up. There are many good reasons for such worries and many good answers—including on this site (see here, here, and here). [...]
As a minister, nothing makes my stomach hurt like the phrase “church-shopping” and the statements that often come with it: “I didn’t like their worship style.” “The pastor preached a little long.” “There weren’t enough programs available." The list goes on and on. One could write a book about the many issues that this concept of church-shopping points to in [...]
Many people coming into the Anglican tradition from other traditions have questions. Quite often, these questions center on the sacramental nature of the Church. This pattern makes sense. After all, the Anglican Church emphasizes sacraments more than some other branches of the Christian Church. All churches have preachers of the Word. Not all have a developed sacramental theology nor a [...]
The Anglican tradition has inherited many ancient pieces of liturgy, so it may be a bit surprising to learn that the Festival/Service of Nine Lessons and Carols (traditionally held on or near Christmas Eve) is a fairly recent invention, celebrating its one-hundredth birthday only last year in 2018. It was constructed out of the grief and horror of the First [...]
Anglicans often speak of the tradition of the 12 days of Christmas, emphasizing how the holiday is not merely one day but rather an extended season. The season spans from December 25 (or the evening of December 24) through January 5, and contains a number of nativity-oriented feast days along with separate saints' days. Many families and parishes already have [...]
