I didn’t even remember the phone call. One evening when I was loafing around the house an Arabophone brother called me from a foreign country and had some questions about our small Arabophone fellowship, Kanisa. What did we believe? I answered: we had an evangelical orientation and confessed the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds. Did we belong to a particular denomination? [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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). [...]
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 [...]
A common reaction I am a lecturer at an evangelical liberal arts college. One of my main responsibilities is to teach the Christian doctrine course required for all undergraduates. In every class, the question of what is or isn’t happening at the Lord’s Table is always a source of fascination and debate. “Wait a minute,” one student interjected as I [...]
The phrase “remember your baptism” is familiar to many Lutherans and Anglicans alike. Luther famously wrote in his Larger Catechism, “Therefore, if you live in repentance, you walk in Baptism. For Baptism not only illustrates such a new life, but also produces, begins, and exercises it.” But, of course, for those who are baptized and raised in the Church, it [...]
Editor's note: Here at Anglican Pastor, we feature content from low church to high church, as long as it's written with both clarity and charity. Even if you would never consider an "ad orientem" Holy Communion in your own church, I invite you to read about how and why Fr. Ben Jefferies has made the switch in his parish. It comes [...]
¿Por qué bautizar a los infantes? El verso lema anglicano para niños tendría que ser: "Dejen que los niños vengan a mí y no los obstaculicen, porque a tales pertenece el reino de los cielos". Comenzando muy temprano en la vida de la Iglesia cristiana, los niños cristianos fueron vistos como miembros de la comunidad de fe del pacto. Así como [...]
¿Qué creen los Anglicanos acerca de la Santa Comunión? Esto puede ser difícil de precisar. En primer lugar, porque la Santa Comunión tiene muchos nombres: La Misa, la Eucaristía, la Cena del Señor, O simplemente la Comunión. Sin embargo, la Santa Comunión se describe en el Artículo 28 (XXVIII) de los Treinta y Nueve Artículos de la Religión. Esto ofrece una visión de [...]
How does the Christian table meal shape us as individuals and as the church? Why is bread at the center of Jesus' meal? What does this have to do with feeding a spiritually and physically hungry world? Glenn Packiam, associate senior pastor and Anglican Priest serving at New Life Church, Colorado Springs, has written a book with pastorally accessible, theologically [...]
I am all about believers’ baptism. Dunk ‘em. Let’s do it. A couple weeks into my time as assistant rector at my local parish, we celebrated as a church family when the father of one of our members was baptized as an adult Christian believer. I am also all about infant baptism. Sprinkle that child. Let’s do it. In a [...]
My last post discussed receiving communion by faith, and was more about our understanding of the spiritual aspects of communion. This post is just plain practical. We all want to reverently receive communion, not get in anyone’s way or spill anything, and to not have any surprises. But the surprises and spills will happen. Even though we intend to avoid [...]
First time I visited an Anglican church, I was afraid to go forward for communion for two reasons. First, I had no idea how you were supposed to receive it. Dip the bread? Drink the cup? Bow, kneel, make the sign of the cross? It kinda seemed like everyone was doing something different. Second, I wasn’t sure how to receive [...]
There was a long period where many Anglican churches didn't have communion every Sunday. They would have morning prayer for a few weeks, and then a Holy Communion once a month or so. But a movement called Parish Communion successfully restored the tradition around the world. Today, most (but not all) Anglican churches celebrate Holy Communion every week on Sunday. [...]
I am leading a tour group of pastors through the Holy Land. Our group is about a dozen clergy, spouses, some dedicated lay people from their churches, and a father with his teenage son. A few days into the trip, the father and son asked if the young man could be baptized here in Israel. Wow. Easy answer. Yes! Of course. “But where?” [...]
This post, in addition to being a part of Rookie Anglican, is part of a series on the Collects of the Christian Year (ACNA), called “Collect Reflections.” If you’re just jumping in, make sure to check out the introductory post, “Announcing Collect Reflections.” All Collect Reflection posts can be found here. Epiphany-what? Sadly, the time for saying "Merry Christmas" has come to an [...]
Like many current Anglicans, I grew up as a Baptist, a Southern Baptist in fact. I even went to a Baptist College on the campus of a Southern Baptist Seminary and got a wonderful foundational education in the Scriptures and Great Books. When I married an Anglican, we started attending Baptist churches but never found ourselves in a place where [...]
The Rev. Ray David Glenn and I are friends. We have known each other since 2010. When his wife died suddenly seven years ago, he and I became even closer. (For reasons I cannot explain, RD is the ONLY person I ever routinely Facetime with. It cannot be that actually wants to see me. But I think he is that [...]
This post is a part of Rookie Anglican, a blog dedicated to Making Anglicanism Accessible. Background In the summer of 2016, my wife and I were preparing to move to a new city. Leading up to the move, we often returned to a discussion of searching for a new church community. She has been raised within the Baptist tradition and [...]
Need help explaining worship on Sundays? New Anglican who is wondering what's going on? Considering visiting? I've put together some notes, with Scripture references, for each aspect of our worship service for use by all of the above. Please feel free to incorporate these notes into a Sunday bulletin, visitor's guide, or website materials. Word and Sacrament Our worship service [...]
“Does the Eucharist setup your chairs?” Brainstorming about sacraments and mission in Southern California, a friend of mine asked me this rather cheeky question. We were exploring what it meant to plant churches sacramentally. That is, not just starting new churches that celebrate sacraments, but what it means to start new churches in a sacramental way. How, for example, do [...]
Worship with four songs and a sermon (and a short a pastoral prayer) that varies little over the fifty-two weeks of the year is inadequate. Throwing in the occasional video, drama, or surprising stage prop doesn't really change that reality. Songs are good. Sermons are essential. Videos, dramas, and occasional visual aids can be helpful. I've been to many worship [...]
The most political thing I’ve done this week is baptize children. Seven children actually, including one infant. I love the image of burial and resurrection with Christ that we witness in our one hundred and fifty gallon stock tank we place at the entrance of the church. It’s one of my favorite celebrations to lead as a priest. It’s a funeral and [...]
