A Brief Defense of “Conversion” Stories Sometimes I wish I lived in the Church of the first Millennia, before the Great Schism of 1054. Things would be a heck of a lot easier. One could say “I’m a Christian” and people would more or less know what you meant. I don’t live in that world;…
Anglican Worship: The Focus is Not My Experience
At the heart of every church tradition lies one priority that shapes the community’s identity. This central aspect is the source of its energy and vision, and becomes the first of all other priorities. This aspect determines much, if not all, of its distinctive traits and eventually becomes the touchstone for every other facet of…
On Hearing Confessions
Today, many Anglican priests receive little training in hearing confessions. Many attended seminaries rooted in evangelical or Reformed traditions, where the practice is unfamiliar. Others entered Anglicanism through churches that never emphasized it, so they have never really considered it. After my last article, I realized that it was perhaps a bit premature, for these…
Cranmer and the Book of Common Prayer
Author and theologian J. I. Packer says of the Book of Common Prayer‘s influence on the British people, Long before the age of fish and chips, the Book of Common Prayer was the Great British invention, nurturing all sorts and conditions of Englishmen and holding the church together with remarkable effectiveness. Before the Book of…
What is a Collect? A Rookie Anglican Guide
As you gather for worship on Sunday, you encounter the Collect for Purity and the Collect of the Day. At Morning or Evening Prayer, you encounter “the Collects.” What are these strange things called “Collects,” and how do you pronounce this word? What is a Collect? A collect is simply a prayer meant to combine…
