One of the first things I knew about my husband was that he had been accepted to two different seminaries. The following conversation was all about how he had spent the past year trying to discern what God was calling him to do. At the time, he thought God was calling him to become a…
Can Anglicans in North America Offer Something Better Than Gay Marriage?
In middle school, I realized I was gay and my family left The Episcopal Church. As a celibate Anglican now seeking ordination to the diaconate, I care deeply about how the Anglican Church in North America teaches and embodies God’s wisdom for sexual stewardship. After exploring why the ACNA has a responsibility to offer gay…
3 Ways to Make Singleness a Win for the Gospel
The Church needs to see more Christians faithfully walking out lifetime singleness for the sake of the kingdom (AKA “celibacy”). That witness helps the Church grasp the hope of the gospel and begin living into the reality of the kingdom today. No witness to this hope is more moving than that of Christ himself. Jesus…
On Publishing the Banns of Marriage
This coming Sunday and in today’s email, the church plant I serve will have a “first” of sorts – the first time the Banns of Marriage will be published. The Banns of Marriage are an ancient custom and have been canonically binding in the West since the 13th Century. Bann in the Middle English simply…
Masters and Disasters | Marriage and Divorce
“It always happens the first Monday that we’re back in the office, back after the holiday…” Happy Holidays…but only for some. At this time of year, there are common reports of the buckling weight of the season on the fragile institution of marriage. This one is from the Chicago Tribune. Christmas season isn’t always the…
A Certain Trumpet from Canterbury
The Primates of the Anglican Communion have given us a great gift in their Communique from Canterbury. Coming at the end of a long week of tense meetings, the document is a clear and certain trumpet; a strong message to entire Anglican Communion…even the whole Christian world. It reads as though it is the product of…
Anglican Family Matters
Next month, the Pope convenes The World Meeting of Families in Philidelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. Well over a million people are expected in attendance. It’s a big stage…but the subject of the gathering is much larger than massive crowd anticipated, but also infinitely smaller: The Family. The conference calls the family, “the sanctuary…
Dearly Beloved…about Marriage
Note: A sermon preached in response to the Supreme Court ruling. This week in America, everything changed. The Supreme Court issued a new law that guarantees the right of any same-sex couple to receive a marriage license and to have that marriage recognized in all 50 states. The Supreme Court took something that had stood…
Will You Marry Me?
I’ve been asked the question, “Will you marry me?” many times, and I’ve married a few people. I mean, I’ve officiated at weddings, but I’ve actually only been married once (for life). But in reality, it’s not always framed as a question. Sometimes, it’s “Guess what! You’re going to marry us!” The minister is often…
The Wedding, Anglican Style
At an Anglican wedding, almost everyone can leave happy. Here are a few areas in which our weddings differ (or should) from your typical American wedding. Other areas are included because of contemporary relevance. I offer this in the hope of explaining what we do, but also in persuading people to see that the reasons…
