You can do this. It’s amazing to plant new churches, and Anglicans actively seek more of it. “But”—you might say—“I’m an introvert.” Me too. And I want to think with you about being an introvert and a church planter, with help from a few others who are like us. Whether you’re a pastor or a…
The Rev. Bryan Wandel is an Anglican priest serving in Buffalo, New York. Fr. Bryan returned his family back to Buffalo after a decade in Washington, DC, and they are spreading the gospel through liturgy and mission.
And With Your Spirit? And Also With You? What Are We Supposed to Say?
If your church has adopted the ACNA’s new Book of Common Prayer 2019, one change probably threw everyone off. And it was a change of only two words. For those who learned liturgy, even just a little, from the 1979 Prayer Book or in the Roman Catholic Church from 1970 to 2010, it was nearly…
Is Your Church a Society, a Subculture, or a Crucible?
My family clambers onto the porch the other day. It’s shortly after a rainfall, like every day when you live by the Great Lakes. In the sunbeam, we see another spiderweb glistening between the wrought iron rails. It weighs slightly more than nothing and yet survived a deluge. Wow. What strength! What elegance! And then…
Should You Seek Life in the Ministry?
Actually, let me make my purpose clear: you should consider life in the ministry. Being an Anglican, my assumption is that you will be thoroughly vetted: various discernment committees, a whole string of approvals and mentoring from your Bishop and your Rector, seminary, psychological exams and ordination exams. The fact is, one does not ordain…
Why We Cry for Notre Dame
The horrific fire at Notre-Dame de Paris on Monday has captured many of us. Nearly every tourist who has been to France has visited it. Nearly everyone who has an image of Paris has Notre Dame at the center. Seemingly floating on the Île de la Cité, it actually is at the heart, sectioned off…
Week of the Sunday from October 16 to October 22: A Collect Reflection
Set us free, loving Father, from the bondage of our sins, and in your goodness and mercy give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for…
“Anglicostal”: How Pentecostal Faith Prepared Me for the Anglican Church
At my ordination, the bishop gave me the option of kneeling or laying prostrate while he prayed over me. Laying face-down in a worship service in front of hundreds of people? That might seem odd, but for me it was a no-brainer. As a Pentecostal, this was my assumed position for laying it all before…
