One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received also left me damaged and wounded, but only for a time. “You come off as needy,” he said, “and people can smell it.” Yes, we all have needs, and none of us is self-sufficient. After the defensiveness wore off, I realized that person was referring…
The Rev. Lee Nelson, S.S.C., is a priest of the Society of the Holy Cross and the Diocese of Fort Worth. He has planted churches in Waco and College Station, Texas, with the aim of making disciples on college campuses. He is currently the Chair of the Committee for Catechesis of the Anglican Church in North America, which produced To Be a Christian, an Anglican Catechism.
When I Pass Over: 10 Preparations for Death
As a priest, I have buried so many who never gave the slightest thought to what their families would do, what decisions would need to be made, how to provide for their loved ones. This kind of planning is a great comfort in this life to me and to my loved ones. But is it morbid to…
Anglican Ash Wednesday: Catholic or Reformed?
I want to take you back to the year 1548. It is the year before the very first Book of Common Prayer, and it is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. For many centuries, you and your family came into the church the day before to have your confession heard. On this day, come to receive ashes…
Catechesis 3: On Building a Culture
Wendell Berry, in his 1977 book The Unsettling of America, argued that agribusiness was taking the practice of farming out of its cultural context and away from families. It was a prophetic work, and in the years since, we have seen continued decline in family farming in favor of a system that devalues community and…
Catechesis 2: Recovering the Old Ways
As I studied the ways of the ancient Church, I discovered two things. First, they had a very high standard for catechetical discipleship and subsequent Church membership, and second, that high standard only aided in their progress in evangelism. As we enter the age of Post-Christendom, it seems to me that if we seek to…
Getting Catechesis Back on Track (Part 1)
Recovering the Lost Tools The church father Gregory of Nyssa once remarked in the middle of the Arian controversy of the 4th century, If you ask anyone in Constantinople for change, he will start discussing with you whether the Son is begotten or unbegotten. If you ask about the quality of the bread, you will…
