The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) has recently released its 2019 Book of Common Prayer (BCP). For most ACNA churches, the revised translation of the Nicene Creed will likely be the most apparent liturgical change on a Sunday morning. This is at least the case for our church (Church of the Redeemer in Nashville,…
Left Behind?
Are we going to be raptured away someday? Is that an actual Christian belief? Hollywood says yes…or at least they think it might make a good action story. Anglican Pastor writer Thomas McKenzie has addressed these questions in a movie review of Left Behind. Fr Thomas has reviewed movies for years and so he has the…
The Pastor’s Personal Life: Everyday Life of the Ordained, Part 5
This series is an ongoing Q&A between Deacon Tish Harrison Warren (asking the questions) and Fr. Thomas McKenzie (answering) about ordained ministry. See the bottom of this post for an overview of the series. Should a pastor talk about his/her financial life or sex life or marital struggles publicly ever? I think you can talk…
Money: Everyday Life of the Ordained, Part 4
This series is an ongoing Q&A between Deacon Tish Harrison Warren (asking the questions) and Fr. Thomas McKenzie (answering) about ordained ministry. See the bottom of this post for an overview of the series. Letโs talk about money. This is often a dicey subject for those in ministry because we often think in grand terms…
Time, Life and Family: Everyday Life of the Ordained, Part 3
This series is an ongoing Q&A between Deacon Tish Harrison Warren (asking the questions) and Fr. Thomas McKenzie (answering) about ordained ministry. See the bottom of this post for an overview of the series. Letโs talk about the life rhythms of a pastor. You take off Fridays. Many other pastors take off Mondays. Why do…
Vestments: Everyday Life of the Ordained, Part 2
This series is an ongoing Q&A between Dcn. Tish Harrison Warren (asking the questions) and Fr. Thomas McKenzie (answering) about ordained ministry. See the bottom of this post for an overview of the series. Some lower church Anglicans are moving away from vestments while Anglo-Catholics have very strong feelings about particular priestly dress in the…
Wearing A Collar: Everyday Life of the Ordained, Part 1
This series is an ongoing Q&A between Deacon Tish Harrison Warren (asking the questions) and Fr. Thomas McKenzie (answering) about ordained ministry. See the bottom of this post for an overview of the series. When do you wear a clerical collar and when do you not? How do you decide? The purpose of a clerical…
The Daily Office + Part Four: Give it a Try
Thomas McKenzie If you want to use the Daily Office in your own life, itโs best to use it along with some version of the Four Hours (which I discussed in the previous post). For instance, you could read a Daily Office reading during Evening Prayer with your family. You could read one psalm in…
The Daily Office + Part Three: The Four Hours
Thomas McKenzie The Anglican Church developed in a pre-modern, agricultural society. In their culture, our forebears didnโt experience a rigid distinction between the material and spiritual worlds. The Church helped them to remember the holiness of every moment by sanctifying (making holy) the natural patterns of the day. She did this by celebrating the four…
The Daily Office + Part Two: Not A Bible Reading Plan
Thomas McKenzie second in a series on the Daily Office, the first being Patterns When I was in college I got a Bible reading plan. It was a chart that I could use to read the entire Bible in one year. I only needed to read about three chapters a day. After I read a…