Most of us could not give a hoot about the search for a new Archbishop of Canterbury because the last two were disasters and there is no reason to expect a different outcome given the current state of the Organization (formerly known as the "Church") of England.
The last Archbishop over there showed his true colors and the likely direction for his sect the other day according to Premier Christian News,
Most Rev Justin Welby, former Archbishop of Canterbury has said he was “thick” not to recognise that faithful and committed same sex relationships are a "huge blessing”.
Speaking to the Cambridge Union, Most Rev Welby said “When they fall in love, and when they live out that love faithfully and with stability and caring for others, it is a huge blessing for them and for society; and I have seen that in so many places that, in the end, even I began to realise that I was being thick.”
I think he is pretty dense because he was supposed to defend the apostolic faith not oppose it.
I know a thick book he needs to open up and study more carefully.
This Sunday the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) used in many churches makes another startling edit by removing verses 12-15 from Luke 10:1-11, 16-20. I have highlighted the missing verses in red. Readers if this blog should be able to see right away why the editors deleted Jesus' words.
After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
12 I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13 “Woe to you, Chora′zin! woe to you, Beth-sa′ida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it shall be more tolerable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Caper′na-um, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
16 “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Time and time again we have seen the Bible treated this way. I guess that Jesus' references to judgement, Hades, and especially Sodom cannot be shared with the Sunday pewsitters because they might make Jesus look bad.
Attendance in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is up by double digits for the third consecutive year, according to congregational report data released June 19 during the denomination’s Provincial Council meeting at Trinity Anglican Seminary in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.
“We’ve grown in every category that we track,” said Dan Hassler, director of administration and operations. “We are at highest attendance and membership of all time.”
The denomination in 2024 reported a net increase of 14 congregations to a total of 1,027, an increase in membership of 1,997 (+1.5 percent) to a total of 130,111 and an increase in attendance of 11,354 (+13.4 percent) to a total of 96,148.
“It is humbling and incredible,” Archbishop Steve Wood said of the numbers in his opening address to the council. “And it makes me eager to see what the Lord is up to next.”
Provincial Council is the annual governance meeting of the ACNA, comprising a bishop, elected clergy, and two elected lay members from each of 28 dioceses, alongside delegates from a half-dozen ministry organizations with an official status.
The council is charged with producing a provincial budget and electing members to trial courts and the Executive Committee (a smaller governance body that meets monthly). Canonical changes are also reviewed and passed before they can be brought for ratification before the larger assembly, which convenes less frequently.
Hassler said leading indicators, including baptisms (+207, or 5.6%), confirmations (+656, or 15.8%), and weddings (+104, or 17.4%) are also up. These metrics are regarded as signaling the direction of future membership and attendance numbers. For the first time, 27 local churches now have an average attendance exceeding 500, up from 16 surpassing that number the year before.
Conversations with council delegates indicated different sources of growth, among them a post-COVID return, as well as an increasing number of people specifically seeking Anglican worship.
The Rev. David Drake of Church of the Resurrection in Timonium, Maryland, in a June 20 concluding panel interview with Archbishop Steve Wood, discussed the Asbury Outpouring, 16 days of continuous prayer and worship that began at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, on February 8, 2023.
Nearly all 41 churches in the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic have grown in the past two years (Resurrection’s attendance grew 38% ). The Baltimore-area rector said the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit was responsible for the growth. Provincial Council organizers highlighted 1 Corinthians 3:7 (“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth”).
Provincial finances also improved—2024-25 is the first fiscal year since its 2009 inauguration that the ACNA has operated fully within financial sustainability, reporting a budget surplus of $435,000, Executive Director Deborah Tepley said. The Provincial Executive Committee will determine how to spend surplus. Tepley said it may go toward decreasing a $175,000 debt, establishing cash reserves, or investing in missional priorities such as church planting, leadership development, or the Common Life Commission (CLC).
The latter exists to address overlapping jurisdictions, work toward regionalization, and help mediation/training of diocesan leaders. Bishop Steve Breedlove, the CLC’s chairman, said the commission’s goal is for dioceses to not step on each other’s toes, work together in creating missionary dioceses that work collaboratively, and provide resources to one another “against a scarcity mindset.”
Note the amazing 73.9% attendance rate for ACNA members.
We don't have 2024 data from the Episcopal organization, but 2023 numbers looked grim. From Juicy Ecumenism,
Membership
2013: 2,009,084
2022: 1,584,785
2023: 1,547,779 (-37,006 or 2.3% since 2022, -461,305 or -23% since 2013)
Attendance
2013: 657,102
2022: 372,952
2023: 410,912 (+37,960 or 10% since 2022, -246,190 or -37% since 2013)
Baptisms (Children)
2013: 28,509
2022: 15,272
2023: 16,924 (+1,652 or 10.8% since 2022, -11,585 or -41% since 2013)
Baptisms (Adult)
2013: 4,484
2022: 2,147
2023: 3,323 (+1,176 or 55% since 2022, -1,161 or -26% since 2013)
Receptions
2013: 6,970
2022: 4,106
2023: 7,567 (+3,461 or 84% since 2022, +597 or +8.7% since 2013)
Marriages
2013: 10,394
2022: 5,562
2023: 4,886 (-676 or 12% since 2022, -5,508 or -53% since 2013)
Burials:
2013: 29,605
2022: 25,905
2023: 24,878 (-1,027 or 4% since 2022, -4,727 or -16% since 2013)
Open Parishes & Missions
2013: 7,115
2022: 6,789
2023: 6,754 (-35 or half a percent since 2022, -361 or -5.1% since 2013)
Note a 26.7% attendance rate for Episcopalians. Compared with the 73.9% rate for ACNA.
More burials than baptisms is not a good sign either.
Over in jolly olde England they have a publication called "The Church Times". In light of a recent letter from two Church of England (CofE) priests in which they tried to show that same-sex relationships are Biblically okay. The letter is here. There is nothing new in their arguments. We've heard it all before during the American wars of Episcopal separation, but you can read it for yourself.
Julian Mann, who had a blog that I used to follow when he was a vicar in the CofE, wrote a good response which I quote below. He did not point out one error the two priests made when they asserted that the ancient people did not know about committed same sex relationships,
"...in the ancient world, such activity was invariably exploitative and oppressive, while lifelong, exclusive, and loving same-sex partnerships were unknown."
Cavalier treatment of the Bible in Church Times ‘Open Letter to the Church of England’
The treatment of the Bible in an article in the latest Church Times by two prominent London clergy is highly revealing of the state of the Church of England.
The Revd Dr Sam Wells and the Revd Lucy Winkett wrote “an Open Letter to the Church of England, in the light of plans for a separate structure made by those who reject the validity of same-sex relationships”.
The piece entitled “Separate structures put the Church of England in danger” has the feel of an Ad Clerum, a letter a diocesan bishop periodically writes to his or her clergy. Wells is Rector of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square. Winkett is Rector of St James’s Piccadilly. Both are contributors to the Thought for the Day religious slot on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme.
Their letter begins: “We are two incumbents in central London. Some neighbouring parishes have announced their intention to form a separate structure, perhaps a new province, within the Church of England.
“This has been prompted by the modest steps that the House of Bishops has taken to enable clergy to affirm civil partnerships liturgically, as part of the Living in Love and Faith process. Headline aspects of the announcement include withholding parish contributions to dioceses and the commissioning of lay people to lead churches, in many instances following the principle of male headship.”
Their open letter includes a section on marriage which is breathtaking for the liberal arrogance with which it dismisses centuries of Christian orthodoxy:
“The Old Testament offers various portrayals of human partnership, including kings with multiple wives and concubines. This was an era in which children were a necessity, and large extended families were a blessing.
“The New Testament also has diverse notions of faithful partnership; but the central emphasis is on singleness in the face of God’s impending in-breaking realm. While there are analogies relating marriage to Christ and the Church, there is also Jesus’s insistence that following the way of the cross disrupts family life and upturns all relationships.
“The notion that monogamous heterosexual marriage is foundational as a consistent scriptural portrayal of God’s relationship with humankind, and accordingly constitutes the definitive form of relationships of humans with one another, is, therefore, not plausible.”
They make no mention of the divine creation of the institution of monogamous heterosexual marriage in Genesis emphasised so strongly by Jesus in the New Testament when he quoted Genesis 1v27 and Genesis 2v24:
“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female,’and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10v6-9 – NIV; see also Matthew 19v4-6).
And they make just a cursory mention of “the analogies relating marriage to Christ and the Church”, so prominent in the final chapters of Revelation and emphasised by the Apostle Paul in his teaching on marriage in Ephesians in which he also quoted Genesis 2v24:
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansingher by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church – for we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5v25-32).
The Anglican Book of Common Prayer’s marriage service makes no such omissions, beautifully distilling the Bible’s teaching on marriage: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this Congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate, instituted of God in the time of man’s innocency, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church; which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence, and first miracle that he wrought, in Cana of Galilee; and is commended of Saint Paul to be honourable among all men…”
How do Wells and Winkett get away with such cavalier treatment of the Holy Scriptures in their prestigious London churches? One can only conclude it is because the modern Church of England has a very high level of biblical illiteracy in its pews.
The CofE is either not educating their priests in sound Biblical theology, or they are educating them in unsound theology, or they are doing a little of both.
The BBC is giving false teachers an open microphone (no surprise here).
The CofE is not correcting the false teachers in their midst.
The Church Times is complicit in the spread of false teaching and was "used" when it published such rubbish.
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’
Once you are committed as a follower of Jesus, your life is changed forever and there is no looking back.
Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
The Gerasenes were obviously not Jewish based on the pig farmers being there.
Biblestudytools.com has this to say about the location of the Biblical account,
1. Country of the Gerasenes:
The town itself is not named in Scripture, and is referred to only in the expression, "country of the Gerasenes" (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26,37; see Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, Appendix, 11). This describes the district in which Christ met and healed the demoniac from the tombs, where also took place the destruction of the swine. It was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and must have been a locality where the steep edges of the Bashan plateau drop close upon the brink of the lake. This condition is fulfilled only by the district immediately South of Wady Semak, North of Qal `at el-Chucn. Here the slopes descend swiftly almost into the sea, and animals, once started on the downward run, could not avoid plunging into the depths. Many ancient tombs are to be seen in the face of the hills. Gerasa itself is probably represented by the ruins of Kurseh on the South side of Wady Semak, just where it opens on the seashore. The ruins of the town are not considerable; but there are remains of a strong wall which must have surrounded the place. Traces of ancient buildings in the vicinity show that there must have been a fairly numerous population in the district.
2. History:
The great and splendid city in the Decapolis is first mentioned as taken after a siege by Alexander Janneus, 85 BC (BJ, I, iv, 8). Josephus names it as marking the eastern limit of Peraea (BJ, III, iii, 3). He calls the inhabitants Syrians, when, at the beginning of the Jewish revolt, the district round Gerasa was laid waste. The Syrians made reprisals, and took many prisoners. With these, however, the Gerasenes dealt mercifully, letting such as wished go free, and escorting them to the border (BJ, II, xviii, 1, 5). Lucius Annius, at the instance of Vespasian, sacked and burned the city, with much slaughter (BJ, IV, ix, 1). From this disaster it appears soon to have recovered, and the period of its greatest prosperity lay, probably, in the 2nd and 3nd centuries of our era. It became the seat of a bishopric, and one of its bishops attended the Council of Chalcedon. Reland (Pal, II, 806) notes certain extant coins of Gerasa, from which it is clear that in the 2nd century it was a center of the worship of Artemis. It was besieged by Baldwin II, in 1121 AD. Mention is made of the strength of the site and the mighty masonry of its walls. William of Tyre calls the city Jarras, and places it 16 miles East of Jordan (Hist, xii, 16). The distance is about 19 miles from the river. It was conquered by the Moslems in the time of Omar (Guy le Strange, Palestine under the Moslems, 462). The sultan of Damascus is said to have fortified it; but there is nothing to show that the Moslems occupied it for any length of time. (More at biblestudytools.com)
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:6-10)
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday and Father's Day. As Christians gather to honor the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, at our little church we'll have a gathering after church services to celebrate the human fathers that God has given us along with the graduates they and we have raised, and we will thank our acolytes as well before they start heading off to college and summer vacation spots.
Where would we be if we did not have God as our Father, Jesus as His Son, and the Holy Ghost to comfort us?
A church in Philidelphia, USA has decided to share it's worship space with a local growing Muslim community.
St. Luke United Methodist Church in Bryn Mawr, has opened its fellowship hall to the As-Salaam Islamic Society, which now uses the space for Friday prayers, Sunday school classes, and community events.
“We feel loved here, and that helps make this a good place to celebrate our faith and to teach our children,” said Ahmad Abdel-Hamid, president of the Islamic Society, in an interview with UM News.
Rev Mark Salvacion, pastor at St. Luke’s since 2022, has helped lead the congregation into this partnership.
“I believe our relationship is a success story that’s working well,” he said.
The two communities have joined together for service projects, shared meals during Ramadan, and even co-led a Bible and Quran study session.
The arrangement goes beyond a simple rental agreement. For St. Luke’s, the relationship is a practical expression of their faith and the United Methodist Church’s 2024 resolution to pursue “more hospitable and cooperative relationships” with Muslim neighbors.
The collaboration also addresses a practical need as after a nearby mosque closed in 2018, many Muslim families were left without a local place to gather.
However, the connection hasn’t been without challenges.
Rev Salvacion has faced some backlash from fellow clergy, but remains committed.
“My mission at St Luke is to help people understand that we are all neighbors who live in this community, and we must care about each other, especially about our poor and needy neighbors.”
Question 2: would a mosque open its doors to a Christian church?
Not that the United Methodist's are a Christian Church anymore.
"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)
This Sunday we remember the day of Pentecost as told in Acts 2:1-21,
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The note that the crowd thought the disciples were drunk and Peter's response that it was only 9 o'clock in the morning lend additional credence to the story. The change in these men from followers to apostles and martyrs is more evidence.
In this Sunday's reading from John 17:20-26 Jesus makes the following prayer,
‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’
This post by Suzanne Bowdey from The Washington Stand highlights some of the recent drop in corporate support for "Pride" events.
The first warning shots were fired in March, when organizers of the San Francisco Pride Parade confessed that they were having trouble hanging on to corporate sponsors. The event director, Suzanne Ford, admitted she was “really disappointed” by the flood of businesses dropping their support — to the tune of $300,000 and counting...
...Among those who pulled back were big-time names like Comcast, Anheuser-Busch, and Diageo — the parent company of Guinness, Smirnoff, and other alcoholic drinks. The losses, worth more than a quarter-million dollars, blew a significant hole in the parade’s fundraising goal of $2.3 million.
And this isn’t just a California phenomenon. At major Pride events across New York City, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and other states, gun-shy businesses are running for the exits. According to The Wall Street Journal, Mastercard, PepsiCo, Nissan, Citibank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Booz Allen Hamilton, Darcars Automotive Group, and others are opting out of the major sponsorships altogether — some, as in Anheuser-Busch’s case, after many years of generous and visible partnerships.
“It’s multilayered, and it’s all happening at the same time,” lamented Eve Keller, co-president of United States Association of Prides, a nonprofit that supports LGBT events around the country. She noted that the wave of backlash is so strong that most businesses are asking to have their names and logos removed “from official displays and apparel.” In New York City alone, a full third of corporate NYC Pride sponsors have either declined to sponsor, scaled back their donations, or are “in negotiations to return,” organizers say.
Maybe it is time to recognize a "Humility Month" in which people will dress and act modestly and not hold any parades whatsoever.
Don't expect yourself or the month to be "celebrated."
Humility Month will not ask for money from any corporate sponsors.
The Episcopal Organization has been using tax dollars to aide and abet illegal aliens (they call it resettlement of refugees) for years. Now that President Trump has shut off the flow of illegal aliens, the Episcopal Organization has had to lay off staff, but they should still be available to help legal refugees, people fleeing oppression who have been granted legal sanctuary in the United States.
But instead, the Episcopal Organization rejects white Afrikaners seeking refuge as they face murder (one farmer a week), the taking of their property, and the African National Congress' (ANC) social justice war on these Afrikaners. It can't just be because it is a Donald Trump idea.
How can Episcopalians justify shutting down their refugee program over this.
I propose that ever since the wars of Episcopal separation in which Episcopalians came to believe that taking another's property was morally justifiable as long as it helped "the agenda," the standards dropped to where the ANC's stealing of the Afrikaner's land could be seen as morally justifiable as well.
I am writing today with some significant news about Episcopal Migration Ministries, the organization that leads The Episcopal Church’s refugee resettlement ministry.
Since January, the previously bipartisan U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in which we participate has essentially shut down. Virtually no new refugees have arrived, hundreds of staff in resettlement agencies around the country have been laid off, and funding for resettling refugees who have already arrived has been uncertain. Then, just over two weeks ago, the federal government informed Episcopal Migration Ministries that under the terms of our federal grant, we are expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees.
In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step. Accordingly, we have determined that, by the end of the federal fiscal year, we will conclude our refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. federal government.
I want to be very clear about why we made this decision—and what we believe lies ahead for Episcopal Migration Ministries’ vital work.
It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years. I am saddened and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the United States are brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country. I also grieve that victims of religious persecution, including Christians, have not been granted refuge in recent months.
As Christians, we must be guided not by political vagaries, but by the sure and certain knowledge that the kingdom of God is revealed to us in the struggles of those on the margins. Jesus tells us to care for the poor and vulnerable as we would care for him, and we must follow that command. Right now, what that means is ending our participation in the federal government’s refugee resettlement program and investing our resources in serving migrants in other ways.
For nearly 40 years, Episcopal Migration Ministries has put hands and feet to our church’s commitment to seek and serve Christ in migrants and refugees. We have served nearly 110,000 refugees during this time, many of whom are now American citizens and beloved members of our communities, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Over the years, EMM has resettled individuals from Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Myanmar. We have supported vulnerable populations from across the globe, regardless of nationality.
Since March, a dedicated team of Episcopal Migration Ministries employees has fulfilled our commitment to serve people who arrived just before or in the first days of the new administration. Now that we are ending our involvement in federally funded refugee resettlement, we have asked the administration to work toward a mutual agreement that will allow us to wind down all federally funded services by the end of the federal fiscal year in September. We are working with the affected staff members to provide extensive outplacement services and severance packages.
I have said before that no change in political fortunes alters our commitment to stand with the world’s most vulnerable people, and I want to reaffirm that promise. While our public-private partnership as a refugee resettlement agency is no longer viable, we are hard at work on a churchwide plan to support migrants and refugees through:
Diocesan partnerships: We have vibrant ministries around the church serving migrants of all kinds. Episcopalians support newcomers through education, direct service, and advocacy. Our dioceses also work to address the root causes of migration. We pledge to redouble our efforts to support these ministries and the migrants among us.
Global connections: We will invest in our ministries that support forced migrants throughout the countries and territories of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. This includes our powerful ministry in Europe, where the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe has served more than 140,000 refugees in the last two years, primarily from North Africa, Ukraine, and Central Asia. We will continue to work with our dioceses and Anglican partners throughout Central America to help those seeking safety.
Continued support for refugees: While new refugee arrivals and funding have been curtailed by the current administration, thousands of refugees welcomed by Episcopal Migration Ministries in previous years still need support. We will invite Episcopalians to connect with resettled refugees and explore how to continue services we have long provided—language services, continuing education, support with childcare, and job training. If refugee resettlement begins again with the support of private sponsors, we will explore those new possibilities.
Fundraising: It is important to understand the scale of federal grant money from which we are stepping away. In most recent years, Episcopal Migration Ministries received more than $50 million annually in federal funds. This is not a loss that can be bridged with donor funds or proceeds from investments. However, we will raise funds for new and expanded migration ministries across the church and for our partners in this ministry. You can contribute to this new work by making a donation on the Episcopal Migration Ministries website.
In the coming weeks, Episcopal Migration Ministries will share more news about how to be involved. In the meantime, please pray for vetted refugees who have not been granted permission to come to this country, for the staff who will be affected by the end of these federal grants, and for everyone who grieves the end of our federal refugee resettlement work.
May our faith in the Risen Christ, who draws all people to himself, sustain and guide us through the tumult of these times.
The Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe
Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church
The cognitive dissonance alarms should be going off in his miter right now.
In this Sunday's reading from Acts 11:1-18 lies the counter to the "shellfish argument" that I have pointed out in an earlier post. It also contains another counter argument when someone tells you that a Biblical miracle did not occur because it was impossible. That line is when Peter says, "Who was I that I could hinder God?"
Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’
Indeed, who is anyone to say that God cannot do something?
The other day I was at a party and someone asked me what church I attended. I told them an Anglican Church in North America. She then proceeded to tell me about their church which is considerably closer to my residence and suggested I go there. I knew that it was a Presbyterian church so I asked if it was PCA or PCUSA. When she said PCUSA, I said "NO thanks" (probably a little bit too emphatically), she then gushed on about their female minister. I tried hard to contain myself and was able to steer the conversation elsewhere. You see, I know the direction the PCUSA is headed. I also know a bit about the PCA as some of my best friends attend a large PCA church.
It looks like the PCA is headed in the right direction according to this report from Premier Christian News,
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has reported steady growth for the third year running.
This comes as many US denominations continue to face numerical decline.
In its latest five-year review, nearly 1,000 congregations submitted data showing a 1.84 per cent rise in membership in 2024, bringing the total to over 400,000 members, as reported by The Christian Post.
Adult baptisms increased by 16.5 per cent, while adult professions of faith surged by more than 22 per cent compared to 2023.
Children’s professions of faith and infant baptisms also rose, and giving across the denomination reached new highs.
Overall contributions grew nearly 16 per cent, with $1.29bn (£968m) given in 2024.
Per person giving also jumped by more than 13 per cent, reaching $4,118.98 (£3,091).
Donations to General Assembly ministries climbed 12 per cent, and support for external causes, including mercy ministries, reached over $170m (£128m)
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has lost about a million members since 2009, while more than 7,000 congregations have left the United Methodist Church (UMC) due to internal disagreements over sexuality.
Good for the PCA!
Sunday, May 11, 2025
This Sunday's Psalm is sufficient to post with no commentary. Other than to say it is my favorite.
Psalm 23 Dominus regit me
1 The Lord is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
3 He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) have much in common as you shall see from the following report by Javier Villamor at The European Conservative,
As the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) prepares for its biennial Kirchentag conference from April 30 to May 4, 2025, the focus is less on Scripture and more on identity politics. With some 1,500 scheduled events, the gathering reads more like an activist festival than a spiritual retreat—featuring workshops on “queer animals on the Ark,” “feminist parenting,” and “critical whiteness.”
The “Queer Animals” event is actually intended as an “interactive worship experience” for kids and families. Presumably, German Evangelicals are perfectly happy with this sort of thing being taught to their children (if they have any). Maybe the story of Noah has undergone some form of imaginative reinterpretation—perhaps the lions are now non-binary?
For mothers seeking guidance, there’s “New Moms for Rebel Girls,” a session dedicated to feminist child-rearing strategies. It seems even parenting advice must now pass through the lens of ideological activism.
Another session, “Be Brave and Strong,” offers “empowerment” exclusively for BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) children. Presumably, “indigenous” does not mean “White European,” even in a German context. The workshop is led by a self-described “anti-racism and empowerment trainer.”.
Those not “affected by racism” are invited to attend a three-hour workshop on “Critical Whiteness”—a guilt-heavy exercise for those born with the wrong skin tone. Meanwhile, diversity-themed games and readings will occupy a full day, featuring books and stories like “Simply Nina”, which charts the journey of a child who “feels trapped in the wrong body.”
While the Church invests its energy in this sort of ideological rebranding, its pews are emptying fast. In 2024 alone, EKD membership dropped by 586,000 to around 18 million. In 2003, by comparison, there were over 25 million. The decline shows no sign of slowing.
Don't see the similarities between the ELCA and the EKD? Just check out the ELCA's web pages.
I understand that the German language is sometimes difficult to translate, but in any language believe it when I say, "Don't evangelize a false gospel for if you do, you will fail."
This Sunday's reading is from John 21:1-19 in which Jesus appears for the third time to the disciples.
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’
I once was derided by a Philosophy professor who was leading an adult Episcopal parish Sunday school class for believing that Jesus was resurrected and was alive to the disciples. "So, you believe in walking cadavers," he told me and the class. I said, " No! I believe that Jesus was risen, was alive, and even ate fish."
I recently attended a series of required continuing education lectures pertaining to the health of citizens of our state. Among the various topics was bioethics and women's health. In looking at the goals of that talk, I saw that the question of personhood was to be addressed. It didn't take a genius to know what the elephant in the room was going to be during that one.
When the speakers were introduced, I noticed that there was only one person on the panel, a female OB-GYN. There was no member of the clergy, no philosopher, and no ethicist. You can guess what direction the "educational" session took. The speaker went on an emotion ridden diatribe about "reproductive health" (meaning abortion), the enslavement of women by men, the "right to privacy," how the Dobbs decision will result in back alley abortions, women dying, and well meaning physicians being handcuffed and jailed, etc.
The scientific, moral, legal, and ethical questions of personhood were not addressed although a brief description of fertilization, and embryology was included.
Judging by the silence during the Q and A session that followed, I believe that most of the audience was as shocked as I was at the way this was presented, but we endured because we needed the credit hours.
After her talk, I kindly corrected a few scientific facts that she had gotten wrong for which she thanked me.
This Sunday's reading from Acts 5:27-32 presents a powerful witness to the Gospel,
When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour, so that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’
If Jesus had not been physically seen and touched after he had risen, would these men risk their lives for a lie?
If these men had not been filled with the Holy Spirit, would they have the had the courage to testify?
That may be all the witness someone needs to come to the conclusion that the Gospel is true.
The day after Pope Francis' death, this meme was circulated by some of my Episcopalian friends,
The Pope, bless his soul, was praised by "progressive" Christians for seeming to be one of them in many of his statements. This one in particular was one of the weakest theologically. It gives credence to the "all rivers flow to the same ocean" argument when it comes to the various religions to which he refers. He was not entirely inclusive in his list of religions however. I see that he did not include Wicca or other pagan religions.
The following sermon was posted in 2014 by Rev Michael Chua, a Roman Catholic priest in Malaysia. I quote it in full,
“All Rivers flow into the Sea!” An oft-repeated analogy (or over-repeated), that may have had its origin in Hinduism, is used to describe that all religions have an element of truth in them and are thus, equally valid and parallel paths leading to salvation or liberation. Of course, no one bothered to consult a geologist or more specifically a potamologist, a person who studies rivers, to confirm the veracity of this statement. Surprisingly, not all rivers flow into the sea. For example, the rivers flowing south from the Tassili Mountains in North Africa disappear in the searing heat and scorching dryness of the Sahara. Others run into other bodies of water like lakes and even other rivers. So, not ALL rivers flow into the sea!
But say that we accept that most rivers, though not all, do indeed flow into the sea, can we similarly postulate that all religions equally lead to salvation? The equality of the salvific value of each religion is a fallacy, it contradicts logic, specifically the principle of non-contradiction. When one accepts a proposition to be true, one is automatically forced to believe that all statements to the contrary must be false; otherwise one cannot in reality believe what one claims to believe. This basic understanding is derived from the universal law of non-contradiction, without which nothing can be determined to be true or false. In the words of Aristotle, "One cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time", e.g. the man is dead and not dead (at the same time and in the same respect), which is false. Or in the case of religious beliefs, if one religion maintains that there is no God, as in a Supreme Omnipotent Personal Being, and another religion maintains that such a Supreme Divine Being does exist, both cannot be equally true. Or given the gospel reading that we have heard, one cannot both maintain that Jesus is singularly and uniquely THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life as well as also accepting as equally valid that apart from him there are other Ways, other Truths and other sources of salvific Life.
But why would such a fallacy gain such widespread acceptance, to the point of being mistaken by many Catholics as a doctrine of the Church? We live in a free marketplace of religious options. It seems that nearly every belief subscribed to in the history of human civilization is available for us to believe. And so many people take a "mix and match" approach to religion. The New Age phenomenon attests to the fact that people actually attempt to create a "make your own" salad for the soul and there is no shortage of consumers in the market. But we are not saved by a human recipe — we're saved by the Truth. And if something is true, then it must be true for all people at all times or as Pope St John Paul II teaches, “Truth can never be confined to time and culture; in history it is known, but it also reaches beyond history.” Likewise, Pope Benedict reminds us that “truth draws strength from itself and not from the number of votes in its favour.”
Pluralism has become attractive today, especially democratic pluralism which allows for personal freedom and social cohesion of a multireligious and multiracial society. Doctrinal pluralism, however, poses serious dangers. There is a danger that social tolerance of difference becomes personal indifference to values; when the lowest common denominator of public life becomes the major determinant of personal identity; when unreflective acceptance of material values precludes a deeper vision of life. Thus, when trying to find the ultimate common denominator among people of different religious or philosophical leanings, one would necessarily have to preclude God, since some religions and individuals choose not to believe in him. Perhaps another prime example of this danger may be seen in the area of morality, specifically in the degradation and cheapening of sexuality and love.
The most popular of all objections against the claims of Christianity today comes from this field. The objection is not that Christianity is not true but that it is not THE Truth; not that it is a false religion but that it is only A religion, one among many. The world is a big place, the objector reasons; "different strokes for different folks". Thus those who speak of the uniqueness of Christianity or even of Christ are deemed narrow minded and intolerant. Critics of Christianity’s exclusive claims would often co-op God into their argumentation – “God just has to be more open-minded than this.”
In our obsessively politically correct world, many actually no longer worship God, but equality instead has become the New Fashionable Deity. The benchmark for this new deity and his religion is a level playing field, even if this means dragging God down to our level. It fears being right where others are wrong more than it fears being wrong. It worships democracy and resents the fact that God is an absolute monarch. One popular Catholic apologist, Peter Kreeft gives this humorous though damning illustration, “If you confess at a fashionable cocktail party that you are plotting to overthrow the government, or that you are a PLO terrorist or a KGB spy, or that you molest porcupines or bite bats' heads off, you will soon attract a buzzing, fascinated, sympathetic circle of listeners. But if you confess that you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, you will find yourself suddenly alone, with a distinct chill in the air.” You may actually risk being labelled ‘fundamentalist’, ‘fanatical’ or a ‘religious bigot’.
When people claim that all religions are principally the same, with merely insignificant and superficial differences, as open-minded as they may sound, it actually betrays a certain ideological superiority and ignorance. No one could ever possibly make this claim unless he is abysmally ignorant of what the different religions of the world actually teach. Certainly, there are similarities and analogous parallels, but there are also many differences and even contradictions between truth claims. It doesn’t take a genius to tell you that there’s a world of a difference when one religion that states that there is no God and another one that asserts it, and one could obviously not sweep this inconsistency under the carpet and term it as ‘insignificant’ or ‘non-essential.’ To ignore or to collapse every single difference and contradiction into a single voluminous salad bowl of beliefs is like thinking the earth is flat.
Christianity is not a system of man's search for God but a story of God's search for man. Throughout the Bible, man-made religion fails but God continues to reach down, in spite of our failure. There is no human way up the mountain, only a divine way down. Of course, if these roads to salvation were indeed man made, it would indeed be stupid and arrogant to absolutise any one of them. But if God made the road and the path, He must indeed be a fickle and schizophrenic deity who enjoys confusing his creation by creating contradictory alternatives. But if He made only one path – One Way, One Truth and One source of Life, His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ and the Church which he has left behind as that one certain path for all humanity – then it is humility and not arrogance to accept this one road from God, and it is arrogance, not humility, to insist that all our manmade roads are as good as God’s God-made one.
The Second Vatican Council took a position that distinguished Catholicism from both modernist relativism, that all religions are either the same or that they all have relative value, and fundamentalist exclusivism, which proposes that only the adherents of one religious position can be saved whilst others are damned. The Council taught that on the one hand there is much deep wisdom and value in other religions and that the Christian should respect them and learn from them. But, on the other hand, the claims of Christ and his Church can never be lessened, compromised, or relativised. The Church continues to proclaim that God intends the salvation of all, and he does so through the mediation of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and the Church, which is His Body. And yet those who through no fault of their own do not know Christ or His Church, but who follow the dictates of their conscience as prompted by the Spirit, may also be saved. But their salvation too comes from Christ and never apart from Him.
Though the world may appear to be free market place of ideas, opinions, theologies and ideologies, where we are constantly tempted to come up with a recipe or salad of ideas, we Christians have already made our choice. There may be many rivers which may ultimately lead to the sea, but there is only one Way, one Truth and one Life that leads to Heaven, it is Christ, for He is both the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the Source of Life itself and its destined End.
Yes, Francis missed the mark with his statement, and many of my friends found false comfort in his words.
We shall see what the next Pope has to say about the subject.
This year, all Christians will celebrate Easter on the same day – a rare alignment between the Julian and Gregorian calendars...
Both Western and Orthodox churches celebrate Easter on the Sunday after the first full moon following the Northern Hemisphere’s spring equinox - also known as the vernal equinox, and the autumn equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.
This method of calculating Easter was set by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.
In a joint statement, the Presidents of Churches Together in England (CTE) marked the occasion, calling it “a special blessing from God.”
The celebration also honours the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, a foundational moment for Christian unity and belief. Held in 325 AD, the council sought a unified date for Easter and helped shape core Christian doctrine, including the Nicene Creed and discussions on the Trinity.
The CTE Presidents – representing Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant churches – said: “Often divided by our sins and arrogance, we now come together in unity, with one voice and one heart, as did those divinely-guided individuals seventeen hundred years ago to defend the Truth that has been entrusted to us. We come together to reiterate the message and truth of Nicaea.
“It is a special blessing from God that this year all Christians will celebrate Easter – Pascha – on the same Sunday. We are empowered by this and we draw strength to face the realities of our divisions with a new hope of reconciliation.”
As we walk towards the cross this week, I present to you Passionsgesang by Rheinberger, a work that I had the honor of singing with our choral group this week. If your German is good, just listen. If not, read my translation as you listen.
To death on the cross they are leading my Jesus.
His pain cannot move them nor his composed mind.
They have even crowned his wounds with thorns,
felt no sympathy for him, but mocked him with scorn.
Can nothing bring him back, rescue him from intense suffering?
Oh, must he struggle with death, can no angel free him?
So flow, my tears, let me love my pain,
no comfort will I crave, quietly my heart will grieve.
Ah! Bowed down towards the earth, he bears the guilt of mankind,
bleeding, he carries our sin, and carries on patiently.
The bindings are hardly removed when he suffers the pain of the cross;
oh pain of new wounds, oh suffering without end.
He calls out to seize the pain, surrounded by shame and ridicule:
"Why have you abandoned me, oh Lord my God?"
But his complaints are short; he takes courage again.
He can bear it now, the Hand that rests on Him.
And he still has for his friends comfort in his breast;
He begs mercy for his enemies, who are unaware of their guilt.
To the most loyal of his brothers, who has not run away wailing,
he gives another mother to his mother he gives a son.
Look up, downhearted sorrow, your Jesus has accomplished it;
he lowers to soft sleep his head in death.
Darkness covers the sinful land,
and in the night of horrors God's son is recognized.
Now clarity beams down; I turn my gaze
back to my Father with joyfulness.
You have allowed me, my Saviour, to look up to him, with childlike trust.
Forever, forever I thank you.
I thank you forever, I thank you forever!
Zum Kreuzestode führen sie meinen Jesus hin,
sein Schmerz kann sie nicht rühren, nicht sein gelaß'ner Sinn.
Sie haben seine Wunden mit Dornen noch gekrönt,
kein Mitgefühl empfunden, ihn spottend noch verhöhnt!
Kann nichts zurück ihn bringen, retten aus schwerer Pein?
Ach, soll er sterbend ringen, kein Engel ihn befrei'n?
So fließet, meine Zähren, so sei mein Schmerz geliebt,
nicht Trost will ich begehren, mein Herz sei still betrübt.
Ach! tief gebeugt zur Erde, trägt er der Menschheit Schuld,
trägt blutend die Beschwerde und wandelt in Geduld.
Der Bande kaum entbunden, empfängt ihn Kreuzesqual;
o Schmerz von neuen Wunden, o Leiden ohne Zahl!
Er ruft, den Schmerz zu fassen,
umdrängt von Schmach und Spott:
Wie hast du mich verlassen, o Herr, mein Gott!
Doch kurz sind seine Klagen, er atmet wieder Mut!
Er kann sie nun ertragen, die Hand, die auf ihm ruht.
Und hat für seine Freunde noch Trost in seiner Brust;
fleht Gnade seinem Feinde, sich keiner Schuld bewußt.
Dem Treusten seiner Brüder, der klagend nicht entfloh'n,
gibt er die Mutter wieder, der Mutter ihren Sohn!
Blick auf, gesenkter Kummer, dein Jesus hat vollbracht;
er neigt zum sanften Schlummer sein Haupt in Todesnacht.
Die Finsternisse decken das sündenvolle Land,
und in der Nacht der Schrecken wird Gottes Sohn erkannt!
Nun wallet Klarheit nieder;
ich wende meinen Blick zu meinem Vater wieder mit Freudigkeit zurück.
Zu ihm hinauf zu schauen,
gabst Du, mein Heiland, mir ein kindliches Vertrauen.
In Luke 19:28-40 we see another reference to "Cloak Sunday,"
After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” just say this: “The Lord needs it.” ’ So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’ Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,
‘Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!’
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’
Why is it that we teach our children that it is all about the palms this Sunday? I think focusing on the cloaks would teach a more valuable lesson. It is a far greater honor to Jesus to sacrifice one's cloak to cover the nasty path for his ride, but for those without cloaks, palm branches would suffice.
I usually pass street preachers by because I have already answered the call, but I always wonder how many people are reached by their methods. The methods vary as evangelism should because what works for one person might turn another person off. What worked for me was receiving a New Testament from a Gideon and several books from Christian girl friends in college who had been touched by the Campus Crusade for Christ. What did not work was the man with a megaphone warning me of my impending doom. In a way, he was right, but his approach rubbed me the wrong way.
So, before any of us deign to criticise a street preacher for their message, manner or fondness for conspiracy theories, we might ask ourselves, Well, what I am doing to help people find faith in Christ, including those in our own society who have barely heard His name except as a swear word?
Street evangelism can help people come to faith. Once I met someone who was converted to Christian belief almost on the spot – from atheism – after merely listening to someone reading from the Bible on the street.
For those of us who have a quieter spirit, there are less overt means to reach people on the streets than megaphones. One such Catholic ministry has been out on those same Hull streets every month for eleven years, rain or shine.
This team of mostly women has a particular approach – smiling. Holding a picture of the Divine Mercy image alongside the offer “Would you like a free Rosary?”, this group of faithful Catholics aims for a gentle witness, offering prayer, miraculous medals and booklets to those who pass by.
“Do you have a faith?” they ask those who stop, and listen to the response rather than arguing with it.
It’s a subtler, more gentle approach that was part inspired by the network St Paul Street Evangelisation, which has nearly 200 groups listed across the US, though only a handful abroad.
Hull is not the easiest place to share the faith. The 2021 Census recorded that 49 per cent of the population considered themselves to have no religion, and the Yorkshire area has one of the lowest proportions of Catholics in the UK. Yet these friendly women meet little resistance in their non-confrontational approach.
I was there as an onlooker but I couldn’t help but compare the experience with these patient, listening ladies to my decade spent in Protestant evangelicalism, where I had taken part in many different methods of sharing the gospel: from gentle offers of prayer to street preaching, and even offering fruit (to symbolise the message of the fruits of the spirit being spread).
The latter type of style was described as “street chaplaincy” by Protestant minister Chris Duffett, who took to the streets of the English city of Peterborough regularly with a gentle message of Christ using creativity. Once he brought a sofa to the city centre, and sat down with a sign: “I will listen.”
During all these experiences I was surprised how open and interested many of the passersby were. In Hull too, the offer of prayer was willingly accepted by many: those with health concerns, the worry etched in their faces; the bereaved, who shed tears; young children were interested in the colourful plastic rosaries; and many of faithful stopped to say hello and “well done” or “thank you”.
The next time I see a street evangelist praying with someone or offering a gentle, nonamplified call, I just may stop and give them a high five.
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’
I did a little shopping on Amazon and found that one can find nard in all sorts of products including shampoo. Mary figured that use out centuries ago.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received close to 600 complaints over KFC's new advert, with some viewers accusing the brand of belittling Christianity and mocking baptisms.
The two-minute commercial, titled 'All Hail Gravy Part 2', is part of KFC's ongoing 'Believe' campaign in the UK., developed by the London-based advertising agency 'Mother'.
The ad has stirred controversy for depicting a man being submerged in a lake of gravy as part of a ritual, which some have interpreted as a parody of religious baptism practices.
The commercial begins with a man encountering a chicken in a forest before following a group carrying a large golden egg. He is led to a lake where a woman immerses him in gravy, an act that transforms him into a chicken mini fillet.
KFC has described the ad as a “modern-day fable” intended to highlight the strong connection between KFC fans and the brand’s Original Recipe Chicken, as well as its signature gravy.
Monica Silic, KFC’s Chief Marketing Officer for the UK and Ireland, told Adweek that the campaign was designed to inspire "fandom" and bring "lightness and levity to the chaotic world" through the brand’s core products.
However, the ad has faced backlash for its disturbing imagery and perceived religious overtones.
Critics have expressed their discomfort, with one commentator on Marketing Beat calling the ad "disgraceful", accusing it of promoting “cultism, cannibalism, grooming" and describing it as "degrading and disturbing".
The ad’s use of religious language, including billboards featuring a chicken dipper being "divinely dunked" into gravy, has further fueled controversy.
It comes on the heels of a previous KFC campaign in 2014 which also sparked complaints over a commercial that included a song with the lyric "all our stupid songs" performed by the KFC choir.
At the time, the ASA cleared KFC of any wrongdoing, stating the ad was a lighthearted commentary on the frustrations older individuals may feel towards carol singers.
Mark Marshall recently posted about the dangers of denial and used the Episcopal organization's history as an example. What he really points out is the problem with the pewsitters who may be in denial of the theological error, and the resulting tolerance of erroneous innovations, heresy, etc.
But first an old joke. It is probably better said than written, but goes something like this. One Sunday, Reginald and Regina Churchgoer go to their usual church and sit down in their usual spots as they had for decades. When it comes time for the service to begin, the procession includes pride flags and rainbow banners. Then the non-binary priest says, “In the name of our manifold-gendered God, the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier along with all of your God-selfs, Amen. The Mother of us all be with you . . .” For the scripture lessons, the Koran is read for one and the Bhagavad Gita for another. But there’s more. When the time nears for the consecration, there is an even newer innovation. Drag queen liturgical dancers sprinkle milk on the communion table.
At that point, Reginald grumbles to Regina, “I swear, if they commit one more abomination…”
Of course, part of the joke is that the Churchgoers have watched their church go step by step into apostasy and abomination through the years and did nothing except keep going to that church, sitting down in that same pew, and dropping their offerings in the plate. Though of a conservative mindset and giving an occasional grumble, they never put their foot down or walked out and likely never will. They were used to that church and somehow felt safe continuing to attend there.
The Churchgoers could have been 20th and 21st Century Episcopalians. When Bishop Pike and later Bishop Spong espoused blatant and very public heresies, denying just about every basic tenet of The Faith, rank and file Episcopalians wrote them off — “That’s just one nutty bishop.” They might have preferred Pike and Spong be disciplined but were not that concerned when they were not. Episcopalians are open-minded after all.
Then when bishop after bishop and diocese after diocese made it difficult for orthodox parishes to keep orthodox by taking away their Prayer Books and then running off orthodox priests and ordinands, those in dioceses that were safer (for a time) said, “That is those dioceses. Our diocese is fine, and our bishop is a good man.”
The consecration of partnered gay Gene Robinson as bishop finally shook up the Episcopal Church and led many to leave and form the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). But many orthodox and somewhat orthodox still stayed. My parish, being the only non-TEC Anglican parish in town, expected unhappy Episcopalians to come our way. But few did. And Ephraim Radner was among those who insisted the orthodox should stay. And many, again, said, “That’s one bishop.” And, after all, perhaps their bishop did not approve of consecrating Gene Robinson.
But before long, it became close to impossible for a relatively orthodox diocese to elect an orthodox bishop and receive the necessary consents from the other bishops. And still some orthodox remain in The Episcopal Church, saying, “That’s not my parish.” And now there is even this Redeemed Zoomer character posting that orthodox Anglicans should return to TEC.
Denial upon denial upon denial. The results were:
Inaction or feeble action against apostasy while it was still feasible to combat it within TEC. When some finally did take action, it was already too late for The Episcopal Church. Many suffered as a result.
Once orthodox dioceses and parishes being overrun.
Resulting danger to souls accompanied by disobedience to the commands of Scripture to reject and evict false teachers from the church. (2 John 10, 11)
The death of a once august denomination.
In short, if it continues long enough, denial is deadly.
While I was never in denial and was never accepting of the innovations, the vast majority of my fellow pewsitters in my former parish were quite content to sit there in silent assent.
I have said before that tolerance leads to acceptance which leads to affirmation and eventually blessing.
After reviewing this Sunday's reading from 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, I had to wonder what revisionist preachers and their pewsitters would be thinking about parts of Paul's advice. See if you can pick out what I am talking about.
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Of course it is the warning to not indulge in sexual immorality that caught my attention. In Paul's day this would involve things like adultery, incest, lust, and homosexual acts. Our culture and many churches have accepted most of these, with the exception of incest, as perfectly fine and in the case of homosexual acts, something to be celebrated.
These days our revisionist friends have not just redefined sexual immorality, they have removed it from the lexicon.
So, when confronted with those strange words of St. Paul, the revisionist preacher can conveniently ignore them or treat them as relics of an unenlightened age.
Paul would call that putting "Christ to the test".
You have to wonder what people will be thinking when they listen to 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 this Sunday.
A study by the Cultural Research Center has revealed that 'Christianity' in America is becoming an increasingly vague term, as only 40% of Americans believe God exists and influences human lives.
Even for those who believe, an increasing number say they are hesitant to “develop intimacy” with God, or allow Him to impact their lifestyle choices.
Two-thirds of American adults identify as “Christian” – yet only 16% of those surveyed say that God is the “most important” element of their life.
Of those who believe in God’s existence, 30 million reject the notion that He is actively involved in every aspect of their life, whilst over 80 million admit they do not have an intimate, interactive relationship with Him.
When asked what the God of the Bible provides to them, a majority of believers said He supplies hope (72%), comfort (71%), love (70%), peace (65%), guidance (64%), compassion (60%), joy (60%), and mercy (58%)...
...Barna describes the figures as “shocking”, saying that the survey indicates a widespread version of ‘Christianity’ which has little to do with God – and more to do with nominal cultural markers.
Author and research director, Dr George Barna says: “When you put all of these insights together, we understand we have fashioned the God of the Bible to be a deity reconfigured into our own image in order to fit within our personal comfort zone.
“[Therefore], the trials and tribulations, as well as the multifaceted demise of the nation, come into sharper focus.”
A god of the people, by the people, and for the people huh?
How well is that working out for us?
A god that fits within your comfort zone is not the God of the Bible.
So how do you keep God as the "most important" element in your life?
I'm a passionate Christian, fiercely devoted to Jesus Christ and his Church. I am willing to labor long hours in the Lord’s vineyard, and I have little patience with those who are less willing or able to work as I do. My passions often carry me into temptation zones of wrath, lust, and pride.
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