Posted by John Strobl on August 9, 2010 under From The Rector | 
Adult Education Wednesday at 7pm September 15, 22, 29 and more in October, in the St. Francis, St. Clare Chapel. Bring your Bible. Max Lucado’s “Fearless” DVD group study. NO BOOK TO READ
9/15 Why are we Afraid
9/22 Fear of Not Mattering
9/29 Fear of Disappointing God
More to follow in October.
About Fearless
Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.
They’re talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison and slams the doors. Wouldn’t it be great to walk out?
Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, and doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, when you could trust more and fear less.
Can you imagine your life without fear?
Max Lucado, Minister of Writing and Preaching for the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, is the husband of Denalyn and father of Jenna, Andrea, and Sara. On a good week he reads a good book, has a few dinners with his wife, and breaks 90 on the golf course. He usually settles for the first two. Visit his website at MaxLucado.com. He has sold more than 65 million books to date.
Posted by John Strobl on February 27, 2010 under Featured |
The Sacrament of Confirmation & Recepition, will be held at St.James’, Saturday, March 6, 2010. The Eucharist will begin at 10:30am. The Right Reverend Mark S. Sisk, Bishop of New York, Officiating.
Confirmation
The Episcopal Church’s theology of Confirmation has continued to evolve along with its understanding of baptism. Confirmation is no longer seen as the completion of Christian initiation, nor is Confirmation a prerequisite for receiving communion. Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s body the church (BCP, p. 298). Accordingly, Confirmation has been increasingly understood in terms of a mature, public reaffirmation of the Christian faith and the baptismal promises. Some dioceses require that candidates for Confirmation be at least sixteen years old to insure that the candidates are making a mature and independent affirmation of their faith. There is considerable diversity of understanding and practice concerning Confirmation in the Episcopal Church. Confirmation has been characterized as “a rite seeking a theology.”
Reception (Christian Commitment)
Baptized persons who have been members of another Christian fellowship and who wish to be affiliated with the Episcopal Church may make a public affirmation of their faith and commitment to the responsibilities of their baptism in the presence of a bishop. The bishop lays hands on each candidate for reception and says, “We recognize you as a member of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church, and we receive you into the fellowship of this Communion” (BCP, p. 418). Candidates for reception normally have made a mature commitment in another Christian fellowship. Some dioceses have reserved reception for those candidates who have previously received sacramental confirmation with laying on of hands by a bishop in apostolic succession.
Posted by admin on November 18, 2009 under General |
What makes Episcopalians (also called Anglicans) different from other churches? The Episcopal Church has the distinction of being both catholic and protestant. It is catholic in its faith tradition, liturgy, and sacramental life while being protestant in some of its polity, or governance. Toward the end of the 16th century, an Anglican priest named Richard Hooker wrote a book called The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, which remains influential today. In it, Hooker said that Christians should look for guidance not from the pope or only from the Bible but from the ‘three-legged stool’ of tradition, scripture and reason.
It is this and “experience” informed by reason that sets us apart. Hooker argued that while the Scriptures are to be the primary source of authority, they are not to be isolated from reason and tradition. These three sources of authority don’t exist independently, but comprise a single authority of thee intersecting sources, the Holy Scriptures being the normative auhority, with reason and tradition being necessary interpretative authoritative tools.
The poet and priest John Donne called the Episcopal path a “middle way,” steering a course between the extremes in his day between Roman Catholicism (no reform) and the new Protestantism (extreme reform). This middle way has sometimes been misunderstood as fence sitting. Actually, the intent is to achieve a comprehensive and balanced approach that draws wisdom from every side and includes the insights of others.
Thus the Episcopal community is a “big tent” where everyone’s views are welcome and we often agree to disagree, looking to the example of Christ’s love as the tie that binds us all together.
Tags: Angelican, Anglican priest, Bible, catholic, Episcopal Church, Episcopalian, Holy Scriptures, John Donne, liturgy, protestant, Protestantism, Richard Hooker, Roman Catholicism, sacramental life, The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity
