This article is cross-posted from the Fall 2019 issue of Trinity Magazine.
As the Anglican Church in North America gathered in Assembly in June in Plano, Texas, one highlight moment was the dedication of the Book of Common Prayer 2019 [BCP 2019]. Our new Prayer Book is elegant, flexible, thoroughly Anglican, and devotionally rich.
By Keira Fuener, Gathering Children's Coordinator
This will be the first year that Children’s Programming will be offered as part of Gathering 2019: Diocesan Conference & 154th Convention.
I’m happy to announce that St. Peter’s, Butler, has called the Rt. Rev. David Hicks (former Bishop of the Diocese of the Northeast & Mid Atlantic in the Reformed Episcopal Church - a subjuristiction of the ACNA) as their new Rector. The discernment on all sides has been very clear and Bishop David will begin his new ministry in our midst on August 1. I am thrilled to welcome Bishop David and his wife, Lisa, to the Diocese. They will be a blessing to us.
My Friends and Fellow Anglicans,
For many of us December is filled with anticipation of a joyous Christmas and shopping for gifts. I want you to consider prayerfully two special gifts this year.
Most important of the two, please bless your congregation with an unexpected financial gift. Year-end giving for most congregations is crucial. So, first and foremost, please be generous in supporting the ministry and mission of yours.
As we have seen in recent blog posts, our marriage liturgy is bursting with meaning and significance for this important covenantal relationship. Nestled between the powerful, insightful prayers and the pronouncement of peace, the blessing takes its rightful place in the marriage service. The bride and groom kneel side by side before the altar and under the cross as the officiant prays a powerful prayer and blessing over the couple.
Words fail me as I have tried to write a response to the shootings in Squirrel Hill on Saturday. I want to express deep sorrow for the pain that the families of those who were killed and the whole Jewish community are experiencing during these days of mourning. I want to explain that those of us who follow Jesus renounce the anti-Semitic hatred of the shooter. I want to reach out in some sort of solidarity. All of my words, however, are completely inadequate. So, like Job's friends, who were at their wisest when they held their tongues, I've said little and sat in my grief.
I usually leave a satisfying conference with copious notes and a lengthy to do list. Rarely have I left a conference stunned, challenged, changed. The Call and Response Conference was that kind of conference. The conference planners (including Fr. Esau McCaulley, an Anglican priest) called folks together to explore the past, present and future of the Black Church.
In the opening words of the liturgy for Holy Matrimony, the couple presenting themselves to be married, are each asked to declare their commitment to love one another in these reciprocal words, “will you have this woman to be your wife; to live together out of reverence for Christ in the covenant of Holy Matrimony? Will you love her, honor her, comfort and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?” The man answers, “I will.”
Written by The Rev. Bill & Dana Henry
God loves marriage. How do we know this? Because marriage between a man and a woman was God’s idea and his gift to us, it mirrors the relationship between Christ and the Church, and Jesus gave his first sign, his initial miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Our Anglican service of Holy Matrimony affirms this truth in the opening sentences where we read these familiar and beautiful words.
One of the most important and challenging roles for clergy is the preparation of couples for Christian marriage.
