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October Newsletter

 Our First Confirmation!

On September 28th we celebrated our first confirmation at Shalom Anglican! We had seventeen folks confirmed by our Bishop, Jake Worley, and celebrated afterwards with a potluck. It was a beautiful liturgy and I think we all sensed the presence of the Spirit and left deeply encouraged! 

Confirmation is an ancient liturgical rite where those who have been baptized and catechized publicly affirm their faith through confessing before the church their baptismal vows. Then a bishop of the church confirms and commissions each person through the laying on of hands to be strengthened by the Spirit for ministry in and out of the church. As you can imagine it took a little while to confirm seventeen folks in one service but it was sweet to watch as the church prayed for each confirmand during the Bishop's prayers.

This is a HUGE step for us as a new church. When I see this picture I think of how Paul speaks of the church like a body in 1 Corinthians 12. Each person is needed. The faces before you are the founding members of Shalom Anglican and together we, "are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit," (Eph. 2:2).

Updates:

  • Our Catechism class is going well! The seven folks who signed up are asking good questions and growing.
  • We have had a few new visitors and some returning.
  • An older couple recently expressed interest in making Shalom their home church.
  • Our Lay preachers have recently served on Sunday morning as well as in our Catechism class.
  • I was able to travel to Spokane for our Annual Synod. It was a blessing spending three nights and four days in an Air BnB with six other priests. Let's just say the conversations were spirited and lively! 
  • We had our first wedding at Shalom with two members who recently moved out of state. They decided they wanted to come back for an Anglican wedding and begin their marriage in our little chapel. 
  • We have a partnership with a local non profit (Scarlet Road) that works with survivors of sexual exploitation. We recently had two members attend a full day training to volunteer. We also had another member of Shalom volunteer to do some landscape work for them! 
Prayer:

  • Pray for wisdom and clarity for me as I discern next steps for Shalom.
  • Pray for a couple getting married in a few weeks.
  • Pray for those experiencing financial hardship due to the government shutdown.
  • Pray that we could reach new folks as we head into Advent. 
  • Pray for me as I began a program to become a spiritual director that will last through the year. 
  • Pray for several women expecting their first child in the coming months. 
For the Shalom of Kitsap,

Fr. Rob 


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