Shalom Anglican

 Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Palm Sunday begins outside with the liturgy of the Palms . This is our Eastertide acclamation and how we begin each service through Pentecost (June 8th). It's meant to orient us to the reality of our resurrected Lord who is reigning now. Easter isn't simply one special Sunday, but a whole season of being drenched in the joy and glory of Jesus' victory over his own death and now ours as well! If you find yourself drifting from the power of the resurrection that we celebrated on Easter, here is a link to my message on Easter Sunday to stir up hope once again! I have to say, this last month was simply AMAZING! God has been so good to us. Here are some highlights. Updates: We held our first Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil) and it was a rich time of worship that culminated in a Taco Potluck on Saturday night with most of our church joining in! Through these three services as well as Easter Sund...

 When God just does stuff... I've been a church planter and around church planting for over twenty years. I've had countless conversations with church planters desiring to start a new church and wondering if they should. Whenever I have these discussions I always look for two things. First, whether or not the planter has a specific vision (perhaps I'll say more about that in another post). Second, I look for what God is doing. In other words, what are some things that are happening that only God could do? What things are happening that the church planters plans, intellect, gifts have nothing to do with? See, one thing I've learned is that if God is at work in the beginnings of a new church he just does stuff! He does stuff that no one can take credit for but Him. He shows us that this is is his church and he's at work. This last month I've been reminded that God just does stuff. Almost every week this month I have showed up on Sunday a little tired and distract...

 Friends of Shalom, Have you ever had a moment where you feel and see the kindness of God in a profound way? Most of life is a grind. But sometimes in small and big ways we get to experience God's kindness in a way we aren't soon to forget.  This last July, Beth and I celebrated our 25th anniversary! Around this time some friends of ours who Placencia, Belize! own a home in Belize offered it to us as a free place to stay and we decided to take them up on the offer. They encouraged us to wait until March 2025 and so we began planning. A few weeks ago we flew out to Placencia, Belize for a 10 day trip! We had never done anything like this before nor for this length of time. Everyday we would share memories from 25 years together. Taking time away to reflect as well as enjoy the sunshine, beaches, food, and rich culture of Belize was a true gift!  These past few weeks I've seen and felt the kindness of God in a profound way. Updates: We got to visit a small Anglican Church.....

Friends of Shalom,  Is ordinary okay? Looking back on the month of January I'd say it was an ordinary month of ministry. We continued to gather each week for Word and Sacrament. Relationships continue to grow deeper. Individuals are growing and wrestling with God. Folks are serving. In other words, the ministry goes on.  I don't have anything earth shattering to report. Or do I? Perhaps what I just wrote is earth shattering because simply by being the church in our day as an outpost of the Kingdom is not ordinary!  Updates: I was able to have a lot of rich one on one's this month. One thing I've learned is that people really appreciate having a pastor and being pastored. I haven't always been able to pastor in past ministry rolls the way I'm embracing as an Anglican priest and I'm really grateful for the change.  We've been experiencing some slow and steady growth with a few new folks joining with us.  We have a young couple who have been opening their...

 Friends of Shalom, Painting by David Zelenka - Baptism of Christ We are now several weeks into the season of Epiphany! This is a time in the church calendar following Advent/Christmas where we focus on the reality of Christ being revealed to the world. As the Apostle Paul said to Timothy: Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of        godliness: He was manifested (epiphany) in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16 In Epiphany God is doing something new! His son is being revealed to the world through the star that guided the magi, the Father's voice from heaven at Jesus' baptism, the water turned into wine, and through Jesus' own pronouncement of the purpose of his ministry in Luke 4:16-21.  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the...

 Friends of Shalom, As we are in the midst of Advent, I'm reminded of how it's a season of tension. On the one hand we are looking forward to Christmas, to remembering our Lord's birth and all the beauty of the story.  But on the other hand we are longing for his final coming when he will make all wrongs right.  In Advent we're invited to be honest about our longings for freedom from cancer, oppression, sin, war, depression, and all the brokenness of the world while at the same time putting our hope in Jesus the shoot from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1-11).  But this is how we always live isn't it? We live in the in-between and in a perpetual Advent of sorts! As Karl Barth said, " What other time or season can or will the Church ever have but that of Advent?" So we live in the tension. And as a church planter I also live in the tension. I live with a heart of gratitude for all that God has done and is doing in our church while at the same time longing fo...

 Friends of Shalom, Last month Beth and I helped move our oldest son Sam into his first apartment. We brought him a futon we weren't using (he was sleeping on a camping mat) and took him to Ikea to help him get set up. The experience reminded me of church planting and where we are as a church plant. When you finally move out and get your first apartment it's easy to think because you have a bed, a table, perhaps a couch, that you basically have what you need. When you put the "big things" into your apartment it can feel like you're moved in. Until you realize you don't have a shower curtain, a broom, trash bags, a plunger, paper towels, etc.  Shalom Anglican has moved into our first apartment. The church is going and growing. We have most of the "big things." We have a place to meet, a priest, a team of leaders, a website, a bank account, a core group of committed folks, coffee pots (very important!), etc. So that feels great! Compared to how far we...