ADOTS Weekly Special Update
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A weekly roundup of information, updates, and recommended ministry resources.
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The goal of the gospel, of God’s redemptive mission, is to bring heaven and earth back together again, as it were. In the words of Ephesians 1:10, God’s goal is “to gather up all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth.”
Just as the Crucifixion reminds us, as it were, that Jesus Christ is Lord even of the lowest depths of earth, the Ascension reminds us that Jesus Christ is Lord even of the highest heights of heaven.
So, there’s no good gospel reason for “heavenly-mindedness” and “earthly good” to be opposed to each other!
And yet, because this world in which we live is still affected and infected by sin, there is an opposition, or at least a tension, that we all have to deal with. As Christians, we have been set free from sin’s power. But we’re still waiting to be set free from sin’s presence.
Therefore, in the meantime, as we await Christ’s return, we need to have our hearts and our minds united to our Ascended Lord, if we are to “be [his] witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Read the whole reflection here.
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the Rev. Joshua Steele is former ADOTS seminarian who now serves at Church of the Savior in Wheaton, Illinois, and is a Ph.d. student at Wheaton College.
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Engaging with Online Participants
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Many of our churches are experiencing a spike in visitors or attendance in their online services. While this is a good thing, we don’t want engagement to end there. We want the love of Christ to continue to touch lives during this time of separation and as we begin to meet in person again as conditions allow.
We asked the ADOTS Canon for Church Planting — and Abbot of the Mission Abbey in Chattanooga — Canon Chris Sorensen how the Mission group of churches is welcoming visitors: starting with its online services and extending to personal connection.
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Holy Cross Cathedral Guide to Video Streaming
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Live-streamed video of Sunday Worship can be a powerful way to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. It serves several groups in a way not possible otherwise: members who are home-bound due to age or illness, seekers who can now preview worship as they search for a church home, and more recently to entire congregations forced to end weekly meetings for worship during the pandemic.
Is it something my church should begin? How do we even start?
Mr. Reed has a degree in Telecommunications Engineering and 15 years’ experience designing, operating, and maintaining communication, video teleconferencing, and presentation systems. A member of Holy Cross Anglican Cathedral, he recently designed and installed the streaming system at Holy Cross and continues to operate it, while currently training others as operators.
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by the American Anglican Council
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By now, social media and news outlets are talking about the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. The delay in criminal charges or arrests has increased the fury over this incident, and while new facts may emerge and add other considerations as a trial begins, the facts, as we know them now, are horrendous and disturbing. One black commentator wrote that “exercising while black should not be a death sentence.” Comments like this show a deep fear in minority communities that each incident like this only serves to intensify. Deep racial divisions still exists in America, along with a lot of fear and not a lot of unified ideas on how to make it better, other than starting with the justice that must be brought to this current, localized incident in Georgia.
The Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America tweeted about this incident, “Ahmaud Arbery, may your soul, with all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. My heart breaks for his family, & I am more than outraged that this has happened again. When will this STOP? Will we see justice?” Abp Foley Beach echoes many other voices in the Church who have expressed a will to advocate for the racially marginalized in whatever segment of America they find themselves in. Many pastors voiced anger, frustration, and a desire to contribute to the solution to racism and the continued confrontation and killing of individuals based on race.
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Please join ADOTS in congratulating two new seminary graduates who answered a call to ordained ministry through the care and mentorship from those at St. Patrick’s, Murfreesboro, TN.
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Rev. Cliff Syner
About five years ago, our family was introduced to the Anglican way and felt immediately at home. We felt Christ drawing us closer to Him and to His Church in a way that we had never experienced before. One evening during a catechism class, I felt a calling to the priesthood. Over the next year, Fr. Ray Kasch and the faithful laity of St. Patrick’s helped to confirm that calling. I spent a year at Gordon-Conwell and the last two in residence at Nashotah House, where I completed my Masters of Divinity. I am thankful for the strong biblical, theological, and prayerful formation that I have been blessed to receive. Our family is excited to be reconnecting to our community in Clarksville, TN.
My wife, Lisa, is finishing up her Masters in Clinical Mental Health and starts an internship in the Fall. I am starting a non-profit functional medicine clinic, where everyone will have the opportunity to flourish in God’s design for their life. As a family, we will explore creative ways to gather a body of believers around the shared vision to make Christ’s redemption and His nourishment known to our community. I will be serving as a Diocesan Church Planter under direction of Canon Chris. I am hoping to be ordained to the priesthood in November. We love and appreciate the Anglican Diocese of the South and are looking forward to serving there soon!
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Rev. Adam James Gadomski
I am a former Baptist who was brought into the Anglican Tradition at St. Patrick’s Anglican Church in Smyrna/Murfreesboro, Tennessee. For the past three years I have been attending Trinity School for Ministry, where my education and spiritual formation has been blessed immensely. As of now, I am looking at moving to California this summer, where I will be an Associate Rector under Presiding Bishop Ray Sutton of the Reformed Episcopal Church, as well as a third grade teacher at a Classical Christian school there.
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By the grace of God, six people will be ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons on Saturday, June 6, 2020 at 11:0am Eastern.
Archbishop Foley Beach at All Saints, Peachtree City, Georgia:
Jeff Lamb and Michael Cooley (All Saints) and Jim Barton (St. John's, Americus, Ga)
Bishop Frank Lyons at Holy Cross Cathedral:
Virginia Smith (Holy Cross), Bill Stanford (St. Thomas, Athens, Ga), and Tyler Patrick (St. Andrew's, Rome, Ga)
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On Gafcon Sunday we will be celebrating 12 years of faithful Gospel ministry since the first Global Anglican Future Conference was held in Jerusalem. This year we are seeking to reach US$100,000 in donations to support our ongoing work.
We are asking churches to celebrate Gafcon on Sunday 28th June by praising God for his faithfulness over the last 12 years and by making a special donation to the work of Gafcon.
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Prepared by Daniel Adkinson
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After several months of ministry in the midst of a pandemic, things are slowly beginning to shift. Some states have begun re-opening. Most states and churches are announcing and exploring phased stages of regathering. Communities are thinking about recovery and what the “next normal” will look like.
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Please Share: Daily Prayer Live!
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Morning, Noonday, and Compline
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Archbishop Beach asked us to provide live Daily Office prayer!
The clergy of ADOTS and Holy Cross Cathedral have come together to create a live Daily Office format for:
Weekly Hymn Sing! Every Wednesday at 2pm with Chris Sieggen of St. Thomas, Athens, Georgia.
Liturgy
We're using the liturgy at
https://www.dailyoffice2019.com/ so that everyone can follow along each day. This website updates the prayer services of the daily office each day, so its all there!
Please Share
With so many people looking for connection, this is a great resource to share with all your friends on any social media platform. You can share the link fb.com/adotsDailyPrayer anywhere, Twitter, Facebook, Email, Instagram! Your friends and family don't have to be on Facebook to watch the videos. and join us in prayer.
You can also share on your church's public pages!
Comment
Whenever you join us, please add a comment to show us you are present, to encourage others,, to add a prayer request, or to give a thanksgiving.
See you there!
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Prayers for Such a Time as This
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We have compiled and adapted prayers from the Book of Common Prayer 2019 to include in online parish services and for home worship. Some prayers have been adjusted from the BCP 2019 to reflect the current coronavirus situation. We have included the prayer number and page numbers so you can easily find them in your own BCP 2019. You can download and print this resource as a PDF by clicking the link below.
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Send us Your Stories of God's Grace in this Time
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We would love to share the stories of God's work through and among his people. Please email us at
news@adots.org so that Rachel can help you share these stories of God working even in difficult times.
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Check out our website for more...
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