The Bishop’s Institute for Ministry and Leadership was established in 2015 in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida to provide opportunities to develop lay and clergy leadership in the Diocese; to prepare candidates for ordination to the vocational diaconate and the local priesthood; to prepare candidates for licensed lay ministries and to be a focus for the continuing education for laity and clergy alike. |
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THE FEAST OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL (June 29)
And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two . . . (Mark 6.7).
The word Apostle, from the Greek Apostolos, ‘person sent’ refers to any of the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus. The term applies also to others, especially Paul, who was converted to Christian faith a few years after Jesus was crucified.
The two great ‘founders’ of the Christian faith (allowing that in fact God in Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit is the founder) are Peter and Paul. Paul-- thrown from his horse and surrounded by a blinding light, cried out “Who are you Lord?” Then the answer came back: ‘I am Jesus who you are persecuting’. Instantly, Paul recognized Jesus as Lord, and his life could never be the same again. Peter, who had denied Jesus three times in the courtyard before the Lord’s trial and crucifixion—is asked by the risen Lord, three times, “Do you love me?” And then and only then, “Follow me.”
These testimonies from the lives of the first generation of Christian leaders remind us that the Christian religion can be summed up in three words: “Come, follow me.” Christianity might give us a moral code and some guidelines for living. But it is essentially neither of those things. It is the person of Jesus Christ: calling each of us, as he called Paul and Peter: “Come, follow me.”
We celebrate the Feast of the Confession of St Peter on January 18 (Anglican) or the Feast of the Chair of St Peter on February 22 (Roman Catholic). We celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul on January 25. On June 29 we celebrate the joint Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. And so it should be as both Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome within a year of one another proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Much is made of the difference of personality between these two leaders and how on one occasion Paul felt it necessary to confront and rebuke Peter to his face. They were not perfect individuals but like us, redeemed sinners. And Paul’s relationship with Peter was not always confrontational. In the Book of Acts he talks of journeying to Jerusalem, in the first flush of his conversion, to learn how Jesus was perceived by those who had accompanied him; and again, to seek the endorsement of Peter and other apostles for his mission and preaching to the Gentiles.
The See of Rome is paid homage as holding precedence in the rank of all Christian churches. This precedence, from early times, is based primarily on the Church of Rome having responsibility for the shrines and tombs of the two greatest apostles, Peter and Paul. But here we might pause and remember our origins.
Founders? Yes. But Peter and Paul were first and foremost missionaries and evangelists. Malcolm McMahon, Archbishop of Liverpool, is right to remind us in a sermon:
Personally, I am deeply moved by the missionary and preaching life of Peter and Paul. For me they are missionaries who planted the word of God far from home and ultimately gave their lives because they followed the teaching of the Lord and preached it to others. Although bishops and the church have a responsibility for keeping the foundations of the church intact in respect of buildings and institutions, their purpose is only to provide a context for the gospel to be lived and preached.
The mission, or Gospel, is foremost and we are called, like the original apostles, to examine our life and witness in relation to our calling to advance and share the Good News. Here, the testimony of Peter and Paul may encourage us in two ways:
Firstly, they remind us of just how nearly impossible it is, for any of us, to surrender our will and follow another, even if that other is the Lord Himself. For Paul, it took a miracle of grace, it took striking him down in the road and blinding him, both physically and metaphorically, to get down deep enough into the heart of his obstinate will to turn it around. And for dear old St Peter, it took great courage and the humiliating realization of just how frail his will could be, to begin to turn him around, to surrender his life to the Lord. Maybe there is hope for me and my obstinate will.
Secondly, there is hope in the legacy of Peter and Paul. That legacy is not all in what the world sees, for all the magnificent monuments of Rome, but what the invisible God sees. As Malcolm McMahon concludes, in his sermon:
It is salutary for us to remember that many of the churches that Paul and Peter founded, especially in present day Turkey, no longer exist. Yet because of their preaching and missionary activity the gospel message has spread around the world. The Word grows even if the buildings fall.
V. The Lord is glorious in his saints.
R. O come let us adore him.
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Yours sincerely,
Douglas Dupree
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COLLECT FOR SS PETER AND PAUL |
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COLLECT FOR SS PETER AND PAUL
June 29
Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified thee by their martyrdom: Grant that thy Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by thy Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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The Grace of God is in Courtesy
“Of courtesy, it is much less Than courage of heart or holiness, Yet in my walks it seems to me That the Grace of God is in courtesy.” Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953)
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Earlier this month, I attended a men’s fellowship group at which Dr Augustus Howard read a paper on the topic "The Idea of a Christian Society for C.S. Lewis and T.S. Eliot.” The paper looked at Lewis's consideration of "social [Christian] morality" as articulated in Mere Christianity (Book III, Ch. 3) and contrasted this with Eliot's conception in his essay "The Idea of a Christian Society". Lewis and Eliot were among a small group of Christian apologists who, in the final years of WWII, began to think about how the West would find the moral and spiritual vision to rebuild society after the War.
Over the course of his paper, Dr Howard cited what Lewis called the three New Testament aspects of a Christian society. Lewis’s third aspect, that of courtesy, rang a re-sounding bell in my mind. There, Lewis writes:
All the same, the New Testament, without going into details, gives us a pretty clear hint of what a fully Christian society would be like. . . Thirdly, it is to be a cheerful society: full of singing and rejoicing, and regarding worry or anxiety as wrong. Courtesy is one of the Christian virtues; and the New Testament hates what it calls “busybodies.”
Like many of us, I have been distracted by what appears as divisive and hostile public discourse over the last few years and the absence, so often, of the virtue of ‘common courtesy’. Mention courtesy and we may think of a term that simply describes a gentler, more pleasant life or, similarly, of an antique virtue that belonged to the bygone age of chivalry and therefore has no value for us today. Yes, but no: courtesy is often essential in making and maintaining a just and humane society. Any number of illustrations from history prove this point.
When the Romans withdrew their troops from Britain in 409 AD, and the Island was invaded by the Saxons, Christianity was almost wiped out save for the western parts (Wales) where the Celts maintained their independence. In 597 AD Augustine (of Canterbury) landed in Kent at the bidding of Pope Gregory to establish the Christian faith in Britain. Augustine knew he had a hard task ahead of him. Learning of the established church in Wales, he decided to seek the aid of the Welsh bishops in his mission. The Welsh bishops agreed to meet him at a place near Gloucester---somewhere halfway between their base and Augustine’s in Canterbury.
On the eve of the meeting, the Welsh bishops concurred amongst themselves. They agreed that if Augustine, on seeing them, stood to greet them, they would listen to him with open hearts and minds. On the other hand, if he remained seated as they approached, they would not cooperate.
As it turned out, Augustine did not stand, and the Welsh bishops did not cooperate, and Augustine’s work was made more difficult and the conversion of the English delayed. Courtesy, or politeness, as someone has remarked, ‘goes far, yet costs nothing.’
In Matthew’s Gospel, (20.25-28), Jesus exhorts his disciples, ‘You know that in the world, rulers lord it over their subjects, and their great men make them feel the weight of authority; but it shall not be so with you. Among you, whoever wants to be great must be your servant . . . ‘like the Son of Man; he did not come to be served, but to serve, and to surrender his life as a ransom for many.”
In Philippians, St Paul reminds us that our treatment or bearing towards one another should arise out of our ‘life in Christ’---- molding our life and behavior on the One who ‘made himself nothing, assuming the nature of a slave. Bearing the human likeness, revealed in human shape, he humbled himself, and in obedience accepted even death—death on a cross.’
Christians need to practice courtesy as much as anyone else. The long running debate between the Arian and the Athanasian Christians that culminated in the 325 AD Council of Nicea is a case in point. Christians were at loggerheads over the issue of whether or not God the Father and God the Son were of the same substance. It is reputed things got so over-heated that Bishop Nicholas of Myra slapped Bishop Arius in the face. Arius lost the debate and was exiled. Nicholas, for the Athanasians, (who later became the model for Santa Claus), won the debate and was canonized. It might seem discourtesy won the day in Christian debate.
There is a prayer of Charles Kingsley (1819-75) that is worth remembering and repeating:
Take from us, O God,
All pride and vanity,
All boasting and forwardness,
And give us the true courage that shows itself by gentleness;
The true wisdom that shows itself by simplicity;
And the true power that shows itself by modesty;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Of Courtesy, it is much less
Than Courage of Heart or Holiness,
Yet in my Walks it seems to me
That the Grace of God is in Courtesy.
On Monks I did in Storrington fall,
They took me straight into their Hall;
I saw Three Pictures on a wall,
And Courtesy was in them all.
The first the Annunciation;
The second the Visitation;
The third the Consolation,
Of God that was Our Lady's Son.
The first was of St. Gabriel;
On Wings a-flame from Heaven he fell;
And as he went upon one knee
He shone with Heavenly Courtesy.
Our Lady out of Nazareth rode -
It was Her month of heavy load;
Yet was her face both great and kind,
For Courtesy was in Her Mind.
The third it was our Little Lord,
Whom all the Kings in arms adored;
He was so small you could not see
His large intent of Courtesy.
Our Lord, that was Our Lady's Son,
Go bless you, People, one by one;
My Rhyme is written, my work is done.
Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953)
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Summer camps are in full swing at Camp Weed with a total of some 500 campers for the season---- a remarkably good number after an interruption in Camp last summer 2020. There is a fine staff of Camp counselors, pictured below at a lunchtime staff cookout gathering. The summer camps are under the direction of Samantha Marxsen.
Sam has put together a list of items on Amazon that the camps can use for crafts and other fun activities. Craft materials are included in a camper’s registration fee but there is always a need for more supplies and more added activities throughout the summer. If you would like to join the goodly company of others who have chosen a small but tangible way to support our camps, simply click on the Amazon Wish List link and make your selected donation:
Sam will be adding to the list throughout the summer.
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GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD
You can learn a lot of church history by studying the lives of the great saints of the Church. Some were evangelists, preachers and teachers while others mystics, seers, prophets, theologians, missionaries and social reformers. A treasure trove of information about the lives of saints is Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (Church Publishing, paperback, 2010). The book follows the Church calendar and has a potted biography with prayers, psalm and lessons appointed for each saint on his or her feast day---two pages devoted to each of almost 350 saints, i.e. almost a saint a day if you wanted to us the book as a daily reader. Any of our fine church book stores in the Diocese will order you a copy or you can order one off Amazon.
For this month’s Quiz, I have chosen missionary saints—men and women who have dedicated their lives to spreading the Gospel in the wider world. All of these are drawn from Holy Women, Holy Men to offer you a foretaste of that good book.
Allison +
MISSIONARY SAINTS
Match the following missionaries as listed here with a description of their work below: i.e. match an alphabetical letter correct to each separate numbered description.
A. Channing Moore Williams (1829-1910)
B. Jackson Kemper (1789-1870)
C. Eric Henry Liddell (1902-1945)
D. Harriet Bedell (1875-1969)
E. Adoniram Judson (1788-1850)
F. Lillian Hunt Trasher (1887-1961)
G. Henry Martyn (1781-1812)
1. _______ This missionary from the Episcopal Church was a founder of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (the Holy Catholic Church of Japan), i.e. the Anglican Church of Japan.
2. ________This American missionary from Brunswick, Georgia began mission work in Alexandria in Egypt in 1910 and established an orphanage that survived Nazi occupation in WWII and is still operating today.
3. ________This Episcopalian began work among the Cheyenne at Whirlwind Mission in Oklahoma followed by missionary work 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle and finally many fruitful years in South Florida among the Seminoles.
4. ________This missionary achieved international renown as an Olympic medalist and as a rugby player and endured significant hardships as a missionary in China and died in a Japanese concentration camp in 1945 shortly before the camp’s liberation.
5. ________This Christian is remembered as the first American missionary to devote his life to proclaiming the Gospel in a foreign land. He served as an American Baptist missionary to Burma (now known as Myanmar) for forty years.
6. ________This English missionary priest translated the Scriptures and the Prayer Book into Hindi and Persian before dying in Armenia, age 31, while in route to Constantinople.
7. ________The General Convention of 1835 appointed this native New Yorker the first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was initially assigned to Missouri and Indiana but laid foundations also in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas.
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RECTOR’S INTERVIEW:
The Rev. Deacon Sarah Minton
Meet Sarah Minton, recently graduated from Duke Divinity School and ordained a transitional Deacon in Eastertide by Bishop Howard. Sarah will serve as a Curate in All Saints’ Church, Jacksonville, where Fr Donavan Cain is Rector.
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The Bishop has announced to the Diocese recently your assignment to All Saints' Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, to work with Fr Donavan Cain. Are you excited about this appointment? What do you understand it will involve?
I am very excited about working with Fr Donavan Cain. I have heard so many wonderful things about the parish and can’t wait to get started. I will work alongside Fr Donavan as Curate. I am looking forward to serving on the altar, possibly teaching from time to time, visiting the sick and getting to know the parishioners.
How were you called to the ordained ministry? When did the process of call and discernment begin?
When I began my career in lay ministry in 1997, I had no idea what God was preparing me for; now when I look back, I believe God was preparing me for ordination. My process for ordination began when I went to the ordination of a friend. The Lord spoke to my heart and asked when I was going to stop saying no and say yes to the call. After much prayer and conversations with spiritual leaders and of course, my husband, Steve, I said yes and began the process.
What is your home parish and how were you active in the Church pre-seminary?
I worked in lay ministry in children and youth ministry as well as parish administration. For the first 10 years I served at St. Paul’s by-the-creek and then at St. Andrew’s in Arlington. St. Andrew’s was a wonderful support system for me while at Duke.
Duke Divinity has a very fine reputation among university theology departments and seminaries. How did you decide on Duke—especially in light of the more typical choice people make to attend one of the seminaries sponsored specifically by the Episcopal Church, e.g. Sewanee or Virginia?
Bishop John Howard suggested I take a look at Duke and after a little research and then a tour of the campus, I knew it was the place for me. I was excited about the diversity of learning from varying denominations as well as learning from the top theologians in the country. Some of the books that lined the shelves of my priest friends were authored by some of my professors. It was the most beautiful and rigorous three years of formation. I could not have asked for anything more.
How is priestly formation in the Anglican tradition undertaken at Duke?
In addition to the core classes, I was a part of the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies (AEHS) as well as taking Anglican Episcopal classes to obtain a certificate in Anglican Studies. In addition to the course of study, we had colloquiums specific to the life of becoming a priest. I was fortunate enough to serve as an intern with AEHS and was part of the planning team for worship services, leading Morning Prayer, and other educational events.
How has your call to ordained ministry involved your family and their support?
When I had the first discussion with Steve (my husband) about my call, he said something like, “what took you so long?” Steve and my girls (Hannah, Leah and Norah) have been nothing but supportive. They enjoyed our North Carolina adventure as much as I did. Before Coronatide, my family would join me at the weekly evening Eucharist and dinner hosted by AEHS. They are very excited for me and are also looking forward to supporting me in the ordained ministry.
What encourages you about the mission of the Church today and how do you see your work in the ministry as part of it?
I am encouraged because lives continue to be changed and transformed because of the love of God. I am excited to be a witness to the love of God for our world and help foster a “Beloved Community.” I am excited to proclaim the Word of God as well as administer the precious sacrament. My prayer is always “God, let my feet be your feet, my eyes, your eyes, my mouth your mouth, my ears your ears and my hands your hands.”
Anything else you might like to share with us?
Here I am Lord, send me.
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THE ARCHDEACON’S CORNER
Heavenly Pets
As I travel about the diocese with Bishop Howard, I am sometimes asked “will I see my pet in Heaven?” This is usually asked by someone who has recently lost a beloved pet--a pet who was more friend or family member than mere property.
Over the years Diane and I have lost many such four-legged family members. We still remember and love them all. I always try to answer that question with one that gives hope and an answer that is based on Richard Hookers principle of the “three-legged stool”, which involves the Bible, the Church’s tradition, and reason.
Tradition would say that the purpose of heaven is to reunite us (the Children of God) to God, in a new Eden. John reminds us of Jesus’s words on paradise in verse 14:3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Of course, this passage does not exclude animals, it only assures us that Jesus, has prepared a place for us and that we are wanted and loved.
But Matthew (18:13) is more specific “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven.” Because animals cannot be converted, they cannot repent of their sins or accept Christ as their Savior, but does that exclude them from Heaven, or is that you, that Jesus is talking about, just for us (we humans)?
Throughout the Bible we hear of creatures and animals not only praising God but also existing in the New Eden. Such as in John’s vision in Revelation 5:13(NIV) Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
But John’s vision in Revelations also includes creatures with many eyes and wings. Isaiah is more specific about animals when he describes the redemption of creation at the arrival of our Messiah (Isaiah 11:6) “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them…
In Romans 8:21-23 Paul assumes that animals are a part of a suffering creation eagerly awaiting deliverance through humanity’s resurrection. This seems to require that some animals who lived, suffered, and died on the old Earth must be made whole on the New Earth. Could some of these animals be our pets?
Lastly, what does reason say? I often hear Bishop John Howard say that Heaven will contain every good thing necessary to make our joy complete. I like that, it shows that God’s love for us is eternal and that He has prepared things perfectly for us, that we might have our perfect joy in Him.
In her book, Holiness in Hidden Places, Joni Eareckson Tada, echoes Bishop Howard’s sentiments, “If God brings our pets back to life, it wouldn’t surprise me. It would be just like him. It would be totally in keeping with his generous character. . . Exuberant. Excessive. Joni describes a heaven that is filled with “grace after grace.”
Professor William Stafford, sometime Dean of the School of Theology, Sewanee, on the subject remarks: “Adam was naming the animals before the Fall, when the intimacy was so great. I do not know exactly what God will do with the love we have for our animals, and they for us, but I do know that God never wastes love. And they are part of the whole world that Christ has redeemed.”
Are our pets in Heaven? Only God knows, but the question is not silly. As their Maker, God has used our pets to touch our lives and hearts in so many ways. Our pets have taught us loyalty, faithfulness, joy, and an unspoken presence that calms our hearts and brings us peace of mind. Surely, these are God given gifts, and God is the giver of all good gifts, and not the taker of them.
In conclusion I remember Jesus’s words when He said, “All things are possible to him who believes!” Beloved, believe, and may your love and joy be complete.
Praying that our Lord finds you and yours well
Archdeacon Mark Richardson
*In loving memory of “Najmah” (in Sindhi means star) beloved family member and friend of John, Marie, Gus, and Charles Howard. You are the star of the Diocese.
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Mother's Day Event at Camp Weed |
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To register, call the Cathedral Bookstore: 904-356-5507, ext. 152
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