Opening the eyes of our faith can be painful. It sometimes reveals glimpses of things about ourselves we’d rather not address. Yet one of the recurring themes of the Good News in Christ is that the God that calls us again and again to return is also the God of do-overs–and that our open eyes of faith have the power to open doors for others to view the glories of Heaven on earth.
Resolved that a Special Commission on Mission Structure and Strategy be created, the composition of which shall include the chairs of the Standing Committee for Structure of the Church, two persons appointed by the Presiding Bishop, two persons appointed by the President of the House of Deputies, and one lay and one clergy person appointed by each province of The Episcopal Church.
Does your parish offer any organized teaching about, exposure to, or immersion in any Christian spiritual practices? Lectio Divina? Centering Prayer? The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius? The writings of the great Carmelite mystics?
In the words of the rule of law, there is no procedural due process and no substantive due process guaranteed by the covenant. The outcome is to be trusted and respected based on the persons/bodies making the decisions rather than a system based on how the decision is made.
by Linda Ryan The peculiar grace of a Shaker chair is due to the fact that an angel might come by and sit on it.
When we are faced with the presence of the Glory of the Lord, do we try to stare at it and burn out our spiritual retinas? Do we try to keep it all to ourselves by putting a box over our head? Or do we trust there’s enough there to share with the whole world?
Four dioceses in the Church of England voted on the proposed Anglican Covenant today. All four voted against it. To date, ten of the church’s 44 dioceses have voted against the covenant, which is supported by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, while five have voted in favor of the covenant.
There are so many times when I wish I didn’t have to make decisions, especially difficult ones that are part of an intensely internal flood of emotions. Those emotions pull me this way and then that as I consider the consequences of my decision. Even after I decide, there are second, third and fourth thoughts, causing me to ask if I really made the correct decision.
What is wrong with The Episcopal Church? Lots. But the question itself I find wrongheaded. “Fixing” a temporal institution for today will inevitably sow the seeds of different institutional problems needing to be fixed tomorrow.
…[T]hrough the luminous brightness that shone from the face of the Lord on the mount the thrice-blessed apostles were secretly led in an ineffable and