Anniversary Thanksgivings

As the weekend marked the first anniversary of my ordination as a presbyter of this church and also the annual synod of the diocese, I want to take a moment for thanksgiving.  As the priests and bishops gathered, there was absolutely no talk of liturgy, of ritual, of controversies, of crises in the larger Church, no time devoted to any of the issues which Anglicans are so often obsessed. There was, however, constant talk about Jesus and much talk about evangelism.  All of the preaching centered on the cross of Christ and the evangelization of the world for God. With tears our bishop exhorted us and – and the new ordinands – to be crucified to the world and to reckon the world to be crucified for us, to love Christ and his gospel.  There was, in our prayers and our fellowship, the unity that is born of the one Spirit.

I am grateful, y’all, to be a priest in this diocese and a servant to the people of God here. We at Redeemer are blessed with a bishop who serves humbly and faithfully as a shepherd of the sheep. We are blessed with a diocese that is passionate in its outreach to the lost and sincere in its love for one another. We are enriched in our relationship with the larger Anglican family that is firm in its hold on the “faith once delivered to the saints”. We are blessed further to be among Anglicans who have no time to be angry with each other, but time only to witness Christ. We are above all blessed to be Christ’s own.

Though the Church of the Redeemer is the smallest of the parishes, missions, and extensions of the Diocese of the Central States, we are loved by this diocese and are supported by the prayers of my brother priests and our fellow congregations. They believe with us in our vision and our mission to reach out to those of our brothers and sisters in need of an orthodox Anglican parish as well as those “whom the Lord (is) adding daily to the Church”. They count us successful as we are obedient to Christ.