Book Review: The Applause of Heaven
February 29, 2012
The Applause Of Heaven by Max Lucado
Available in the All Saints Bookstore
Review by Lillie Ammann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The style is simple and entertaining, but the message is powerful. This book ties the Beatitudes together in a way I hadn’t thought of before. Rather than a series of individual items, they are interrelated.
Freedom in Christ by Tracy Kowald
February 28, 2012
Fr. Chip is about to lead us in a study called “Freedom in Christ” in our Wednesday evening study time. Many thoughts are going through my head as I anticipate what the Lord will show to us as a group and individually. As I work, cleaning my house, the thought came to me about what grace really is and what it isn’t. A term I have heard a lot lately is “sloppy grace,” which I think is synonymous with cheap grace. Both terms leave a bad taste, meaning God did not die for us to live in a sloppy or cheap way. What really is this grace that our Lord Jesus Christ offers us? I know I need it more every day. But again. I ask what is true grace? I don’t want it cheap or sloppy. What I really want–no, what I really need–is God’s true grace. Are we truly free in Christ? Yes. But what does that freedom really look like and how does it work out in my life, in the life of my church, and in the life of the Church? I know it is not license to sin. At the same time, it gives a sense of freedom that could be dangerous. St. Paul knew we need to understand grace or he would not have warned us about it not giving us license to sin so that grace may be abundant. True freedom leaves one to wonder what boundaries must exist to keep from abounding in sin. The sixth chapter of Romans is evident of that teaching. So I eagerly anticipate how God answers my questions and shows me this life of true Freedom in Christ.
Standing With Our Catholic Brothers and Sisters for Religious Freedom by Bishop Orji
February 27, 2012
Many of us in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA/ACNA) are profoundly disappointed in the direction the President of the United States and some of our elected officials have taken with respect to mandating the provision of health care benefits regarding birth control. This is in direct and blatant disregard to the American freedoms of religion, specifically to certain churches and religious beliefs.
The matter before us is not about any particular stand on the issue of birth control methods. Rather, it is about the Government’s decision to penalize those Americans who exercise their religious freedoms in the United States. The President’s decision in this matter is a serious breach of our freedom, specifically, our freedom to lead our congregations and manage our religious institutions in accordance with our understanding of our Scriptures. That is our freedom and right guaranteed by the Constitution.
The Roman Catholic teaching on birth control does not violate anyone’s fundamental human rights, and the Church’s position on this issue is not harmful in any way. Thus, it is of very serious concern to us that this Administration is forcing the Roman Catholic Church to operate their institutions in a manner that is offensive to their conscience and spiritual teachings. We stand with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters to decry this decision of the Government.
Once again, I need to reiterate the fact that Anglicans in North America, including CANA, are disturbed that this Administration is inserting itself into the religious life of the United States. This Administration is violating a Constitutional right and voiding a long-standing freedom. We believe the President has made a serious mistake in this matter, and we ask that he completely rescind his decision. We pray for God’s blessings and wisdom for President Obama, trusting that he will seriously consider the beliefs of Christians in this country on this matter and on other issues as well.
May God bless America and renew us to a deeper life of obedience to God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
The Right Reverend Dr. Felix Orji, OSB
Bishop, CANA WEST DISTRICT
Liturgy Lesson for the First Sunday in Lent: Silencio
February 26, 2012
In this season of penitence and examen, we frequently search for devotional focus. Such is the ancient practice of Silencio—liturgical silence—designed to evoke in worshippers a sense of awe and reverence of God’s Presence and attention, while recalling St. Paul’s description of times the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us—when words fail us. When practiced in the company of worshippers who have prepared themselves in quiet, Spirit-led devotion, this sense of the Presence is amplified, not only underscoring Immanuel—“God with us,” but also giving us humility and abjection, befitting the creation in the Presence of the Creator. As in the ancient Church, this is most powerfully experienced in the Holy Eucharist, when, just before invoking the Real Presence into the bread and wine, we pause to remember those who are on our lips or in our hearts in the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ’s Church. In these intermissions, we can use Silencio’s sense of awe before our God to provide opportunity for the Spirit to speak to our hearts, as He prompts names for us to speak aloud before the Great Throne in Common Prayer. The Lord is in His Holy Temple—let all the Earth keep silence before Him. His temple is inside us!
Book Review: Safely Home
February 24, 2012
Safely Home by Randy Alcorn
Available in the All Saints Bookstore
Reviewed by Lillie Ammann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is one of the most powerful and moving novels I have ever read. Ben Fielding, am American businessman doing business in China, and his college roommate, Li Quan, an assistant locksmith in a poor town in China, are reunited after twenty years. Though Ben brought Quan to Christ, Ben lost his faith and made success his god, while Quan gave up his chance for success and endured severe persecution for his faith.
I thought I had a heart for the persecuted church before reading Safely Home, but reading about the daily life of a persecuted Christian really made an impact. Even though the story is fiction, the persecution is very real to Christians around the world. God preserve and bless them!
Liturgy Lesson for Ash Wednesday: Contrition before God
February 22, 2012
Today is the first day of Lent, called Ash Wednesday, derived from the Latin, dies cinerum (day of ashes) liturgy found in eighth century copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary—a worship and devotional guide for the ancient Church. On this day, devout Christians, according to ancient custom, approach God’s altar before the Holy Eucharist starts, where the presbyter (priest), using ashes blessed for worship, thumbs Christ’s cross in ash on their foreheads as a mark of our separateness from the World and our inward contrition before God. Ashes on the head are also a very ancient demonstration of mourning—a broken spirit—and convey our intention to fast to demonstrate our repentance, deepen our life in the Lord, mortify our flesh, and unite us more closely with God in our own spirit. Fasting before God is an ancient, venerable spiritual discipline and not only models many great Old Testament examples, but also follows Jesus’ own practice, teaching us discipline and self-control through self-denial. The important concept here is not the ritual, but a Spirit-led personal desire for repentance and revival to better equip us for God’s work for each of us. If we do this by the leading of the Holy Ghost and in prayer, these devotions and spiritual disciplines can enrich our lives and bring us to a fuller, more personal presence of God with us. May the Spirit, then, so enable us as we walk the Wilderness with Jesus in this season.
God’s Word Central
February 22, 2012
God’s Word was intended to have the central place in church services—then, and now, and always. It is the one thing designed by God to hold the church true to its mission. Not talking about the Word, but simply reading and hearing God’s Word, which is sometimes rightly called “the Ministry of the Word.” ~ Halley’s Bible Handbook
Ash Wednesday Services
February 21, 2012
Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2012, marks the beginning of Lent, a season of penitence in preparation for Easter.
On this day, devout Christians, according to ancient custom, approach God’s altar before the Holy Eucharist starts, where the presbyter (priest), using ashes blessed for worship, thumbs Christ’s cross in ash on their foreheads as a mark of our separateness from the World and our inward contrition before God. Ashes on the head are also a very ancient demonstration of mourning—a broken spirit—and convey our intention to fast to demonstrate our repentance, deepen our life in the Lord, mortify our flesh, and unite us more closely with God in our own spirit.
All Saints will observe Ash Wednesday with two services:
- Noon – Imposition of Ashes
- 7:00 PM – Holy Communion and Imposition of Ashes
Liturgy Lesson for Quinquagesima: Lent Begins on Ash Wednesday
February 19, 2012
This Sunday is Quinquagesima (50 days before Easter) and points us to our immediate spiritual task, beginning Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, a special period of six weeks preceding Holy Week marked by fasting, penitence, and prayer. “Lent” is an Old Saxon word, meaning spring, and corresponds roughly to the 40 days of fasting our Lord submitted to in the Wilderness. The first day, this coming Wednesday, is called Ash Wednesday, owing to the ancient custom of sprinkling ashes on the heads of penitents—a Biblical token of a personal choice to humble ourselves in sorrow for sin or to entreat God for His mercy. Wisely, the Church Fathers provided this season as a tool to drive a deeper personal seeking of God among the faithful and for them to enter into a Spirit-led examen to prepare their hearts for more complete and spiritually edifying celebration of our Lord’s Resurrection. It is the original revival (meaning new life) of God’s Holy Church, as it is intended to infuse us with His new life by asking the Holy Spirit to help us clear out space for God to be Lord in our lives, through our discipline and devotion. May God speak to us in each of our lives as we seek His voice in the wilderness of Lent!
Spiritual Work
February 14, 2012
“The work of a Beethoven and the work of a charwoman become spiritual on precisly the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly, ‘as to the Lord.” This does not, of course, mean that it is for anyone a mere toss-up whether he should sweep rooms or compose symphonies. A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow. We are members of one body, but differentiated members, each with his own vocation.” ~ C. S. Lewis, “Learning in War-Time,” The Weight of Glory
