St. James Santee Episcopal Church Blog

Happy Twelfth Night! - Epiphany Party this Sat, Jan 7, 5:00pm

2012-01-05T22:20:00.001-05:00

Today, Jan 5, is the twelfth day of Christmas. In the Orthodox Churches, Twelfth Night is celebrated the same way we celebrate Christmas Eve. Children receive their presents just as the Three Kings brought presents to the Christ Child and all are admonished to follow the Light of Christ.

Everyone is reminded of our Epiphany Party this coming Saturday at 5:00 pm at the Hurteau home. Please join us for chili, fun and a celebration of the Three Kings.

Fractal Art above by an artist who identifies himself only as FracFx. Here is his website http://fracfx.deviantart.com/ Deviant does not refer to character but to show fractal variations on a theme in his art. Check it out.

A Lovely Poem for Christmas

2011-12-28T15:45:00.000-05:00

The Christ-child
The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast,
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world's desire.)

The Christ-child stood at Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown.
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.

GK Chesterton

So this is Christmas

2011-12-23T06:37:00.005-05:00

"So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun" - John Lennon.

Thus begins the song of John Lennon. It is somewhat melancholy, and Christmas really can be melancholy if its sole purpose is taking stock of what we have done and left undone. Perhaps, this is one reason gift giving can become so frantic, so unrealistic.

Now, please understand - I believe that stock-taking is something that we need to do regularly. Thomas Cranmer, framer of our Book of Common Prayer, understood that we need confession and to hear the Declaration of Forgiveness. But, we make a mistake if Christmas is about us and our failings.

No, Christmas is about what God has and is doing. Christmas is, in part, God's response to our failings and, so it is a time of JOY. God has unilaterally declared peace with us. "The war is over" as Lennon sang. While Lennon was most likely referring to the Vietnam War, he spoke more truth than he knew. For, in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God has declared "The war is over." Remember the angels' song "Glory to God in the highest and Peace to his people on earth. " God has declared peace with us. This Christmas, why don't you and I declare peace with those with whom we have been at odds - family members, neighbors nearby and those who may be far away. May you have a Holy and Blessed Christmas and remember "The war is over."

JTCO

Ponder This: A Murmuration

2011-12-02T23:23:00.001-05:00

A remarkable glimpse of the mystery of God's creation! A murmuration...

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Advent At Last

2011-12-02T09:15:00.003-05:00

Thank goodness Advent is here. Not only is it the start of a brand new year but it has built-in restfulness if we will let ourselves take hold of it. "Patient Waiting" is plenty hard to do, but it is what we are called to in Advent. We 21st c. folks in the West do NOT like to wait. We seem to want instant everything, but then, when we have gained that which we desired to have instantly, we often find ourselves feeling dissatisfied. So many of the best things in life take time to come into being: a new baby, a work of art, a disciplined prayer life, a course of study, and intimate relationship whether with others or with God. We most often see waiting as wasted time, but waiting is never wasted when it is purposeful. Below are two Advent videos - each with a very differnt feel. The first, a seeming contradiction to all that I have just written above, is a super speedy introduction to Advent. The second is a much slower, more meditative approah. I hope you are blessed by both.

FollowUp to Situation in Egypt - Miracles Do Happen

2011-10-14T10:26:00.000-04:00

The following is an update from the Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer H. Anis, Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa.
13 October 2011

My Dear Friends,

In the tradition of the Coptic Orthodox Church there was a story of a Muslim Caliph who challenged the Coptic Patriarch and said "you have a verse in your Bible that says, 'by faith you can move mountains.'" The Caliph added, "Show me that this verse is true and move the mountain of Mokottam (in the south of Cairo). If you cannot move it, I will kill all the Christians. "
The Patriarch was very sad and worried because he was not quite sure that the mountain would move. He was contacted by a shoe maker named Simon who said to the Patriarch, "do not worry, let us just pray and fast for three days and our mighty Lord will make a miracle!"
The Patriarch called for prayer and fasting for three days. On the third day, the doubting Caliph came to see if the mountain would move or not. The worried Patriarch was praying with his people, and behind them, Simon was interceding with confidence.
The mountain moved! The Caliph said, "I now know that you worship the true God."
Today was the third day of fasting and prayer. Many of our staff in the Diocese of Egypt, having this story in mind, were expecting a miracle to happen today or tomorrow; a miracle that can show how God will rescue His Church!
Today I have seen a miracle. It was very much like moving a mountain. I went this morning to visit the Grand Imam of AI Azhar. I arrived a bit early and I waited at the office of his advisor. While waiting I saw a bearded Muslim man in his 50's who came to present a proposal to the Grand Imam's advisor. He said, "I am a Muslim and I live between Tahrir Square and Maspero. I came here to witness that the spirit of hatred against Christians has increased a lot. On the night of the 9th of October when the killing of Christians took place, I met a group of people who were searching for Christians to beat after they heard that Christians attacked the army."
The man added, "Hatred is on the rise and I came to witness for this." He proposed then that AI Azhar must respond to all the thoughts that promote this hatred towards Christians. He also said that, "I and a group of Muslim writers and artists are happy to devote our time in order to combat this hatred against Christians. We have a list of books we must respond to and correct the false teachings towards Christians."
The advisor of the Grand Imam said to him, "this is a very good idea. Why don't we have the idea written and I will present it to the Grand Imam."
I did not believe my ears! A group of Muslims are disturbed by hatred of Christians and want to combat this hatred! !!!
To me, this was a miracle!
Who moved the heart of these people? Certainly it is God, who hears our prayers!

Let us continue to pray.

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer H. Anis

Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Diocese of Egypt
with North Africa and the Horn of Africa
President Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican
Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East

Urgent Prayer Request from Egypt

2011-10-14T10:23:00.000-04:00

The following message from Bishop Mouneer Anis was received in the Diocesan Office on October 9, 2011. Please keep our brothers and sisters in Egypt in your prayers.

Dear Friends,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

I do request your urgent prayers as the situation here in Cairo is very inflamed. Many Christians demonstrated after the incident of the burning of a church building in Mari Nab near Aswan (Egypt). The demonstrations started peacefully as the people were requesting that investigations for the incidents of burning and demolishing churches would be completed and the new law for building churches, that was promised four months ago, would be passed.

This evening it turned to be very violent between demonstrators and the military. More than 20 people were killed and more than 100 were injured.
Tomorrow there will be a large meeting for the House of Bishops of the Coptic Orthodox Church and political leaders will have a separate meeting to discuss a way out of this very difficult situation. I would appreciate your prayers for our beloved country.

We will hold prayer meetings tomorrow and I hope that I can meet with Muslim religious leaders in order to discuss a way forward for the situation.

Thank you for your prayers.

--The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis

Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa

President Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East

The Blessing of the Animals - Oct. 9, 4:00 PM

2011-10-02T14:49:00.000-04:00

Everyone is cordially invited to St. James-Santee's annual Blessing of the Animals. It will be held at 4:00 pm, Sunday, Oct. 9 - on the steps of the Chapel of Ease. Please join us and bring whatever critters you may have. The Blessing of the Animals is offered in thanksgiving for the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Here is his Collect (prayer).

Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfectness of joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We Are Celebrating

2011-09-22T19:27:00.000-04:00

the debut of a book by Bud Hill and Billy Baldwin. The official "launch" is Friday, Sept. 23rd at 7:00 pm at McClellanville's Town Hall. Please join us!

Blessing of the Backpacks is This Sunday- August 21, 10:00 am

2011-08-17T21:24:00.000-04:00

Please join us for the blessing and an ice cream party following Church. All student, teachers, administrators, and helpers of all descriptions are welcome. Fun aplenty.

Also, if you are out and about, pick up one school supply item for the offering. We'll be taking them to Windwood Farm, one of our domestic mission partners.

Read more about the wonderful work of Windwood Farm by clicking right Here.

The Feast Day of our Patron Saint - St. James the Apostle

2011-07-29T14:44:00.002-04:00

...was this week - July 25th -- below is a nice write up (heavy on legend) about St. James and includes a recipe for a well known dish - Coquille St. Jacque - developed in honor of St. James...check it out!

St. James was the son of Zebedee, a Galilean fisherman, and Salome, a pious woman who tended after Christ. He and his younger brother, St. John (Feast Day: December 27), were called as disciples just after Simon Peter and Andrew were called, and Peter, James and John are often mentioned together in Scripture, having been witness to the raising of Jairus's daughter, the Transfiguration, and Christ's Agony in the garden of Gethsemani.

He and his brother must have been quick to anger and zealous as they came to be called "Boanerges" ("Sons of Thunder") -- a nickname given to them by Jesus Himself. After Our Lord's Ascension, tradition says that St. James's zeal for evangelizing took him to parts of Spain for a time, as St. Paul had wanted to do (Romans 15:24), whereafter he returned to Judea for his martyrdom.

In A.D. 44, Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great who tried to have the infant Jesus killed, set out to do the will of the Jews by dealing harshly with local Christians. St. James was accused, and Herod then "killed James, the brother of John, with the sword." (Acts 12:1-2). Church Historian, Eusebius, tells us that St. James's accuser followed James to martyrdom when he converted after hearing the Saint's confession to Herod.

Here tradition picks up again by telling us that James's relics were translated to Spain (of course, legends grew surrounding the event, one strange and lovely one in particular apparently meant to explain why the cockleshell is St. James's emblem. It is said that when the Saint's relics were being conveyed by ship from Jerusalem and approached the coast of Portugal, a man happened to be riding his horse on the beach. The horse disobediently plunged into the sea, with its rider, making for the boat. They sank, of course, but then rose again, covered with scallop shells, and hence the cockleshell became the symbol of our hero). The relics were entombed and rather forgotten after years of Roman persecution, Vandal and Visigoth invasions, and Muslim attacks -- forgotten, that is, until an early 9th century hermit named Pelayo discovered the tomb -- some say after seeing a star marking the place -- in an area that became known as Compostela, which means "Field of Stars." The King built a cathedral to mark the location (Pelayo's Bishop, Theodomor of Iria, is also buried there, refusing to be buried in his See out of his desire to be near the Saint).

The faithful began to make pilgrimages to the site -- so much so that Compostela became the third greatest place of pilgrimage, just after Jerusalem and Rome -- and still make the pilgrimage today. After making one of the many routes, known as "the Camino," pilgrims attach cockleshells or their facsimile to their hats or clothes as "pilgrim badges."

At the time of the Muslim ("Moorish") invasions mentioned above, a particular battle took place that was to seal St. James ever more closely to Spain, where he is known as "Sant Iago." (Saint James) At the Battle of Clavijo in A.D. 841, the Christians had lost and were in retreat when King Ramirez of Leon had a dream in which the Apostle assured him of victory. He relayed his vision to his men, and the next morning he had his trumpeters sound the call to battle. There, on the field, the men saw St. James on a horse adorned with cockleshells, waving a banner. He led the Christians on to a clear victory, and ever since, the Spanish battle-cry has been "Santiago!"

St. James is the Patron of Spain, equestrians, blacksmiths, tanners, veterinarians. He is usually depicted in art with his symbols -- the cockleshell, pilgrim hat, sword, Sacred Scripture -- or on horeseback, usually trampling a Moor.

For more (including the recipe) read on...

http://www.fisheaters.com/customstimeafterpentecost4x.html

Here is..."his" Cathedral in Compostela, Spain

Click on image to enlarge it...

Trinity Sunday - Remember to Breathe

2011-06-17T17:29:00.000-04:00

A Beautiful Thought about Our Triune God

And that same Father says to each soul in His infinite loving kindness, "Thou art Mine and I am thine: I am thine and thou art Mine, for I have chosen thee from all eternity." … When we unite ourselves to God by love, then we are spirit: but when we are caught up and transformed by His Spirit, then we are led into fruition. And the spirit of God Himself breathes us out from Himself that we may love, and may do good works; and again he draws us into Himself, that we may rest in fruition. And this is Eternal Life; even as our mortal life subsists in the indrawing and outgoing of our breath.

-John of Ruysbroeck c. 1294-1381

De Septem Gradibus Amoris, ch. 14

A Spiral-Shaped God © Jan L. Richardson

Our Annual Brick Church Service....

2011-04-29T15:30:00.000-04:00

.....is THIS Sunday - May 1st. You and yours are warmly invited to join the St. James Santee Parish Episcopal Church Family. 11:00 am, followed by Cover Dish Picinic!

Scroll down on the right side of this page for directions.

Easter Day 2011

2011-04-29T15:21:00.001-04:00

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! -

Christ is Risen!

The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia Alleluia!

Church was so beautiful and full, music was uplifting, children scampered to pick up 350 plus Easter eggs and the Lord Jesus was glorified. Resurrection is Real! Alleluia!

Holy Week 2011

2011-04-19T13:45:00.000-04:00

...began with a glorious Palm-Passion Sunday and will continue with Maundy Thursday at 6:30 pm and Good Friday at noon. Come, walk the week and keep watch.

Here are some more pictures from the Windy Fire...they are such a strong symbol of the desolation that surely was the Lord's as he hung on the cross...

"For us to wicked hands betrayed, scourged mocked, in purple robe arrayed, he bore the shameful cross and death; for us gave up his dying breath." (O Love, how deep, how broad, how high - Hymnal 1982 - 449)

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

Controlled Burning

2011-03-31T17:42:00.002-04:00

Last week a good sized fire named "The Windy Fire" came calling in the vicinity of Brick Church, Old Georgetown Rd, Rutledge Road and the South Santee area. We are thankful to God that there were no injuries or loss of life. The fire consumed about 2,600 acres of timber by the time it was done. It started on Wednesday, the 23rd and I noted one or two spots still smouldering when I rode out there on Sunday. It was, considered 95% contained by late Friday.
What an anxious time. I sat by the radio scanner listening to the various firetrucks and divisions all working together in a pretty wonderfully coordinated way. Ben Chapman told me that there were two fire truck stationed at Brick Church and apparently they were staged all around to protect some our other historic properties - Hampton Plantation, Harrietta, the Wedge, and Fairfield on the South Santee side.
By Sunday, we realized just how close the fire had come to Brick Church and to the Wambaw tract. The fire burned right up to the northeast corner of the Wambaw tract. Firefighters and the forestry folks are convinced that it did not go further because of the controlled burning we've been doing (well, the Nature Conservancy) over the past two years. Also, the firefighters were using back burning to block areas as well as firebreaks. Fighting fire with fire is a common expression but I understand it better now. The controlled burning took out what would have been fuel for a big fire and cleared out the undergrowth so the long leaf pines could stretch out and have room to thrive. Some of the area (the Peachtree tract) is absolutely burnt to cinders and is so damaged that it will not be able to come back. A good bit of the rest of the forest looks as if it will be able to make a comeback - although it looks pretty fire darkened now. I suspect there are more than a few sermons in this all too real happening, but the thing that strikes me right away is the lesson in controlled burning. Perhaps, just perhaps, God can use the difficult times in our lives as a kind of controlled burning -- the undergrowth burns up so that our spirits can have room to grow and flourish. I don't know. It is certainly difficult to think this way when one is in the middle of adversity and it is only in retrospect that we can see. I like something St. Paul had to say about suffering (Romans 5). He writes, "We boast in our suffering..." Eugene Peterson puts it this way "We continue shout our praise even when we are hemmed in with trouble." (The Message)...the NRSV continues...knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope , and hope does not disappoint us..."..So, Paul says when the controlled burning, when the back burning starts, praise God for what it will bring. All in all , I think I rather go through a fire having had controlled burning overseen by the Almighty ahead of time, so that when the big and really dangerous one shows up, I have some degree of protection. I'd like for you to have that too. Blessings, Jennie

Photo by Tom McGree

Ash Wednesday 2011 - Come Back To Me

2011-03-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

        Ash Wednesday is come again. Thank God.
       The Lord says through Joel, "Return to Me." St. Paul says, "I BEG you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." I think he would prefer that be put in all caps. BE RECONCILED TO GOD! In email and internet parlance, all caps is the equivalent of shouting.
         I want to ask you just what does one DO with all of this kind of talk? What if I (or you or we) were not even aware in the least that we have need of such thing? Well, then, that might be a problem and which is precisely why Joel is talking about blowing trumpets (wake up call) and why the Ash Wednesday Collect says, drawing from Psalm 51, "Create and make in us new and contrite hearts." It is just when we start to think - "I don't need this stuff : God and I are just fine" that we are in the most difficulty. We are in quicksand and don't even realize that we have fallen. The simple truth is just what John says - All have sinned and fallen short....When our hearts are softened toward God, we realize just how much we fall short. I did it at 4:00 this afternoon, Lord, help me. It wasn't huge in the big scale of things, but it was one of those little stumbles that lets you know - "O wait a minute...that wasn't exactly right." So, we do need to return and we do need to be reconciled. If you don't have a sense of your need for this--then ask God for that new and contrite heart. He will give it to you, and it will be as tender as the skin of a newborn baby. And, that will be something worth having. May God bless you this Lent.

Morning Prayer

2011-02-23T20:26:00.003-05:00

by our resident poet, William Baldwin

Add 'em up

Odds and ends

Equating to oblivion.

Oceans rise,

Planets spin

Light goes straight

Then it bends.

Christ, the Master,

Hear this prayer.

Make our day

A world contained

By Vital Love

And Care.

Woke up this Morning

2011-02-10T10:05:00.009-05:00

With this tune going through my head. It's the very beautiful setting of the Twenty-Third Psalm by Howard Goodall. Below is a video of the music with images of the English countryside.
I was unsure just why this was my morning feast, but then, arrived at school and began my first class (2nd grade this morning). Our topic of the week is the story of Gideon - the unlikely hero. Yesterday I created a handout using the acronym FROG (Fully Rely on God). I told the story and then had the children color the sheet - which had a picture of a frog on it along with the bible verse - "The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid." - Heb. 13.6 . I found myself wishing for some beautiful music they could color to...and there it was. Perhaps I also needed music for coloring... or Whatever the reason, here it is.. Enjoy.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T16:15:00.000-05:00

May God bless you in 2011!

Here is a great way to begin the New Year! Check out this beautiful setting of Ps. 117 by Mozart.

Hat tip Anglican Curmudgeon

Here is the text:

LAUDATE DOMINUM

Laudate Dominum omnes gentes; laudate eum, omnes populi.
Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia ejus, et veritas
Domini manet in aeternum.

Gloria Patri et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio,
et nunc et semper, et in saecula seculorum. Amen

Here is our prayerbook translation:

Praise the LORD, all you nations;
laud him, all you peoples.

For his loving-kindness toward us is great,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures for ever. Hallelujah!

Wiener Konzerthaus, 13.12.2008
Soprano: Genia Kühmeier
Choir: Wiener Sängerknaben & Chorus Viennensis

Wiener Symphoniker
directed by Karel Mark Chichon

Jesus Christ the Apple Tree"

2010-12-26T13:52:00.000-05:00

Sung most often as a Christmas carol but wonderful for any time of the year. The The hymn is composed by Elizabeth Poston and sung here by the Choir of Kings College, Cambridge (1993) ...Here are the words

Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree

His beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know but ne'er can tell
His beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought
For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought
I missed of all but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I'm weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest a while
I'm weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest a while
Under the shadow I will be
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit does make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
This fruit does make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.

You are Warmly Invited

2010-12-20T20:51:00.000-05:00

To St. James Santee Episcopal Church for the 2010 Christmas Eve service. Friday Evening, 6:00 pm - Holy Communion, Rt. II, Carols, Violin, Organ, Homily and Children's offering - "The Stars of Bethlehem"

The Christmas Story

2010-12-20T20:45:00.000-05:00

told in a slightly different way!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

What a wonderful surprise!

Christ the King

2010-11-22T11:51:00.000-05:00

The Sands of Time Are Sinking

words by Ann Cousin, based on letters of Samuel Rutherford.

1. The sands of time are sinking,

The dawn of heaven breaks;

The summer morn I’ve sighed for -

The fair, sweet morn awakes:

Dark, dark had been the midnight

But dayspring is at hand,

And glory, glory dwelleth

In Emmanuel’s land.

2. The king there in His beauty,

Without a veil is seen:

It were a well-spent journey,

Though seven deaths lay between:

The Lamb with His fair army,

Doth on Mount Zion stand,

And glory, glory dwelleth

In Emmanuel’s land

3. O Christ, He is the fountain,

The deep, sweet well of love!

The streams on earth I’ve tasted

More deep I’ll drink above:

There to an ocean fullness

His mercy doth expand,

And glory, glory dwelleth

In Emmanuel’s land.

4. The bride eyes not her garment,

But her dear Bridegroom’s face;

I will not gaze at glory

But on my King of grace.

Not at the crown He giveth

But on His pierced hand;

The Lamb is all the glory

Of Emmanuel’s land.

5. O I am my Beloved’s

And my Beloved is mine!

He brings a poor vile sinner

Into His house of wine

I stand upon His merit -

I know no other stand,

Not e’en where glory dwelleth

In Emmanuel’s land.

For Your Calendar, Pt. II

2010-09-28T21:19:00.001-04:00

The Concert was glorious...please be sure to join us for....

A Talk by Suzy McCall, Long Term Missionary to Honduras and Founder of the LAMB Institute....

Thursday Evening, Oct. 21st, at 6:30 pm - Talk and Covered Dish
St. James Santee is proud to be a mission partner with LAMB Institute...Here is a little bit about their ministry..

LAMB is a Christ-centered, multifaceted ministry based in Tegucigalpa, Honduras which seeks to reach out to the world with the love of Jesus. LAMB was founded in 1999 by long term missionary, Suzy McCall as a training school for Hondurans called to world mission. Today, LAMB also operates an elementary school with over 250 children, a large youth outreach ministry, and a community assistance program which ministers to the needy with food, medical care, construction help, microfinance assistance. These three ministries are centered in one of the most violent and poverty stricken areas of Tegucigalpa – Flor de Campo. LAMB also operates a residential home and school for over 60 abused and neglected children in a rural setting outside the city. LAMB’s newest ministry is an outreach and shelter for girls and young women who have been victims of human trafficking.

Please bring a dish, a friend and join us. You will be inspired! For more about LAMB, check out their website at The LAMB Institute

For your Calendar.....

2010-09-05T16:47:00.026-04:00

A Concert - Sept. 19th,

4:00 pm * Chapel of Ease

Songs of Praise and Thanksgiving. Organ, Cello, and Voices.

Featuring: Handel, Bach, contemporary hymn arrangements and spirituals. Musicians: Mindy Burgin- Cello - St. James’ Church Musician; Elsie Pollack - Organ, Organist at Holy Cross-Faith Memorial Episcopal Church at Pawley’s Island; Patti Edwards, Soprano, and Brink Norton, Tenor. Free!

Please join us and bring a friend.

And

A Talk by Suzy McCall, Long Term Missionary to Honduras and Founder of the

LAMB Institute....

Thursday Evening, Oct. 21st, at 6:30 pm - Talk and Covered Dish

St. James Santee is proud to be a mission partner with LAMB Institute...Here is a little bit about their ministry..

LAMB is a Christ-centered, multifaceted ministry based in Tegucigalpa, Honduras which seeks to reach out to the world with the love of Jesus. LAMB was founded in 1999 by long term missionary, Suzy McCall as a training school for Hondurans called to world mission. Today, LAMB also operates an elementary school with over 250 children, a large youth outreach ministry, and a community assistance program which ministers to the needy with food, medical care, construction help, microfinance assistance. These three ministries are centered in one of the most violent and poverty stricken areas of Tegucigalpa – Flor de Campo. LAMB also operates a residential home and school for over 60 abused and neglected children in a rural setting outside the city. LAMB’s newest ministry is an outreach and shelter for girls and young women who have been victims of human trafficking.

Please bring a dish, a friend and join us. You will be inspired! For more about LAMB, check out their website at The LAMB Institute

A Beautiful Meditation on Psalm 139

2010-09-03T17:46:00.002-04:00

...by Liz Babbs

Happy Independence Day!!

2010-07-04T13:01:00.000-04:00

Here is a wonderful excerpt from a 1775 letter...
I received by the Deacon two letters from you, this day, from Hartford. I feel a recruit of spirits upon the reception of them, and the comfortable news which they contain.
We had not heard any thing from North Carolina before, and could not help feel ing anxious, lest we should find a defection there, arising more from their ancient feuds and animosities, than from any settled ill-will in the present con test ; but the confirmation of the choice of their delegates by their Assembly, leaves not a doubt of their firmness ; nor doth the eye say unto the hand, " I have no need of thee." The Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.

Great events are most certainly in the womb of futurity ; and, if the present chastisements which we experience have a proper influence upon our conduct, the event will certainly be in our favor.

The distresses of the inhabitants of Boston are beyond the power of language to describe ; there are but very few who are permitted to come out in a day ; they delay giving passes, make them wait from hour to hour, and their counsels are not two hours together alike. One day, they shall come out with their effects ; the next day, merchandise is not effects. One day, their house hold furniture is to come out ; the next, only wearing apparel ; the next, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, and he refuseth to hearken to them, and will not let the people go. May their deliverance be wrought out for them, as it was for the children of Israel. I do not mean by miracles, but by the interposition of Heaven in their favor.....

--A letter from Abigail Adams (1744-1818) to John Adams (1735-1826) 7 May 1775

Still Celebrating Easter

2010-04-18T14:21:00.003-04:00

Dear Friends, the Brick Church service was wonderful this year. It seems as if every year I say, "This one was the best EVER." Perfect weather, a great sermon, beautiful music, yummy picnic, but best of all our wonderful extended family. If you did not attend, put it on your calendar for 2011 - April 30th.

Easter is a season of 50 days but it is worth celebrating every day because an empty tomb changes everything.

Here is a terrific video which makes the case far better than I can...be sure to watch it all the way to the end. Be sure to click on the "Full Screen" icon (to the far right on the bottom frame with four arrows)- otherwise you won't be able to read the words which, for this video, is important to be able to do.

Happy Easter forever!!!

Brick Church Sunday is This Coming Sunday - April 11th

2010-04-08T22:45:00.002-04:00

Plan to join us for our continuing celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

Our preacher will be the Rev. Brian K. McGreevy (see bio below)...Brian is a thoughtful and engaging preacher...
Special music offered by SJS Church Musician Sue Tanner - hammered dulcimer and vocals accompanied by Brink Norton, vocalist..
Our usual wonderful picnic...

The Rev. Brian K. McGreevy, J.D., serves as Head Chaplain at Porter-Gaud School, where he is also Chair of the Religion Department. He is also on the clergy staff at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. Rev. McGreevy, an alumnus of Porter-Gaud, attended Duke University and holds a B.A. with high honors from Furman University and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law with Honors in Family Law, where he did work in the law and theology program. He has over twenty-five years’ experience with youth ministry and teaching high school and college students in several Episcopal churches, having served as College Minister at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta as well as having served on associate staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He has completed the three-year training program for vocational deacons administered by the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. Following a successful 15-year career in international law and management, Rev. McGreevy and his family returned to Charleston, where they owned a bed and breakfast for ten years. Rev. McGreevy is part of the senior administration at Porter-Gaud, teaches courses on New Testament and C.S. Lewis, and oversees a vibrant student ministry where nearly 100 Upper School and 60 Middle School students are involved in voluntary weekly Bible studies and discipleship groups. He is married to the former Jane Hollis Whitney, and they have four children—Whit (a sophomore at Furman University), Amy (a senior at Porter-Gaud), Mary Hollis (a freshman at Porter-Gaud), and Anne (10 years old and home-schooled).

Photo by Brenda Kay

A Blessed Easter to You All!

2010-04-07T20:03:00.010-04:00

It has been said that most preachers really have only one or two sermons irregardless of how often he or she might preach.

The late Rev. Canon Samuel Fleming's was "Jesus is Lord." St. John the Beloved was known to have wearied his congregations by constantly preaching on "Love One Another." If I were to attempt to articulate my "one" Easter sermon, it would have to be drawn from these two texts: "even when we were dead through our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ ..." (Eph. 2:5) and "Death is swallowed up in victory." (1 Cor. 15:54c).

Few poets have written more beautifully on this topic than John Donne. Here is an excerpt from his Sonnet X, read so well by actor, Emma Thompson from the film "Wit".

Holy Week 2010

2010-04-01T14:12:00.003-04:00

Such a beautiful song and just right for Holy Week....

"How Deep the Father's Love for Us" - Stuart Townend

A Lenten Message From Bishop Lawrence

2010-02-17T19:53:00.001-05:00

February 16, 2010

Self-Examination: Spiritual Stocktaking

Dear Friends in Christ,If you have never lived in snow country where the roads are salted because of snow and ice, you may not know how salt can corrode the fenders and undergirding of your car. I remember seeing, one morning as I drove to work, an oncoming car lose its rear wheels and chassis. The trunk of the car hit the asphalt with sparks and scraping, while the rear axle and wheels went rolling off the road and into a vacant field. Since no one was hurt, I couldn’t help snickering to myself at the jocular scene, when I was suddenly arrested by the sobering thought: “Mark, when was the last time you examined the frame of your car?” Most of us, before we go on a cross-country trip, will check the oil, tires, brakes, and fill the gas tank. Yet surprisingly enough, many of us on the great journey of the Christian life, traveling over rough roads, in bad weather, icy passes and lonely barren deserts, demonstrate an all too lackadaisical attitude to the equipment of our spiritual lives.Lent is a good season to do what Evelyn Underhill calls spiritual stocktaking. In the disciplines of the Christian life this is called “Self-Examination.” It is the first discipline mentioned in the Ash Wednesday invitation to a Holy Lent. The Prayer Book reads: “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word.” (BCP, p. 265)Although Self-Examination, or “the examination of conscience” as it used to be called, is a long honored discipline of the Christian life, too often the average Christian not only doesn’t know how to do it, he doesn’t even know what it is. This of course is not his fault; it is the fault of us who are pastors and teachers in the Church. Ironically, 12 Step groups like A.A. and N.A. make important use of this discipline. The Fourth Step of A.A. reads: “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” The Fifth Step follows up: “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” Sixth Step: “ Were entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character.”These steps are part of the process of self-examination and repentance. As St. Paul counsels in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves....” There are two fundamental sources of help for practicing self-examination. The first and most important help, which seems almost superfluous to mention, is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit indwells us as believers. The Holy Spirit knows us thoroughly and searches the deep things of our lives. (Read for instance such passages as Psalm 139, John 7:37-39, John 14:16-26, Romans 8:26-27). To invite Him to search your heart is an invitation not merely to compile a list of sins to be gotten through; it is an opportunity for growth, learning, discovery, making new connections, receiving insight and to seek His help in putting things in order. The second help for self-examination is a written list to be worked through with self-honesty. Some people use the Seven Deadly Sins--(Pride, Envy/Jealousy, Anger, Sloth/Melancholy, Greed, Gluttony and Lust), others, the Ten Commandments, or the Litany of Penitence in the Ash Wednesday Liturgy (BCP, p. 267). One possibility that is often forgotten is to use not those lists that accentuate the negative dimensions of our lives but to ask the question about the place and pursuit of virtue. After all we have spent, as a culture and Church, far too much time with the clarification of values and given too little attention to the cultivation of virtue. So to take the Beatitudes, or the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:19-26, or even Seven Saving Virtues (Justice, Courage/Fortitude, Prudence/Wisdom, Temperance, Faith, Hope and Love) as the focus, after scrutinizing our sins of omission, can be a profitable exercise indeed. Such written forms might nudge us into areas we might be unconsciously avoiding and yet towards that which God would have us go. Self-Examination of course is not a one-time thing; something done merely before the Ash Wednesday Liturgy. You might want to do it periodically during Lent. Find a quiet place where you’ll be alone and uninterrupted. Put aside the cell phone and computer. Allow twenty to thirty minutes. Bring along a pencil and paper. Once there ask God’s Spirit to help you in your search. It may lead you to repentance, which is of course not only the result of grace but the key which unlocks the wondrous treasures of grace.
With joyful embrace of the Lenten disciplines,I remain faithfully yours,

+Mark Lawrence
South Carolina

Happy New Year, 2010! A Prayer for Peace.

2009-12-31T15:29:00.006-05:00

Let us join our voices with those of the angels who brought us the Christmas message of Peace on Earth.

Glory to God in the Highest and, to All on Earth, Peace and Goodwill !

Here is a a portion of a prayer for peace....

"May the Lord banish from the hearts of all men and women whatever might endanger peace.
May He transform them into witnesses of truth, justice and love.
May He enkindle the rulers of peoples so that in addition to their solicitude for the proper welfare of their citizens, they may guarantee and defend the great gift of peace.
May He enkindle the wills of all so that they may overcome the barriers that divide, cherish the bonds of mutual charity, understand others, and pardon those who have done them wrong.
May all peoples of the earth become as brothers and sisters, and may the most longed-for peace blossom forth and reign always among men and women."

Pacem in Terris
Pope John XXIII, 4/11/63

Merry Christmas 2009!

2009-12-26T14:43:00.004-05:00

A Holy and Blessed Christmas to all you...

One of my most favorite Christmas carols is the plaintive "I Wonder as I Wander." Its origins lie in a song fragment collected in Murphy, NC in 1933 by folklorist and singer, John Jacob Nies. Here is a beautiful performance. More information, including the lyrics, is below. One can surely hear the Appalachian Scots influence. I especially like the characterization of humankind as "poor or'ny people like you and I..."

While in the town of Murphy in Appalachian North Carolina, July 16, 1933, Niles attended a fundraising meeting held by evangelicals who had been ordered out of town by the police. In his unpublished autobiography, he wrote of hearing the song:
A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached to the automobile. She began to sing. Her clothes were unbelievable dirty and ragged, and she, too, was unwashed. Her ash-blond hair hung down in long skeins.... But, best of all, she was beautiful, and in her untutored way, she could sing. She smiled as she sang, smiled rather sadly, and sang only a single line of a song.
The girl, named Annie Morgan, repeated the fragment seven times in exchange for a quarter per performance, and Niles left with "three lines of verse, a garbled fragment of melodic material—and a magnificent idea". (In various accounts of this story, Niles hears between one and three lines of the song. Based on this fragment, Niles composed the version of "I Wonder as I Wander" that is known today, extending the melody to four lines and the lyrics to three stanzas. His composition was completed on October 4, 1933. Niles first performed the song on December 19, 1933 at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. It was originally published in Songs of the Hill Folk in 1934.

1. I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.
For poor on'ry people like you and like I...
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

2. When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall,
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.
But high from God's heaven a star's light did fall,
And the promise of ages it then did recall.

3. If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,
A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing,
Or all of God's angels in heav'n for to sing,
He surely could have it, 'cause he was the King.

Shopmas and John the Baptist: An Advent Message from the Bishop of South Carolina

2009-11-29T13:32:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends,
It’s a lot like bringing the boxes of Christmas decorations out of the attic or wherever you have them stored. Like pulling the Christmas sweaters from the wardrobe closet—that to my mind is the way the Church, each Advent, drags him out of the liturgical mothballs. His given name is John bar Zechariah. You know him as John the Baptist. He is completely out of step with what I have dubbed the Shopmas season. That is a word I coined some years ago to describe the season that begins the day after Thanksgiving and lasts until December 31th. It is celebrated with lights, glitter, cards, parties, presents, and most of all shopping accompanied by holiday music. It is enchanting how puissant such songs as “Winter Wonderland” or “White Christmas” can be for the shopkeeper’s business. Some preachers complain about this festive celebration. I kind of like it.

Continue reading at.... http://www.dioceseofsc.org/mt/archives/000435.html

It's an Easy Thing to Fall into Worry...

2009-09-18T09:46:00.002-04:00

....given all of the roiling of the waters - The Episcopal Church and our own diocesan stuff, tremendous anxiety about our care of the physical creation, the struggle over universal health care efforts, changes in strategy about the defense of our country and our allies, and our own smaller- but none the less important to us - concerns. Here are some words that I find genuinely comforting. May they bless you too.

"We must overcome our fear of the future. But we will not be able to overcome it completely unless we do so together. The 'answer' to that fear is neither coercion nor repression, nor the imposition of one social 'model' on the entire world. The answer to the fear which darkens human existence at the end of the 20th century is the common effort to build the civilization of love, founded on the universal values of peace, solidarity, justice, and liberty. And the 'soul' of the civilization of love is the culture of freedom: the freedom of individuals and the freedom of nations, lived in self-giving solidarity and responsibility.

"We must not be afraid of the future. We must not be afraid of man. It is no accident that we are here. Each and every human person has been created in the 'image and likeness' of the One who is the origin of all that is. We have within us the capacities for wisdom and virtue. With these gifts, and with the help of God's grace, we can build in the next century and the next millennium a civilization worthy of the human person, a true culture of freedom. We can and must do so! And in doing so, we shall see that the tears of this century have prepared the ground for a new springtime of the human spirit."

--Pope John Paul II during his remarkable address to the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City on Oct. 5, 1995

(Thanks to T1:9)

The E100 at St. James Santee!

2009-09-17T15:32:00.004-04:00

This past Sunday, September 13th, we began the E100 Challenge. This is an exciting program which helps congregations and individuals increase their biblical literacy and understanding of the broad themes of the bible - something that is difficult to do with many individual reading programs.
There are a number of ways to approach the program, and we will be preaching sequentially through the Essential 100 Bible Stories. The first 50 stories are from the Old Testament, and the second 50 are from the New Testament. Congregations and individuals who have particpated in the program report very positive experiences.
It will take us quite a while to get through all 100 stories because we will be pausing during Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter Day, and the Second Sunday of Easter. Please see the link to the reading schedule at the right.
For more information about the E100 Challenge, check out this link

http://www.ministryplanet.net/sites/e100/home

Bishop Lawrence's Address to the Clergy

2009-08-22T19:33:00.002-04:00

This post will remain at the top of the blog page for the present time. Any other relevant documents will be posted just below it. Please see the Vicar's commentary on Bishop Lawrence's letter posted just below.

On August 13th, our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, addressed the clergy of the Diocese of S.C. His paper was distributed, and he read it aloud word for word to the gathering. Below is the link to his paper (on the diocesan web site). It is closely argued piece of writing and bears study.

http://www.dioceseofsc.org/mt/archives/000422.html

Bishop Lawrence was under an extreme amount of pressure to make a significant statement, and I believe he has done just that. In his comments to the clergy, he said it was his desire to begin a conversation with the clergy and people of the Diocese of SC, and, in his paper, he has laid out a description of the landscape as he presently sees it along with his thoughts about how to proceed from this point.

The paper has received quite a bit notice, and the reaction has been all over the map. Bishop Allison (SC XII) said during the Q & A time that "“No living bishop that I know, in my opinion, is capable of having the faith, the scholarship, the courage, the wisdom to put out this paper.”

Here are some responses from a variety of perspectives:

The Living Church - http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/8/13/sc-bishop-proposes-diocese-withdraw-from-tec-governing-bodies

ENS (Episcopal News Service) http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/81803_113306_ENG_HTM.htm

From David Virtue http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11020

My hope is to offer some personal commentary and analysis shortly. I look forward to our congregational discussion Sunday (the 23rd). I will publish my commentary here after our discussion.

Yrs in Christ,
Jennie

PS. I've posted David Stoney's synopsis below.

A Commentary on Bishop Lawrence's Letter

2009-08-19T20:04:00.008-04:00

Dear Friends and Members of St. James Santee, In the post above, I promised that I would offer my own commentary on Bishop Lawrence's letter. This appears below. To any reading this, please note - this was written for the congregation I serve. If there are any errors or misrepresentations of Bishop Lawrence's paper, I take total responsibility. Original comments 8/22/09. Edited 8/24/09.

Bishop Lawrence's Address to the Clergy, August 13, 2009
Address to the Clergy of the Diocese of South Carolina—August 13, 2009

I. Introduction:

Comments reference what follows below and are in BLUE.

Bishop Lawrence begins by warning the clergy about the danger of thinking it is possible to find a place of safety and security in order to avoid the storms that are presently impacting the life of The Episcopal Church. To think that such a place exists is delusional – the truth is that we have to go through the storm. Going through the storm for many Episcopalians has already meant struggles and suffering (conflict, division, loss of the use of their church buildings, being subject to lawsuits, loss of livelihood, loss of loving relationships with long time Church brothers and sisters and, perhaps, most difficult, profound grief over the loss of a known and trusted Church). South Carolina has been protected, with a few exceptions, from this storm for a time, but now it is coming our way.

This may seem upsetting but we always need to remember two things:
1. The Church and we are in God’s hands, and we can trust God to get us through.
2. And, things that look permanent now may not be because the political landscape in TEC and the larger Anglican Communion is shifting rapidly.

He sees four basic approaches that the people of the Diocese of SC are trying to use (those who are unhappy with the direction of General Convention). The first group thinks the way to deal with the troubles in TEC is to leave TEC and join forces with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) or some other church body. A second group believes that the Archbishop of Canterbury (and others in authority in the world-wide communion) will find a way and save us. The third group is stuck in a kind of paralysis and can’t decide what to do. The fourth group is in denial that the problems of TEC will affect us. But, none of these approaches is good or workable. In fact, we deceive ourselves if we think that it is possible at the present time to get away from the struggles happening in our church.

Among the many doctrines of our Faith to which I might ask you to turn your thoughts this morning it is first to that wonderful doctrine of God’s Providence. It was to this doctrine that my distant predecessor, The Rt. Reverend Robert Smith, first bishop of South Carolina, turned when he addressed the Colonial Assembly which gathered at St. Philips Church in the early months of 1775 as the winds of war were blowing on the eve of the American Revolution. Of course he was not at that time a bishop. There were no bishops on these shores, though Anglicanism was well into its second century on this continent. Nor was he a bishop when he returned to Charleston from imprisonment and banishment in 1783 to give his homecoming sermon, where once again he spoke of an “overruling Providence”. As perhaps you know, his banishment to a northern colony was due to his having taken words and arms against his former king and country—and having thrown in his lot with his adopted home, he risked and lost everything. He was taken to Philadelphia bereaved of wife (she had recently died), and bereft of home and parish. But on that public occasion in February 1775, before he had ever fired a musket towards a British troop, this unlikely patriot declared his deepest allegiance:
“We form schemes of happiness and deceive ourselves with a weak imagination of security, without ever taking God into the question; no wonder then if our hopes prove abortive, and the conceits of our vain minds end in disappointment and sorrow. For we are inclined to attribute our prosperity to the wisdom of our own councils, and the arm of our own flesh, we become forgetful of him from whom our strength and wisdom are derived; and are then betrayed into that fatal security, which ends in shame, in misery and ruin.”
Is it not towards such false peace or fatal security that we are tempted too often and too soon to fling ourselves?
I believe for us to discern God’s purpose and role for this diocese in this current challenge, and then to live it out faithfully, will involve each of us in more struggles and suffering than we have yet invested—for we have invested as yet, so little. This is not a challenge for a bishop or even a Standing Committee to face alone. None of us can afford to keep the members of our parishes uninformed of the challenges that lie ahead. Consequently, since I see struggle and suffering before each of us, it is towards God’s beneficent providence I chose first to turn our attention this morning. And where can we find a text to so focus our thoughts on this strengthening doctrine than that which is found in the prophet Isaiah—spoken to those in exile?
“Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.” (Isaiah 40:21-24)It is under such a godly Providence that we live—and it is under this godly providence, whether we act or merely stand firm in prayerful posture, that we “shall mount up with wings like eagles, [we] shall run and not be weary, [we] shall walk and not faint.” In our present situation some would counsel us that it is past time to cut our moorings from The Episcopal Church and take refuge in a harbor without the pluralism and false teachings that surround us in both the secular culture and within our Church; others speak to us of the need for patience, to “let the Instruments of Unity do their work”—that now is not yet the time to act. Still others seem paralyzed; though no less distressed than us by the developments within our Church, they seem to take a posture of insular denial of what is inexorably coming upon us all. While I have no immediate solution to the challenges we face—it is certainly neither a hasty departure nor a paralyzed passivity I counsel. Either of these I believe, regardless of what godly wisdom they may be for others, would be for us a false peace and a “fatal security” which in time (and brief at that) would only betray us. Others in their given circumstances must do what they believe God has called them to do.
One must remember, however, that it is an ever changing landscape in Anglicanism today so there is a need for dynamism lest one becomes too passive, and for provisionality ‘lest one should not notice the engagement has moved on to a new field of action.

II. The false Gospel of an Indiscriminate Inclusivity

In this section, Bishop Lawrence identifies what he thinks the real problem is. Those on the “conservative” side think they have been fighting against the national leadership of the Episcopal Church. The fight really is against something that is much larger – cultural trends that are masquerading as Church teachings, but which are at odds with creedal Christianity as found in the Nicene and Apostles creeds. He refers to a “false gospel” and names it as “the false Gospel of Indiscriminate Inclusivity". He says these teachings and trends are like a creeping vine which might initially appear attractive but, before you know it, has taken over the whole place and causing real damage. (Kudzu!)

It is perfectly understandable to me that many among us may look at the developments during the last several decades and believe it is The Episcopal Church (TEC) that is our problem. Those of us who refer to ourselves as reasserters, conservatives, Anglo-Catholics or Evangelicals, or sometimes under the sweeping moniker of “orthodox” have often felt ourselves driven, if not out, then to the margins of this Church. We refer sometimes with derision to the Presiding Bishop (whether Bps Browning, Griswold or Jefferts Schori). We speak of 815, the “National” Church, the General Convention, as problems we have to react to, and believe we know what it is we are fighting, or are in conflict with. Sometimes it all comes under the title of TEC. Never realizing perhaps that here at least in South Carolina we are the Church: The Episcopal Church. It is only as I’ve allowed my Lord to remove the anger toward these “institutions” of the Church that I can recognize with greater clarity what it is I need to engage—and even fight against.
When the apostle Paul heard that the churches of Galatia (Gal 1:2) were being misled by a “new” gospel, turning away from Christ and his grace it was not the churches themselves he attacked. Certainly he spoke firmly when he penned or dictated the words “O foolish Galatians! who has bewitched you…..” Or stated in those opening verses of the letter “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” His sharp words addressed the false teaching and those who preached it. (Galatians 1:6—9). So too in our present context it is not The Episcopal Church that is the problem, it is those who have cloaked it with so many strands of false doctrine that we can well wonder if indeed it can be salvaged. Like an invading vine unnatural to the habitat that has covered a once elegant, old growth forest with what to some looks like a gracious vine it is in fact decorative destruction. What may look like a flower may be bramble.

He goes on to describe some of the different ways these trends coming from outside the Church are impacting the most basic teachings of Christianity.

We face a multitude of false teachings, which like an intrusive vine, is threatening The Episcopal Church as we have inherited and received it from our ancestors. I have called this the false Gospel of Indiscriminate Inclusivity because I see a common pattern in how the core doctrines of our faith are being systematically deconstructed. I must by necessity be brief and cannot give any of these concerns the attention they deserve.

Classical Trinitarian formulations are disappearing from our worship ( JTCO- what appears at General Convention usually is on its way to the folks in the dioceses and heralds prayer book revisions) and especially the use of “Father” as an address to God.

The Trinity.

One of the doctrines under barrage in our Church is an orthodox understanding of the Trinity. At the last three General Conventions I have been concerned about the lack of Eucharists according to the rites in the Book of Common Prayer. Even this I might be able to overlook if the rites that were employed were not so devoid of references to God the Father. In more than a few of these worship services the only reference to God the Father actually in the liturgy was the Lord’s Prayer. In the name of inclusion there’s the perception by some (a variant of radical feminism I suppose) that the references to the Father, and the pronoun “he” is some lingering patriarchal holdover. Yet it has always intrigued me that in all of the Hebrew Scriptures there are only a handful of references to God as Father. If one wants to locate the authority of the Church to worship God as Father one need look no further than Jesus himself. It was he who called God “Abba” and taught the disciples to prayer “Our Father.” Frankly, if Jesus got that one so wrong, why should we turn to him for anything? As many of you know there is more here than I have time to explore this morning.

Is Jesus Christ the “only begotten Son of the Father” or not?

Uniqueness of Christ.

In my opinion the current Presiding Bishop has repeatedly been irresponsible with her comments regarding the doctrine of the Uniqueness and Universality of Christ. This will not surprise you, for I said as much to her when she visited us shortly after my consecration. In answering questions about the Uniqueness and Universality of Christ she has repeatedly suggested that it is not up to her to decide what the mechanism is God uses to save people. But, quite to the contrary, it is her responsibility as a bishop of the Church to proclaim the saving work of Jesus Christ and to teach what it is the Scriptures and the Church teach. Anything less from us who are bishops is an abdication of our teaching office. Otherwise how will the world know to whom to come? How will the unschooled within the Church know what they should believe? I do not cite this to be controversial but to reference the pervasiveness of this inclusive gospel that would, in its attempt to include all people and all religions, fail to rightly delight in, celebrate and worship him before whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord. It does not honor another religion to not be forthright about one’s own. As the English Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali observed , “Fudging important issues and attempting a superficial harmonization gives a sense of unity that is untrue and … prevents real differences from being acknowledged and discussed.” And we haven’t time to discuss brief swipes toward confessional approaches to the faith except to ask—wasn’t the Lordship of Christ the first confession of the faithful—even in the face of Caesar’s claim to Lordship? Did not St. Paul teach that if we confess with our lips and believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord we shall be saved? Does not the baptismal rite require such a formulaic statement of the individual before the assembled body who witness it? Such statements, unfortunately, make it necessary for us to correct rather than to support leadership.

Trends at work in the culture (post-modernism and deconstructionism) teach us that there is no such thing as genuine authority outside of ourselves. Post-modernism asserts that the most compelling authority is individual experience. Bishop Lawrence heartily disagrees with this. He believes that the Bible is a trustworthy guide to matters of salvation and manner of life.

Scriptural Authority.

This is such a comprehensive dimension of our present crisis in the church that one hardly knows where to begin. But one can hardly do better than St. Ambrose’s statement that “the whole of Holy Scripture be a feast for the soul.” How seldom one hears upon us who are bishops in Tec such glowing statements about the Bible. In my experience all too many of our bishops and priests seem to mine the scriptures for minerals to use in vain idolatries. There is too little confidence expressed in its trustworthiness; the authority and uniqueness of revelation. Indeed, as J.V. Langmead-Casserly once put it, “We have developed a method of studying the Word of God from which a Word of God never comes.” Too often supposed conundrums or difficulties are brought up, seemingly in order to detract from traditional understandings, never considering the damage to the faithful’s trust in God and his Word. Ridiculous arguments such as shellfish and mixed fabrics are dragged out (long reconciled by the Fathers of the Church, as well as the Anglican Reformers) in order to confuse the ill-taught or the untutored in theology. And those who are intellectually sophisticated, schooled in many academic disciplines, but dreadfully untaught in the Bible and theology, are, through little fault of their own, except for naively trusting generations of slothful priests and bishops, are led astray. We must be willing to speak out against this.

Our church’s teaching about the meaning of Holy Baptism has been altered. Is ordination a right?

Baptismal Theology detached from Biblical and Catholic doctrine.

The phrase heard frequently at General Convention 2009 was “All the sacraments for all the Baptized”. One suspects that great Catholic teacher of the 4th Century, St. Cyril of Jerusalem would have been unconvinced for he wrote tellingly of Simon Magus, “he was baptized, but not enlightened. His body was dipped in water, but admitted not the Spirit to illuminate his heart. His body went down and came up; but his soul was not buried together with Christ nor with him raised.” (see Acts 8:9-24) Nevertheless, this inadequate baptismal theology was used to argue for the full inclusion of partnered GLBT persons to all the orders of the Church—deacons, priests and bishops. What it singularly misses is the straightforward teaching of the catechism, not to mention of the New Testament’s “teaching that baptism is a dying to self and sin and a rising to new life in Christ.” (N.T. Wright) Even if one would turn to the simplicity of the catechism one would encounter this question and answer: Q. What is required of us at Baptism? A. It is required that we renounce Satan, repent of our sins, and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Since when has baptism been the ticket to ordination in the Church? The Archbishop’s perceptive comment in section 8 of “Communion, Covenant and our Anglican Future” is pertinent here.

Proponents of changing the church’s understanding of Holy Matrimony deny the overarching theology of Holy Matrimony embedded in the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer.

Human Sexuality. While it has been a clever device of some in recent years to refer to the varied approach to marriage in the different epochs of biblical history, often done in ways that are intended to bring more confusion rather than clarity, (ignoring that well honored hermeneutic of interpreting the less clear passages of Holy Scripture by the clearer, or not interpreting one text in such a way that it is repugnant to another) we are back with that tendency of ordained leaders of the Church and professors of religion to confound the faithful rather than to instruct—it has been used repeatedly in this current debate regarding Human Sexuality and the establishment of an inclusive moral equivalency of GLBT sexual unions with the Christian understanding of marriage between a man and a woman.

The General Convention, in its drive to accommodate cultural trends, has systematically rejected any and all authority both within and outside of itself – even to the point of contradicting its own Constitution and Canons. General Convention has assumed the right and power to declare alone what will constitute authentic Christianity for TEC.

Constitution & Canons—Common Life.

These, and other examples that could be cited, are illustrative of this “new gospel” of Indiscriminate Inclusivity that began with a denigration of the Holy Scriptures, then, step by step has brought the very core teachings of the Christian faith under its distorting and destructive sway. Thus, if the Scriptures should teach something contrary to this “gospel’s” most recent incarnation, (take for instance the full inclusion of GLBT) then the Scripture’s broad themes or individual passages, which plainly oppose current understanding of same-sex genital behavior, must be deconstructed. And if the bonds of affection within the Worldwide Anglican Communion are a hindrance to this gospel of inclusivity then the moral authority and role of the Instruments of Unity are downplayed. Most recently at GC’09 when the BCP’s marriage service, rubrics, and catechism, as well as the Constitution & Canons speak of marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman, therein conflicting with this inclusive “gospel”, resolution CO56 was passed contrary to our own order of governance and common life—thus one by one, the Holy Scriptures, the teachings of the Church, the Anglican Communion, the Ecumenical relationships with the other bodies of the Church Catholic, and now even our own Book of Common Prayer and Constitutions & Canons are subjugated to this “new” gospel. It is a foreign vine like kudzu draping the old growth forest of Episcopalianism with decorative destruction.
____________________________________
Below Bishop Lawrence discusses an additional problem with the “false gospel” at work in the Episcopal Church. TEC is part of a worldwide communion – one in which we exercise a great deal of influence because of how rich the Episcopal Church is in this country. Many of our sister Anglican churches in other countries are utterly impoverished. While TEC will give them aid, it has strings attached. In order to receive financial assistance, those churches and their bishops must embrace the “false gospel” being exported by TEC. Further, it is not just TEC but our Western culture which is spreading this false teaching, and this must be opposed. The culture should not dictate to the Church what its teaching should be. Quote from the Archbishop of Canterbury who suggests the Church’s life cannot be “wholly determined by what society at large considers usual or acceptable or determines to be legal”.

As I wrote in my post-Convention Letter to the Clergy ”There is an increasingly aggressive displacement within this Church of the gospel of Jesus Christ’s transforming power by the “new” gospel of indiscriminate inclusivity which seeks to subsume all in its wake. It is marked by an increased evangelistic zeal and mission that hints at imperialistic plans to spread throughout the Communion. This calls for a bold response.” It is not in my opinion the right action for this diocese to retreat from a thorough engagement with this destructive “new” gospel. As the prophet Ezekiel was called by the Lord to be a Watchman, to sound the alarm of judgment—to warn Israel to turn from her wickedness and live. We are called to speak forthrightly to The Episcopal Church and others, but even more specifically to the thousands of everyday Episcopalians who do not yet know the fullness of this present cultural captivity of the Church. Clearly this is not about the virtue of being “excluding”; it is about being rightly discerning about what is morally and spiritually appropriate. As the Archbishop of Canterbury suggests the Church’s life cannot be “wholly determined by what society at large considers usual or acceptable or determines to be legal”.

This is why those who want to leave really will not be able truly to escape this storm because it is all around us – it’s not just in TEC or confined to the religious sphere, but it affects every aspect of our thinking and life experience whether it is about education, the environment, or how we interpret the constitution.

Quite beyond this challenge within our Church this “gospel of indiscriminate inclusion” is as much a movement of the larger European and North American culture as it is a movement within the church. Thus, if one should seek to get away from it by leaving TEC, joining some other denomination, or continuing Anglican body (and please know, I do not say this critically of those who have chosen or felt called to leave) it will not free us from having to engage this challenge. As I’ve said on more than one occasion, this indiscriminant inclusivity is coming to a neighborhood near you. If you are in TEC and resisting this aggressive march you are already on the front lines. If you have a stomach to engage the battle you are rightly situated. It is now a matter of whether one is prepared to engage the challenge or not. We may prefer a false peace or fatal security but don’t think for a minute this challenge will not find us.

III. Our Present Strategy: Four Guiding Principles

Here, Bishop Lawrence proposes four basic principles (from which arise the actions proposed below). Each of these actions needs to be ratified by our diocese . Therefore, a special diocesan convention is being called for this purpose. The bishop and standing committee don’t want to act unilaterally and want to consult with the diocese as a whole on these basic strategies. (Comment JTCO: in my opinion, none of these actions violate the Constitution and Canons of TEC as presently formulated. None of these actions represent a “secession” from TEC. They represent “conscientious objection.” )

(1) Action proposed: Ordinations: When we ordain a priest or deacon in this diocese, we will attach a letter expressing our understanding of vows they make especially with regard to being bound to obey the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Episcopal Church. Each person who is ordained in TEC must sign an oath in order for their ordination to be recognized in TEC and in the larger communion. General Convention in the process of so altering the Doctrine of the Church so that it is in contradiction to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures (another promise) and the practices of our communion. This places our ordinands in an untenable position. (We have several ordinations coming up so this really is a pressing issue). Principle: It is confusing to church members when the actions of General Convention contradict themselves and the Holy Scriptures. We desire our ordinands to affirm unequivocably the basics of creedal Christianity which include The Lordship of Jesus Christ and the Sufficiency of Holy Scripture.

The Lordship of Jesus Christ and the Sufficiency of Holy Scripture: The first principle I wish to affirm in our diocesan life is that the Church lives its life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and under and upon the authority of Holy Scripture. As Article XX in the Articles of Religion states, “…it is not lawful for the Church to ordain anything that is contrary to God’s Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another.” (BCP p. 871) Since so many within our diocese may have been confused or disturbed by the newspaper and journal reports of the actions of General Convention 2009, and through reading the very resolutions D025 and C056 themselves, as well as the various contradictory statements by leaders in this Church interpreting what these resolutions mean, the Standing Committee and I are proposing that a Special Meeting of Convention (Diocesan Constitution Art.II sec.2) be called for Saturday, October 24th to deal with several concerns that need to be addressed. One such concern is what may be actually understood by the candidate for ordination as he or she makes the Oath of Conformity, and what the worshiping congregation will in the present climate understand by such a vow. When the ordinand pledges himself to “… solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church.” and variations thereof, “in accordance to the canons of this Church…” does that imply adherence to these recent resolutions of GC’09? The Standing Committee and I are proposing a resolution for Convention to approve the reading of a letter prior to the spoken vow, and attached with the signed document of conformity, at every ordination in this diocese, thereby making clear what the Church has historically meant by such an oath—explicating what the Book of Common Prayer means by loyalty “to the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this Church has received them.” (All quotations above may be found on p. 526 and 538 of the BCP)

2. Action proposed: Put some distance – for a time- between our selves and those members and bodies of General Convention which have embraced the “false gospel”. While we do not want to withdraw from TEC, we can not recognize the actions of General Convention as legal with regard to TEC’s own constitution and canons. Consequently, we need to put some distance between ourselves and the elements of TEC who have embraced the “false gospel”. Bishop Lawrence did not specify precisely what this means, but (and here I, JTCO, am speculating - it possibly might include the House of Deputies and Bishops, Province IV governance.) This could mean either not attending meetings or attending as observers only. Principle: Healthy boundaries are a necessary when one we love is behaving in ways that are destructive towards us.

The Appropriateness of Godly Boundaries - Withdrawal: Secondly, there is a need to establish appropriate boundaries and differentiation. Why? There is a need for this Diocese and the faithful across TEC to recognize that the actions of General Convention 2009 in adopting resolutions D025 and C056 along with going contrary to 1) Holy Scripture, 2) tradition—that is 2000 years of the Churches interpretation of these very scriptures—understood as the catholic principle of the consensus of the faithful, 3) the mind of the Anglican Communion as expressed in the resolutions of successive Lambeth Conferences and the considered conversation of Lambeth 2008, The Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates as well as the expressed hopes of the Archbishop himself, quite staggeringly also went against 4) even TEC’s own BCP, Catechism, and Constitution & Canons. It is my contention that a resolution adopted by a legislative body, contrary to the Constitution & Canons of that body, by its very adoption is made null and void. Such an institution is in violation of its own principles of governance. Therefore we cannot recognize the actions of GC”09 in passing resolutions DO25 and CO56 and believe that any diocese or bishop which allows partnered gay or lesbian persons to be ordained in holy orders, or allows blessings of same sex unions or “marriages” is in violation of the Canons. Frankly, it is rather staggering that many in the HOB after arguing in DO25 that we needed to return to being guided by our canons in regard to the ordination process instead of BO33, that this same convention then gave permission for bishops to disregard those very canons’ teaching toward marriage. I have personally witnessed the House of Bishops deposing sitting bishops for what they believe was an indiscreet disregard of the Church’s Constitution & Canons. Now hardly a year later the same governing body votes to give certain bishops the permission to do so!
This begs the question—how an institution, having jettisoned what for 2000 years has been the understood teaching of Holy Scripture and collective wisdom of Christendom, and taken refuge in its vaunted polity as expressed in its Constitution & Canons, can allow itself to proceed without first changing those canons? Two reasons: 1) The agenda of Inclusivity is viewed by many to be of such overriding importance as an issue of justice that it subjugates everything under its rubrics. 2) The level of conformity is so staggering that only a few would seem capable of resisting its pressure. And too often, even then the resistance is “This will not fly back home” rather than “I believe this is theologically wrong”. The Standing Committee and bishop will be proposing a resolution to come before the special convention that this diocese begin withdrawing from all bodies of governance of TEC that have assented to actions contrary to Holy Scripture; the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this church has received them; the resolutions of Lambeth which have expressed the mind of the Communion; the Book of Common Prayer (p.422-423) and the Constitution & Canons of TEC (Canon 18:1.2.b) until such bodies show a willingness to repent of such actions. Let no one think this is a denial of the vows a priest or bishop makes to participate in the councils of governance. This is not a flight into isolation; nor is it an abandonment of duty, but the protest of conscience. It is recognition that the actions of GC’09 were in such blatant disregard and violation of Holy Scripture, the bonds of affection, and our own Constitution & Canons that one is led by reasoned conviction to undertake an intrepid resistance to the tyranny of the majority over judicious authority; therein erring both in Faith and Order.

3. Action proposed: Develop more engaged relationships with other dioceses and congregations who do not support the actions of General Convention. This could also includes developing relationships with other dioceses and provinces in the larger communion. Note: This would be a kind of “Companion Diocese or Congregation” type relationship. This should be strongly led by the laity of the diocese. By working together, we can overcome what seems to be the isolation of holding theological positions contrary to General Convention.
Principle: Instead of investing ourselves in theological debate with positions that have “won the day” in TEC, it would be more productive to work with others to move forward with the mission of the Church.

Domestic Engagement for Relief and Mission: Thirdly, I have noted in my Post-Convention Letter to the Clergy of the Diocese that we need to find a place not only to survive, but to thrive, and that this needs to be faithful, relational and structural. But this is not merely for our sake, but for others. I have been in conversation with bishops of other dioceses in TEC which find themselves in similar positions of isolation. We have discussed the possibility of developing gatherings of bishops, clergy, and laity for the express purpose of encouragement, education and mission. These gatherings in different regions of the country could bring internationally recognized Christian leaders from across the Anglican Communion to address such things as Holy Scripture, Christian doctrine, issues of pressing concern within the church, as well as the ever important work of ministry, evangelism, mission and church planting. These Dioceses in Missional Relationship I believe can create an environment which will lead to positive growth and concerted actions not merely for future survival but more importantly for growth and expansion.
There is also a need to find ways to support conservative parishes and missions in dioceses where there is isolation or worse. I would like to encourage congregations in this diocese to create missional relationships with “orthodox” congregations isolated across North America. There, consequently, is a need for the laity in South Carolina to be awakened and mobilized for engagement. This includes but is not limited to courses in theology which enables them to articulate their faith in the face of an aggressive displacement biblical and catholic teaching—not only in order to evangelize the lost, but to encourage the laity across the church who are surrounded by teaching that is clearly contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me say it quite candidly, there may be effective initiatives the laity can undertake that would not be possible for the clergy in this present climate.

Action: Assert our proper authority as a diocese - the basic organizational unit of the Church - to embrace the Anglican Covenant – the current version of which is known as the Ridley-Cambridge Draft. The purpose of this is to remain in good standing with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the rest of the world-wide communion. The possibility of a two-track communion is very real. We want to stay in relationship with those provinces, dioceses, and churches who faithfully reflect creedal Christianity. Note from JTCO: TEC comprises approximately 2.6% of the total members of the worldwide communion which now numbers approximately 77 million members. Principle: The relationships we have within TEC and in the larger communion are a gift of God. This is not a time to stay in our ivory tower.

The Emergence of 21st Century Anglicanism: Fourthly, we need to be guided by the principle that we are called to help shape an emerging Anglicanism that is sufficient of the 21st Century. The Archbishop in his recent “Communion, Covenant and our Anglican Future” rightly noted that “it would be a great mistake to see the present situation as no more than an unhappy set of tensions within a global family struggling to find a coherence that not all its members actually want. Rather, it is an opportunity for clarity, renewal and deeper relation with one another—and so also with Our Lord and his Father, in the power of the Spirit.” He went on to note, “If the present structures that have safeguarded our unity turn out to need serious rethinking in the near future, this is not the end of the Anglican way and it may bring its own opportunities.” Indeed, I believe it not only “may”; I believe it will. You have heard me say on several occasions, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” Well, I believe we should not waste this crisis—neither the ecclesiastical crisis nor the attending economic one. And certainly we should not waste it by taking refuge in a false peace that expresses itself in a retreat into an insular parochialism or a “fatal security” which for us, at least now, would be an escape. We have the opportunity to help shape the emergence of a truly global Anglicanism—Making Biblical Anglicans for a Global Age. I believe we have a unique role to play within the Anglican Communion. If at present we play that role by being in but not of the mainstream of TEC is it any less important? We passed at our Diocesan Convention in March a resolution which asserted our authority as a diocese to sign onto the Anglican Covenant. The final section read,
“Be it further resolved, that as the Diocese of South Carolina did choose at its Diocesan Convention in 1785, to organize as a diocese, (one of the first seven dioceses in these United States to so organize in that year), and to send delegates to the first General Conventions to organize the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and thereby freely associate its clerical and lay members with the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society—presently known as The Episcopal Church; so this same Diocese does also assert its authority to freely embrace such a Covenant in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and to seek to remain a constituent member of the Anglican Communion should the Instruments of Unity allow such diocesan association.”
The Archbishop has expressed in section 25 of “Communion, Covenant and our Anglican Future” his strong hope that “elements” [dioceses?] will adopt the Covenant. I believe we ought to sign on to the Ridley Draft of the Covenant as it presently stands in all four sections. (If it means we need to withdraw from a lawsuit we withdraw from a lawsuit). Therefore we need to begin the process of studying the Ridley Draft in every deanery and parish and be prepared to vote on it either in the special convention in October or, if that’s too ambitious a time frame, no later than our Annual Diocesan Convention in March 2010.
You need to know that the Anglican Communion Development Committee has already had its first meeting and will begin this fall to vigorously establish relationships with a broad array of Provinces across the Communion. You have heard me speak of this often, including during my Bishop’s Address last March. This still strikes me as one of the most important activities we should pursue. We can work with several of the Provinces within the Communion, and, if they are so inclined to partner with us, we should work with GAFCON and ACNA from within TEC to further gospel initiatives.
I believe we are as financially strong, and as spiritually and theologically unified as any conservative diocese left in TEC. We have I believe the resources to focus on the mission and ministry within the diocese of South Carolina as well as working within TEC to shore up and encourage the faithful; and at the same time to help shape the emerging Anglicanism of the 21st Century. Admittedly, this is a tall order. Though accurate statistics are hard to come by I believe there are still more theologically orthodox believers still inside of TEC than have left. Yet they seem increasingly isolated, with few leaders to encourage them. I believe we have a moral and spiritual call/obligation to stay in the fight with those still in TEC who look to us for hope; and to stay for as long as it is within our consciences to do so. On this last caveat, clearly the clock for many of us is loudly ticking. Few of us doubt there will be a strong push to make what is now de facto, de jure in GC2012. Along with this the number of partnered GLBT priests—and quite likely bishops will continue to increase (given the recent nominees in Episcopal elections in Minnesota and Los Angeles)—putting facts on the ground which the rest of us have to react to or deal with as best we can. As events unfold it will be necessary for us to put risky facts on the ground as well.

IV. Concluding Thoughts
Here Bishop Lawrence comments:
1. There may be some who disagree with the directions and decisions of the Bishop, Standing Committee, and Diocesan Convention. If this is the case, he will work with such parishes to help them find a Bishop (and diocese) with which they can work – as an alternative. (JTCO: In my opinion, I believe the Bishop was thinking of the parishes in our diocese who generally support the actions of General Convention. )
2. We will not and cannot tolerate prejudice against LBGT persons especially since heterosexual persons also suffer from and bear the scars of sexual brokenness. To do otherwise is hypocrisy.
3. Call for a special convention. Laity need to be educated about the issues before us.
4. Let us rise to the challenge.

But before I conclude I need to address a sensitive issue. Should a parish find it needs to be served by alternative Episcopal care I will work with them toward that end. Please know this is not my desire for any parish. It would grieve me because I have enjoyed my relationship with every congregation in this great Diocese of South Carolina. Still these are challenging times, and if I am called to lead in such an assertive manner as I have suggested here, pastoral sensitivity suggests I should give space to those who feel they need it. I hope all can recognize in the things I have addressed above the three marks of the church recognized in Evangelical Anglicanism—1) Proclamation of the Word of God; 2) the sacraments duly administered; 3) order and discipline (Art. XIX)—yet there is that fourth mark (that to which Bishop and Martyr Nicholas Ridley referred, echoing of course St. Paul in I Corinthians 13; Galatians 5:22 and nurtured in the life of the church by the Holy Spirit), 4) the mark of charity, without which we are noisy gongs and clanging cymbals. And then for most of us there’s the one I just mentioned, 5) the beneficence of the historic episcopate.
I must address another thing under the rubric of love—and in this I follow the lead of Lambeth 1.10, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and I trust with the Church Catholic around the world: we are not to be in this Diocese about the business of encouraging prejudice or denying the dignity of any person, including, but not limited to, those who believe themselves to be Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, or Transgender. As those who know me well will acknowledge, it grieves me that so much of the battle has been waged here, and if the full story were to be told I believe that many who understand themselves through these categories wish it were not as well. No, we have no business fostering unexamined prejudice; so few of us are free from scars of sexual brokenness. Rather, we are constrained by the love of Christ to be primarily about the task of proclaiming the Gospel—calling all people to repentance—ourselves included; administering the sacraments; encouraging faithfulness in the body of Christ; and through the power of the Holy Spirit walking with charity in the world.
It is an increasingly fluid landscape in which we are called to do our work and at times seems to change from week to week as developments take place on several fronts. While our principles may stay consistent our strategy must be dynamic and provisional. To this end the Standing Committee and I are calling for a Special Convention of this diocese to be held on Saturday, October 24th at Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant. As bishop I am asking every parish and mission to call a congregational meeting to broadly engage these matters and to inform the delegates who will represent them at this upcoming convention. I am also asking every deanery to engage these challenges at a clericus level and in deanery meetings for clergy and lay delegates. Frankly, I don’t know how to say this in any other way but to tell you that this is a call to action; of mobilization of clergy, parishes and laity. What I have stated here is only a start—the turning of the ship. While striving to stay as intact as possible—we need believers who are informed, engaged, missional and faithful.
For now our task is clear: As some within TEC are busy cutting the cords of fellowship with the larger Church through the unilateral actions of General Convention expanding policies which further tear the fabric of the Communion; our task will be to weave and braid missional relationships which strengthen far flung dioceses and provinces in the work of the gospel. As some in TEC find a hopeless refuge in the narrower restrictions of denominational autonomy, we shall find hope in a deeper and generous catholicity. In our pursuit of these principles I remind you of where I began in this address—Bishop Smith’s eschewing of a fatal security which he feared would end “in shame, in misery and ruin.” He refused such a comfortable course and in time it led him to risk—and to lose everything. This may one day come to us. For now what lies before us is to engage this challenge with all the will and resources of a strong and growing diocese. With the clarity of God’s call, the courage to walk in step with the Spirit, and the confidence of an overruling Providence in, with and through Christ, we shall not only endure, but prevail. I leave now with this—we cannot choose to follow God without following what God has chosen for us. So, “Lead kindly, Light.” Amen.

David Stoney's Synopsis

2009-08-18T16:01:00.000-04:00

I've no doubt left out some important things, but this hits what to me seemed to be the main points. I used the copy that Cheves sent and printed it out to get the page numbers - David

Synopsis of Bishop Lawrence’s Address to the Clergy of the Diocese of South Carolina – August 13, 2009

“This is a call to action; of mobilization of clergy, parishes, and laity.” (p10)
“I see struggle and suffering before each of us.” (p1)
“To risk – and to lose everything. This may one day come to us.” (p10)

I. Bishop Lawrence complains:
The Episcopal Church (TEC) is associated with “pluralism and false teachings.” (p2)
Orthodox clergy have often felt themselves “driven, if not out, then to the margins of this church.” (p2)
“[S]trands of false doctrine” and “a multitude of false teachings” have coalesced into a “false Gospel of Indiscriminate Inclusivity.” (p3)
False teachings include
Too little reference to “God the Father” and the Trinity; lack of “Eucharists according to the rites in the Book of Common Prayer” at General Convention. (p3)
Repeated “irresponsible” comments by the Presiding Bishop regarding the “Uniqueness and Universality of Christ.” The Presiding Bishop has failed “to proclaim the saving work of Jesus Christ and to teach what it is the Scriptures and the Church teach,” namely that anyone who wants to go to heaven must “delight in, celebrate, and worship him before whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord.” (p3)
Scriptural authority has been compromised because “there is too little confidence expressed in its trustworthiness; the authority and uniqueness of revelation.” (p4)
The “faithful’s trust in God and his word” has been damaged by inappropriate argumentation. (p4)
Baptismal theology (“All the sacraments for all the Baptized”) has been incorrectly used to argue for the full inclusion of the of partnered GLBT persons to all the orders of the Church – deacons, priests, and bishops.” (p4)
Confounding arguments have been used in the “debate regarding Human Sexuality and the establishment of an inclusive moral equivalency of GLBT sexual unions with the Christian understanding of marriage between a man and a woman.” (p5)
· Bishop Lawrence concludes that the examples above illustrate how the “new Gospel of Indiscriminate Inclusivity that began as a denigration of the Holy Scriptures,” has “step by step has brought the very core teachings of the Christian faith under its distorting and destructive sway.” (p5)

II. Bishop Lawrence warns and admonishes:
Clergy (and Bishops) may become involved “in more struggles and suffering.” He sees “struggles and suffering before each of us.” (p1)
Something dangerous “is inexorably coming upon us all.” (p2}
“It is not TEC that is the problem,” (p4) nor is it TEC that must be engaged and fought against. (p2)
“There is an increasingly aggressive displacement within this Church of the gospel of Jesus Christ’s transforming power by the ‘new’ Gospel of indiscriminate inclusivity which seeks to subsume all in its wake.” (p5)
This diocese should thoroughly engage “this destructive ‘new”’ gospel,” that “we are called to speak forthrightly to The Episcopal Church and others, but even more specifically to the thousands of everyday Episcopalians who do not yet know the fullness of this present cultural captivity of the Church.” (p5)
Leaving TEC will not “free us from having to engage this challenge.” (p6)
“Clearly the clock for many of us is loudly ticking. Few of us doubt that there will be a strong push to make what is now de facto, de jure in GC2012.” (p9)
“As events unfold, it will be necessary for us to put risky facts on the ground...” (p9)
No one in this Diocese should encourage prejudice or deny dignity to “any person, including, but not limited to, those who believe themselves to be Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, or Transgender... so few of us are free from scars of sexual brokeness.” (p10)

III. Bishop Lawrence concludes and suggests certain resolutions and actions:
“[R]esolution CO56 was passed contrary to our own order of governance and common life – thus one by one the Holy Scriptures, the teaching of the Church, the Anglican Communion, the Ecumenical relationships with the other bodies of the Church Catholic, and now even our own Book of Common Prayer and Constitutions & Canons are subjugated to this ‘new’ gospel.” (5)
A “Special Meeting of Convention” is called for Saturday, October 24th “to deal with several concerns that need to be addressed.” (p6)
One such concern is the need to approve a letter to be read prior to any ordination that would repudiate the recent resolutions of GC’09. (p6)
Since the resolutions passed by GC’09 are contrary to the Constitution & Canons of TEC,” their adoption is null and void.” Therefore, “any diocese or bishop which allows partnered gay or lesbian persons to be ordained in holy orders, or allows blessings of same sex unions or ‘marriages’ is in violation of the Canons.” (p7)
A resolution to begin withdrawing “from all bodies of governance of TEC that have assented to” such actions. (p7)
Congregations in the Diocese of South Carolina should work toward creating “missional relationships with ‘orthodox’ congregations isolated across North America.” (p8)
The Diocese of South Carolina should “sign on to the Ridley Draft of the [Anglican] Covenant as it presently stands in all four sections” and vote on this decision in October 2009 or March 2010. (p9)
Establishing relationships “with a broad array of Provinces within the [Anglican] Communion,” under the Anglican Communion Development Committee, is “one of the most important activities we should do,” including “GAFCON and ACNA from within TEC to further gospel initiatives. (p9)
“This is a call to action.” (p10)
“Should a parish find it needs to be served by alternative Episcopal care I will work with them toward that end....[T]hese are challenging times, and if I am called to lead in such an assertive manner as I have suggested here, pastoral sensitivity suggest I should give space to those who feel they need it.” (p9)

Prepared by S. David Stoney, August 20, 2009

VBS wrap up

2009-08-16T19:29:00.002-04:00

VBS was a great time. 53 children registered. More than 40 adults helped and, nearly 140 folks attended the Friday night closing and cookout. Thanks to one and all. It was terrific working with the four churches - St. James, New Wappetaw Presbyterian, McClellanville First Baptist, and McClellanville Methodist. We are on for the same time next year...July 12-16, 2010.

VBS IS ON GO!

2009-07-12T21:31:00.005-04:00

Today we gathered and did a decoration marathon. It is a wonderful thing to work with such an energetic and talented group. Check out the transformation above. And.....it is not too late for your child or you to join us. Registration is 8:45 tomorrow and kids can come throughout the week.

Happy Independence Day....

2009-07-04T14:56:00.006-04:00

There are those, I Know, who will say the the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American dream. * Archibald MacLeish

Dear Friends, Let us dream on and on.......

A Prayer in a Time of Change

2009-06-27T17:09:00.006-04:00

The Church Times is published in England. Founded in 1863, it is the world's leading Anglican newspaper. The following article by the Rev. Richard Lamey is from the June 26, 2009 issue.

Lord, take my heart and break it: break it not in the way I would like, but in the way you know to be best. And, because it is you who break it, I will not be afraid, for in your hands all is safe and I am safe. Lord, take my heart and give to it your joy, not in the ways I like, but in the ways you know are best, that your joy may be fulfilled in me. So, dear Lord, I am ready to be your deacon, ready to be your priest.

Archbishop Michael Ramsey (1904-1988)

THIS prayer by Archbishop Michael Ramsey was used with ordinands on the eve of their ordination. It is the climax of an ordination charge built on St Paul’s description of life as a disciple of Christ: “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6.10).
It is the perfect prayer for ordination-eve. It is the perfect prayer for any time of change, of fresh challenge, of moving deeper into God’s purpose. It says that serving God will not always be easy or smooth or comfortable, but that it is the only way to be fully alive, fully human, fully ourselves.
For those about to be deaconed, there is a real sense of standing on the cusp of something at once exciting and uncertain. It has been a long road to this moment, but now the questions rush in. Am I ready? Will I be able to bear the expectations placed on me? How will it feel to wear a clerical collar? Will I still be me? How will I cope when I don’t know the words to say, the comfort to offer, or the challenge to give?
Deacons about to be priested know perhaps a little more, and have begun to work out something of what it is to be called to this place in the life of the Church. Sometimes that brings only more questions.
All of us, at different times, face uncertainty and disorientation. All of us lose our landmarks, the things we take for granted. Illness, grief, betrayal, and unemployment have that effect on each of us. So does the call to take a risk for God, to dare to love, to dare to be vulnerable.
We do not always know where God and experience will lead. But we do know that God promises to be with us in everything, redeeming what wounds us, and laughing with us when we rejoice.
This prayer reminds us that the Risen Christ is both Lord and scarred. We meet the God of our salvation. We put our trust in him. And we place ourselves at his disposal.
When self-image and laziness interrupt, we ask God to break us out of our selfishness. When we need encouragement, we ask God to fill our hearts with unexpected joy.
Archbishop Ramsey says that, in everything — in brokenness and joy, in frustration and fulfilment — he will not fear because he knows that he is safe in the hands of God. This is the prayer and the confidence he offers to those he will ordain in the morning.
Here is a prayer for everyone facing fresh adventures for the gospel. It is a prayer for those coming to terms with tragedy, for those waiting for the light of Christ to dawn, for those who feel joy bubbling within them.
This is a prayer for everyone who would take the immense risk (which is no risk at all) of giving their heart and their life back to God. “In your hands all is safe, and I am safe.”

The Revd Richard Lamey is Priest-in Charge of Newton in Mottram and Rural Dean of Mottram, in the diocese of Chester.

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=77099

Trinity Sunday Pt. I

2009-06-03T20:37:00.011-04:00

The Te Deum is one of the Church's great hymns of praise to the Holy Trinity. This version is sung by the Monks of La Grande Chartreuse in France (the head monastery of the Carthusian Order). The Te Deum is said to have been chanted by St Ambrosius and St Augustine. It is part of the midnight prayers, the vigil, and is chanted at night before Sundays and feast days. This one is chanted in the darkness by candlelight. Very beautiful.

The English translation of the Latin is below.

I remember loving singing this as a child chorister at Trinity Church, Columbia. The phrase "thine adorable, true and only Son" might have been my favorite line...somehow I don't think adorable meant what I thought it meant. Jesus is pretty adorable though - in both senses.

Te Deum laudamus - We Praise Thee O God

We praise thee, O God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee the Father everlasting.To thee all the angels cry aloud the heavens and all the powers therein.To thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory. The glorious company of apostles praise thee.The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee. The noble army of martyrs praise thee. The Holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee; the father of an infinite majesty;thine adorable true and only Son; also the Holy Ghost the comforter. Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Thou sittest at the hand of God in glory of the Father. We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge. We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. Make them to be numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting.

O Lord save thy people and bless thine heritage.Govern them and lift them up for ever.Day by day we magnify thee;and worship thy name, ever world without end. Vouchsafe, O Lord to keep us this day without sin. O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our trust is in thee. O Lord in thee have I trusted let me not be confounded.

English Translation - Wikipedia

Trinity Sunday, Pt. 2

2009-06-03T20:30:00.002-04:00

...and here is another hymn of praise to the Holy Trinity. This one very different but equally wonderful.

Happy Pentecost!

2009-05-31T20:55:00.001-04:00

Thanks to David Dubay for finding this great video

The Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ

2009-05-23T15:43:00.003-04:00

"This Ascension Day is properly the most solemn feast of our Lord Jesus: for this day first in his manhood he began to sit on the Father's right hand in bliss and took full rest of all his pilgrimage before. Also this is properly the feast of all the blessed spirits in heaven: for this day they had a new joy of their lord whom they saw never before there in his manhood. And also for that day began first to be restored the falling down of their fellows, and that in so great multitude and number of blessed souls of patriarchs and prophets and all those holy souls that this day first entered into that blessed City of heavenly Jerusalem, their kind heritage above."
The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ (translated by Nicholas Love).

Illustration from The Hermanoleom Collection

A Rescuing Hug

2009-04-26T16:06:00.003-04:00

Jesus said to his disciples, "Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." Touch communicates what is most real...here is a wonderful story about the power of touch.

Heidi and Paul Jackson's twin girls, Brielle and Kyrie, were born October 17, 1995, 12 weeks ahead of their due date. Standard hospital practice is to place preemie twins in separate incubators to reduce the risk of infection. that was done for the Jackson girls in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Medical Center of Central Massachusetts in Worcester.
Kyrie, the larger sister at two pounds, three ounces, quickly began gaining weight and calmly sleeping her newborn days away. But Brielle, who weighed only two pounds at birth, couldn't keep up with her. She had breathing and heart-rate problems. The oxygen level in her blood was low, and her weight gain was slow.
Suddenly, on November 12, Brielle went into critical condition. She began gasping for breath, and her face and stick-thin arms and legs turned bluish-gray. Her heart rate was way up, and she got hiccups, a dangerous sign that her body was under stress. Her parents watched, terrified that she might die.
Nurse Gayle Kasparian tried everything she could think of to stabilize Brielle. She suctioned her breathing passages and turned up the oxygen flow to the incubator. Still Brielle squirmed and fussed as her oxygen intake plummeted and her heart rate soared.
Then Kasparian remembered something she had heard from a colleague. It was a procedure, common in parts of Europe but almost unheard of in this country, that called for double-bedding multiple-birth babies, especially preemies.
Kasparian's nurse manager, Susan Fitzback, was away at a conference, and the arrangement was unorthodox. But Kasparian decided to take the risk.
"Let me just try putting Brielle in with her sister to see if that helps," she said to the alarmed parents. "I don't know what else to do."
The Jacksons quickly gave the go-ahead, and Kasparian slipped the squirming baby into the incubator holding the sister she hadn't seen since birth. Then Kasparian and the Jacksons watched.
No sooner had the door of the incubator closed then Brielle snuggled up to Kyrie - and calmed right down. Within minutes Brielle's blood-oxygen readings were the best they had been since she was born. As she dozed, Kyrie wrapped her tiny arm around her smaller sibling.
By coincidence, the conference Fitzback was attending included a presentation on double-bedding. This is something I want to see happen at The Medical Center, she thought. But it might be hard making the change. On her return she was doing rounds when the nurse caring for the twins that morning said, "Sue, take a look in that isolette over there."
"I can't believe this," Fitzback said. "This is so beautiful."
"You mean, we can do it?" asked the nurse.
"Of course we can," Fitzback replied.
Today a handful of institutions around the country are adopting double-bedding, which seems to reduce the number of hospital days. The practice is growing quickly, even though the first scientific studies on it didn't begin until this past January.
But Heidi and Paul Jackson don't need any studies to know that double-bedding helped Brielle. She is thriving. In fact, now that the two girls are home, they still steep together - and still snuggle.

(From, Nancy Sheehan, Readers Digest, May 1996)

Happy Easter Season...Tell a Joke!

2009-04-23T09:11:00.005-04:00

Easter Season is my favorite time of year for humor. Here is a YouTube piece that sums up Church History in a mere two minutes and thirty-three seconds. Enjoy!
Please note: A single click on the play button below will allow you to view the video on this page. A double click will take you to the YouTube website where other works of this comedian are posted. One church member has alerted me to the fact that while this video is "good clean fun", other videos by him which are posted closeby are fairly bawdy. Please be forewarned and look at the video right here with a single click. O the joys of the internet!

Brick Church Sunday is Tommorrow - April 19th, 2009

2009-04-18T13:48:00.013-04:00

...and we hope you can join us. It will be a great day. Our bishop, The Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence and Mrs Lawrence (Allison) will be with us. The service will be RT I and Confirmation (go Gabbe!) and Reception.

The service begins at 11:00 am. Bring a covered dish, your most joyful spirits and join us.

The picnic will still be on even if it is raining. In the event of SEVERE weather (tornadoes), the picnic will be moved to the Morrison House (the parish house of the Chapel of Ease - directions to the right).

For directions from Charleston, click on the link to the right.

Jesus Christ is Risen Today! Alleluia!

2009-04-12T14:05:00.006-04:00

A Most Blessed Easter to you and yours ! May you be deeply enlivened by the Resurrection power of the Risen Christ.

Benvenuto di Giovanni - "The Resurrection", probably 1491 Samuel H. Kress Collection

Holy Saturday

2009-04-11T13:22:00.003-04:00

The church is dark now. The altar is stripped and bare. Some are getting up and leaving in silence. Others remain kneeling, looking into the darkness. Holy Saturday is ahead, the most quiet day of the year. The silence of that silent night, holy night, the night when God was born was broken by the sounds of a baby, a mother’s words of comfort and angels in concert. Holy Saturday, by contrast, is the sound of perfect silence. Yesterday’s mockery, the good thief’s prayer, the cry of dereliction—all that is past now. Mary has dried her tears, and the whole creation is still, waiting for what will happen next.Some say that on Holy Saturday Jesus went to hell in triumph, to free the souls long imprisoned there. Others say he descended into a death deeper than death, to embrace in his love even the damned. We do not know. Scripture, tradition and pious writings provide hints and speculations, but about this most silent day it is perhaps best to observe the silence. One day I expect he will tell us all about it. When we are able to understand what we cannot now even understand why we cannot understand.--Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009)

Good Friday Around the World

2009-04-10T18:18:00.004-04:00

Every year the BBC publishes photographs of Christians around the world marking Good Friday. This one is from Pakistan. Take some time and have a look. The rest can be found in the full article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7994131.stm . More pictures are here http://blog.beliefnet.com/viamedia/2009/04/good-friday-around-the-world.html

A Poem for Maundy Thursday

2009-04-09T06:20:00.004-04:00

The Last Supper by Ranier Maria Rilke

On seeing Leonardi Da Vinci's "Last Supper", Milan, 1904.

Translated by Albert Ernest Fleming

They are assembled, astonished and disturbed

round him, who like a sage resolved his fate,

and now leaves those to whom he most belonged,

leaving and passing by them like a stranger.

The loneliness of old comes over him

which helped mature him for his deepest acts;

now will he once again walk through the olive grove,

and those who love him still will flee before his sight.

To this last supper he has summoned them,

and (like a shot that scatters birds from trees)

their hands draw back from reaching for the loaves

upon his word: they fly across to him;

they flutter, frightened, round the supper table

searching for an escape. But he is present

everywhere like an all-pervading twilight-hour.

Click on the picture to see a larger image.

Holy Week , Easter Day and Brick Church Calendar

2009-03-30T16:37:00.005-04:00

April 9 - Maundy Thursday – 7:00 PM - Foot Washing & Holy Eucharist

April 10 - Good Friday – Noon – Liturgy of the Day

April 12- Easter Day -10:00 AM – Flowering of the Cross followed by Festal Eucharist.

April 18 – Saturday 9 til – Set up at Brick Church - All hands needed and welcome!

April 19th – 11:00 AM – Brick Church – Confirmation and Holy Eucharist, Rt. I – Celebrant – The Rt. Rev Mark Lawrence – followed by Covered Dish Picnic

A Word From the House of Bishops Spring 2009 Meeting

2009-03-19T10:14:00.001-04:00

A Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of the Episcopal Church meeting in Hendersonville, North Carolina, March 13-18, 2009 to the Church and our partners in mission throughout the world.

"I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

--Philippians 4:11b - 13

As the House of Bishops gather at the Kanuga Camp and Conference Center for our annual Spring Retreat, we are mindful of the worsening financial crisis around us. We recognize there are no easy solutions for the problems we now face. In the United States there is a 30% reduction of overall wealth, a 26% reduction in home values and a budget deficit of unprecedented proportions. Unemployment currently hovers at over 8% and is estimated to top 10% by the end of the year. There are over 8 million homes in America that are in foreclosure. Consumer confidence is at a 50-year low.

Unparalleled corporate greed and irresponsibility, predatory lending practices, and rampant consumerism have amplified domestic and global economic injustice. The global impact is difficult to calculate, except that the poor will become poorer and our commitment to continue our work toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 is at great risk. A specter of fear creeps not only across the United States, but also across the world, sometimes causing us as a people to ignore the Gospel imperative of self-sacrifice and generosity, as we scramble for self-preservation in a culture of scarcity.

The crisis is both economic and environmental. The drought that grips Texas, parts of the American South, California, Africa and Australia, the force of hurricanes that have wreaked so much havoc in the Caribbean, Central America and the Gulf Coast, the ice storm in Kentucky—these and other natural disasters related to climate change—result in massive joblessness, driving agricultural production costs up, and worsening global hunger. The wars nations wage over diminishing natural resources kill and debilitate not only those who fight in them, but also civilians, weakening families, and destroying the land. We as a people have failed to see this connection, compartmentalizing concerns so as to minimize them and continue to live without regard to the care of God's creation and the stewardship of the earth's resources that usher in a more just and peaceful world.

In this season of Lent, God calls us to repentance. We have too often been preoccupied as a Church with internal affairs and a narrow focus that has absorbed both our energy and interest and that of our Communion – to the exclusion of concern for the crisis of suffering both at home and abroad. We have often failed to speak a compelling word of commitment to economic justice. We have often failed to speak truth to power, to name the greed and consumerism that has pervaded our culture, and we have too often allowed the culture to define us instead of being formed by Gospel values.

While our commitment to the eradication of extreme poverty through the eight Millennium Development Goals moves us toward the standard of Christ's teaching, we have nevertheless often fallen short of the transformation to which Christ calls us in our own lives in order to live more fully into the Gospel paradigm of God's abundance for all.

Everyone is affected by the shrinking of the global economy. For some, this is a time of great loss—loss of employment, of homes, of a way of life. And for the most vulnerable, this "downturn" represents an emergency of catastrophic proportions. Like the Prodigal who comes to his senses and returns home, we as the people of God seek a new life. We recognize in this crisis an invitation into a deeper simplicity, a tightening of the belt, an expanded Lenten fast, and a broader generosity. God's abundant mercy and forgiveness meet and embrace us, waiting to empower us through the Holy Spirit to face the coming days.

In a time of anxiety and fear the Holy Spirit invites us to hope. Anxiety, when voiced in community can be heard, blessed and transformed into energy and hope, but if ignored, swallowed or hidden, fear and anxiety can be corrosive and lead to despair. We Christians claim that joy and hope emerge for those who have the courage to endure suffering. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul goes so far as to boast of his suffering, because "suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." Our current crisis presents us with opportunities to learn from our brothers and sisters of faith in other parts of the world who have long been bearers of hope in the midst of even greater economic calamity.

We can also learn from our spiritual ancestors, who found themselves in an economic and existential crisis that endured for forty years – on their journey from Egypt to Israel. While they groaned in Egypt, they murmured at Sinai – at least at first. And then after their groaning, complaining and reverting to old comforts of idol worship, they were given Grace to learn and understand what the Lord wanted to teach them.

They learned that they needed the wilderness in order to recover their nerve and put their full trust in God--and to discover their God-given uniqueness, which had been rubbed away during their captivity in Egypt. They adopted some basic rules that enabled them to live in a community of free people rather than as captives or slaves – the God-given Ten Commandments. And perhaps most importantly, our spiritual ancestors discovered that the wilderness is a unique place of God's abundance and miracle, where water gushed out of a rock and manna appeared on the desert floor – food and drink miraculously provided by God.

As we go through our own wilderness, these spiritual ancestors also point the way to a deep and abiding hope. We can rediscover our uniqueness – which emerges from the conviction that our wealth is determined by what we give rather than what we own. We can re-discover manna – God's extraordinary expression of abundance. Week by week, in congregations and communities around the world, our common manna is placed before us in the Eucharist. Ordinary gifts of bread and wine are placed on the altar, and become for us the Body and Blood of Christ, which, when we receive them, draw us ever more deeply into the Paschal mystery of Christ's death and resurrection.

As our risen Lord broke through the isolation of the disciples huddled in fear for their lives following his suffering and death, so too are we, the Body of Christ, called to break through the loneliness and anxiety of this time, drawing people from their fears and isolation into the comforting embrace of God's gathered community of hope. As disciples of the risen Christ we are given gifts for showing forth God's gracious generosity and for finding blessing and abundance in what is hard and difficult. In this time the Holy Spirit is moving among us, sharing with us the vision of what is real and valued in God's world. In a time such as this, Christ draws us deeper into our faith revealing to us that generosity breaks through distrust, paralysis and misinformation. Like our risen Lord, we, as his disciples are called to listen to the world's pain and offer comfort and peace.

As we continue our Lenten journey together we place our hearts in the power of the Trinity. The God who created us is creating still and will not abandon us. The Incarnate Word, our Savior Jesus Christ, who in suffering, dying and rising for our sake, stands in solidarity with us, has promised to be with us to the end of the age. God the Holy Spirit, the very breath of God for us and in us, is our comforter, companion, inspiration and guide. In this is our hope, our joy and our peace.

Lenten Happenings

2009-02-23T15:35:00.008-05:00

Dear Friends, it is hard to believe that Lent is upon us. Below are listed some of our Lenten Happenings - Please join us. May you have a blessed Lent.

*Wednesday Evening Lenten Study – Begins March 4 -7-8:30 - A Video Series-“The Death and Resurrection of the Messiah” Walk through the Holy Land with teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan

* Inquirer’s Class – Sunday afternoon’s, 4 pm- March 8th. Preparation for Confirmation, Re-affirmation, and Just Plain Brush Up… Bishop Lawrence will be with us for Confirmation, Reaffirmation, and Holy Baptism on
April 19th at Brick Church

The St. James Santee Church Annual Meeting....

2009-01-11T15:24:00.006-05:00

Illustration - First Century Church Meeting

...is this coming Sunday, January 18th. On the agenda are reports, celebrations, encouragement and elections. What more could you want? Church is at 10:00 am and the meeting follows immediately. All Members and Friends are welcome.

Jesus Christ - The Apple Tree

2008-12-26T20:54:00.007-05:00

Christmas Thoughts from CS Lewis

2008-12-26T20:53:00.000-05:00

One is very often asked at present whether we could not have a Christianity stripped, or, as people who asked it say, 'freed' from its miraculous elements, a Christianity with the miraculous elements suppressed. Now, it seems to me that precisely the one religion in the world, or, at least the only one I know, with which you could not do that is Christianity. In a religion like Buddhism, if you took away the miracles attributed to Gautama Buddha in some very late sources, there would be no loss; in fact, the religion would get on very much better without them because in that case the miracles largely contradict the teaching. Or even in the case of a religion like Mohammedanism, nothing essential would be altered if you took away the miracles. You could have a great prophet preaching his dogmas without bringing in any miracles; they are only in the nature of a digression, or illuminated capitals. But you cannot possibly do that with Christianity, because the Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion being that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature, into human nature, descended into His own universe, and rose again, bringing nature up with Him. It is precisely one great miracle. If you take that away there nothing specifically Christian left. There may be many admirable human things which Christianity shares with all other systems in the world, but there would be nothing specifically Christian. Conversely, once you have accepted that, then you will see that all other well-established Christian miracles--because, of course, there are ill-established Christian miracles; there are Christian legends just as much as there are heathen legends, or modern journalistic legends--you will see that all the well-established Christian miracles are part of it, that they all either prepare for, or exhibit, or result from the Incarnation. Just as every natural event exhibits the total character of the natural universe at a particular point and space of time; so every miracle exhibits the character of the Incarnation. Now, if one asks whether that central grand miracle in Christianity is itself probable or improbable, of course, quite clearly you cannot be applying Hume's kind of probability. You cannot mean a probability based on statistics according to which the more often a thing has happened, the more likely it is to happen again (the more often you get indigestion from eating a certain food, the more probable it is, if you eat it again, that you again have indigestion). Certainly the Incarnation cannot be probable in that sense. It is of its very nature to have happened only once. But then it is of the very nature of the history of this world to have happened only once; and if the Incarnation happened at all, it is the central chapter of that history. It is improbable in the same way in which the whole of nature is improbable, because it is only there once, and will happen only once.--C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

Upcoming Services and Events

2008-12-14T16:40:00.004-05:00

You are warmly invited to....

Sunday, Dec. 21st , Advent IV -Holy Communion, Rt. I. Greening of the church to follow immediately after the service.

Wednesday, December 24th, Christmas Eve, Holy Communion, Rt. II - 6:00 pm with caroling and nativity.
This year please bring a gift (in addition to yourself!) for the Christ Child. We are collecting unwrapped baby gifts (items for newborns - blankets, clothing, diapers, wipes, etc.). These will be given to two organization who help women with unplanned pregnancies - the Florence Crittenton Home and the Lowcountry Crisis Pregnancy Center.

Sunday, January 4, Epiphany Celebration and Bonfire- 4:00 PM at Palmetto (directions will be available at church). Come, bring a covered dish and your Christmas Tree.

Still Needing An Advent

2008-12-13T19:58:00.004-05:00

A Sermon for Advent 3 B – December 14. 2008

Yesterday somebody gave me a button that read “It’s OK to say, Merry Christmas.” I’ve been thinking about that button. I suppose that its main purpose is to let a fellow Christian at the cash register know that they can say Merry Christmas instead of “Happy Holidays” or some other such sentiment.

I put it on and wore it and will do it again when I go shopping – but, I won’t be wearing it here until Christmas Eve and then I’ll be wearing it for the 12 days of Christmas You see, I still am needing an Advent…and the church is still in Advent. We are in the place of getting ready to welcome a guest, of preparing our hearts for not only the remembrance of the birth of the Christ Child but also getting ready for the day and hour that we will meet him face to face….whether it is when he returns on the Day of the Lord or when we die.

It’s so easy to get swept up into some kinds of getting ready for Christmas: getting a tree, decorating the house, baking, getting gifts, sending out cards, visiting with folks we love, or maybe getting ready for travel. All of these are perfectly good things to do, but we risk missing some real opportunity if we don’t take the time to think about the spiritual significance of Christmas. We miss the opportunity to get in touch with our deepest longings and notice the signs that the prophets hold up for us. It’s a little bit like getting to work or showing up for school and realizing that you had forgotten that a major project was due that day – Just forgot…Head was too full of all kinds of other stuff or other things and people in our environment were clamoring for (and getting our attention), while the quiet but most important thing slipped by.

John the Baptist tells us something important today…Jesus called him the greatest man who ever lived…does he loom that large for you? Let’s think about some possible sources of John’s greatness. I want to look at just three

1. He knew who he was --- “I am not the messiah” …He was the forerunner – the one sent ahead . With all of Jerusalem coming out to be baptized, with all of the sensation and public attention he was attracting, it would have been easy to want to hold on to that limelight as along as he could….but he knew who he was and he acted on it…he was faithful to the call of God in his life….I like this little quote from Goethe…. “Never by reflection, but only by doing is self-knowledge possible to one.” [1] Contrary to what our culture teaches ("Look within , Grasshopper"), we learn who we are and what we are to be about by doing – not by sitting around and peeling back the layers of our inner onion.

So, let me ask you an Advent question --- what is God’s call on your life? What work has he given you to do? How are you doing?

2. John the Baptist had the eyes of faith to be able to recognize Jesus…how is your spiritual vision these days – do you see the signs of God at work around you?

3. Instead of envy, joy --- instead of living out of a place of limited good (there’s only so much limelight to go around) he was filled with joy at the prospect of simply being the friend of the bridegroom – (Remember wedding customs about friend announcing)…are we willing to step aside from the me first , ego driven individualism of the culture surrounds us?

So – here are some Advent questions we can ponder to get ready…

What calling has God placed in my life and am I living it out faithfully…and if we discover we are not, not, then confess it and ask for God’s help and guidance…

Am I in enough of a relationship with Jesus Christ that I am able to see with the eyes of faith? If we are not, then pray for a new start at Christmas…

Am I willing to give way and let Jesus Christ be the Lord of my life instead of my self? Are we willing to let him be the bridegroom? If not then confess, and say with John – Lord, grant that we might decrease and he increase.

If we can reflect about these questions – then, we will be truly getting ready for Christmas…not for commercial Christmas but for God’s Christmas. May God bless you in your Advent discernment. Amen.
***********************************************************************************

JTCO – Advent III-2008
[1] Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) – Poet, novelist and dramatist.

A Good Thought for November 23rd....

2008-11-24T15:51:00.004-05:00

....which is the feast day of St. Clement AD 100.

Faith appears to be the first inclination towards salvation: then follow fear and hope and repentance, which growing up togther with temperance and patience, lead us on to love and knowledge.
St. Clement: Stromata.

Here is a link to more information about St. Clement http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/CLEMENT.HTM

Notes from the Congregational Meeting - Nov. 9th, 2008

2008-11-16T15:17:00.003-05:00

In Response to the Question …What Would You Like to See Happening at St. James Santee Episcopal Church in 2009?

The Marriage Course offered again

Monthly Fellowship Gatherings – Wednesday nights

More Hands-On Community Outreach

Use praise music in combination with traditional music in worship – Guitar/Piano

Familiar music*

Food Drive or some other type of food ministry – perhaps in concert with others in community.

People who are willing to drive others to town

Dialog Sermons (Dick did this once a month)

Outings at Brick Church – Oyster Roast, for example

Occasional Services at Jamestown and other sites associated with SJS

Healing Prayer Service

Vestry Building improved ( Quiet HVAC and improve bathroom) so we can get more use out of it - AA, etc.

* Suggestion was made to write the names of several of your favorites on the Time and Talent survey.

May the Lord who has given us the will to do these things give us the grace and power to perform them. Amen.

All Saints

2008-11-01T20:23:00.005-04:00

On the occasion of All Saints Day, here is an image from Wells Cathedral* with a representation of saints galore and a great poem by Matthew R. Brown.

For all the Secret Tzaddiks and Undercover Saints:

SAINTS

It is the glory of the Church

that it cannot name all the saints.

It is the glory of the Church

that it cannot remember all the saints.

It is the glory of Christ

that we cannot count all the saints.

Saints are found

behind all the rocks of the mountain.

Saints are found

among the trees of the wood.

Saints hide

in blossoms,

ride birds,

top clouds;

follow passages under the earth.

They sweep the floors of the universe.

They take out the garbage of the cosmos.

The seeds they scatter

soften and green the hillsides;

leaves open their hands;

joyful beasts wander

among trees,

cling to grassy slopes.

The faithful cling

to the roots

of the saints,

growing up from the ground.

*Click on the photo for an enlarged image. I especially like that there are empty spaces on the bottom rows for saints yet to come.

Seven Years Later

2008-09-11T19:51:00.007-04:00

Hard to believe it has been seven years. Here is something worth checking out. It's a big file and will take a while to download. Hat tip KSH http://www.gunstuff.com/america-attacked.html

The New Ocean

2008-09-11T19:46:00.004-04:00

Here is the quote of the week from Ask Oxford - the Oxford English Dictionary website http://www.askoxford.com/?view=uk

Whosoever commands the sea commands the trade; whosoever commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world, and consequently the world itself.
Walter Ralegh (c.1552–1618), English explorer and courtier

Here is my question of the day: Does this still hold? I suspect there is a new ocean. Could it be space? How about the internet?

A Prayer for Labor Day

2008-09-01T08:33:00.001-04:00

On this day, when we rest from our usual labors, loving Father, we pray for all who shoulder the tasks of human labor—in the marketplace, in factories and offices, in the professions, and in family living. We thank you, Lord, for the gift and opportunity of work; may our efforts always be pure of heart, for the good of others and the glory of your name. We lift up to you all who long for just employment and those who work to defend the rights and needs of workers everywhere. May those of us who are now retired always remember that we still make a valuable contribution to our Church and our world by our prayers and deeds of charity. May our working and our resting all give praise to you until the day we share together in eternal rest with all our departed in your Kingdom as you live and reign Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Archdiocese of Detroit

Correspondence from Canterbury

2008-08-26T17:58:00.002-04:00

Much has been written about the Lambeth Conference already, but if you are going to read anything, start with this word from Rowan Williams who certainly has the most difficult job in the Anglican Communion.

Archbishop's Pastoral Letter to Bishops of the Anglican Communion-Tuesday 26 August 2008

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has today sent a letter to the bishops of the Anglican Communion, setting out his personal reflections on the Lambeth Conference. The full text of the letter can be found below:

As the Lambeth Conference of 2008 comes to an end, I want to offer some further reflections of my own on what the bishops gathered in Canterbury have learned and experienced. Those of you who have been present here will be able to share your own insights with your people, but it may be useful for me to add my own perspectives as to where we have been led.
For the vast majority of bishops, it seems, this has been a time when they have felt God to have been at work. The Conference was not a time for making new laws or for binding decisions; in spite of the way some have expressed their expectations, Lambeth Conferences have never worked straightforwardly in this way. The Conference Design Group believed strongly that the chief need of our Communion at the moment was the rebuilding of relationships – the rebuilding of trust in one another – and of confidence in our Anglican identity. And it was with this in mind that they planned for a very different sort of Conference, determined to allow every bishop's voice to be heard and to seek for a final outcome for which the bishops were genuinely able to recognize an authentic account of their own work.
I believe that the Conference succeeded in doing this to a very remarkable degree – more than most people expected. At the end of our time together, many people, especially some of the newer bishops, said that they had been surprised by the amount of convergence they had seen. And there can be no doubt that practically all who were present sincerely wanted the Communion to stay together.
But they also recognized the challenge in staying together and the continuing possibility of further division. As the proposals for an Anglican Covenant now go forward, it is still possible that some will not be able to agree; there was a clear sense that some sort of covenant will help our identity and cohesion, although the bishops wish to avoid a legalistic or juridical tone. A strong majority of bishops present agreed that moratoria on same-sex blessings and on cross-provincial interventions were necessary, but they were aware of the conscientious difficulties this posed for some, and there needs to be a greater clarity about the exact expectations and what can be realistically implemented. How far the intensified sense of belonging together will help mutual restraint in such matters remains to be seen. But it can be said that few of those who attended left without feeling they had in some respects moved and changed.
We were conscious of the absence of many of our colleagues, and wanted to express our sadness that they felt unable to be with us and our desire to build bridges and restore our fellowship. We were aware also of the recent meeting in Jerusalem and its statements; many of us expressed a clear sense of affinity with much that was said there and were grateful that many had attended both meetings, but we know that there is work to do to bring us closer together and are determined to do that work.
The final document of Conference Reflections is not a 'Report' in the style of earlier Conferences, but an attempt to present an honest account of what was discussed and expressed in the 'indaba' groups which formed the main communal work of the Conference by the Reflections Group. But although this document is not a formal Report, it has a number of pointers as to where the common goals and assumptions are in the Communion. Let me mention some of these.
First, there was an overwhelming unity around the need for the Church to play its full part in the worldwide struggle against poverty ignorance and disease. The Millennium Development Goals were repeatedly stressed, and there was universal agreement that both governmental and non-governmental development agencies needed to create more effective partnerships with the churches and to help the churches increase and improve their own capacity to deliver change for the sake of justice. To further this, it was agreed that we needed a much enhanced capacity in the Communion for co-ordinated work in the field of development. Our Walk of Witness in London and the memorable address of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom formed a powerful focus for these concerns. And the challenge to every bishop to identify clear goals for developing environmentally responsible policies in church life was articulated very forcefully indeed: information was provided to all about how the 'carbon footprint' of the Conference itself might be offset, and new impetus given to careful and critical self-examination of all our practices. We were reminded by first-hand testimony that the literal survival of many of our most disadvantaged communities was at risk as a result of environmental change. This enabled us to see the issue more clearly as one of justice both to God's earth and to God's people
Second, on the controversial issue of the day regarding human sexuality, there was a very widely-held conviction that premature or unilateral local change was risky and divisive, in spite of the diversity of opinion expressed on specific questions. There was no appetite for revising Resolution 1.10 of Lambeth 1998, though there was also a clear commitment to continue theological and pastoral discussion of the questions involved. In addition to a widespread support for moratoria in the areas already mentioned, there was much support for the idea of a 'Pastoral Forum' as a means of addressing present and future tensions, and as a clearing house for proposals concerning the care of groups at odds with dominant views within their Provinces, so as to avoid the confusing situation of violations of provincial boundaries and competing jurisdictions.
Importantly, it was recognized that all these matters involved serious reflection on the Christian doctrine of human nature and a continuing deepening of our understanding of Christian marriage. A joint session with bishops and spouses also reminded us that broader moral issues about power and violence in relations between men and women needed attention if we were to speak credibly to the tensions and sufferings of those we serve.
Third, there was a general desire to find better ways of managing our business as a Communion. Many participants believed that the indaba method, while not designed to achieve final decisions, was such a necessary aspect of understanding what the questions might be that they expressed the desire to see the method used more widely – and to continue among themselves the conversations begun in Canterbury. This is an important steer for the meetings of the Primates and the ACC which will be taking place in the first half of next year, and I shall be seeking to identify the resources we shall need in order to take forward some of the proposals about our structures and methods.
The Conference was richly blessed in its guest speakers, who all testified to their appreciation of the Anglican heritage, while asking us searching questions about how flexible and creative our evangelistic policies were, about the integration of our social passion with our theology and about the nature of the unity we were seeking both within the Anglican Communion and with other Christian families. Our many ecumenical representatives played a full and robust part in all our work together and we owe them a considerable debt.
Finally and most importantly of all, we were held within an atmosphere of steady and deep prayer by our Chaplaincy Team. The commitment of the Conference members to daily worship was impressive; and this has much to do with the quality of that worship, both in moments of profound quiet and in exuberant celebration. It mattered greatly that we were able to begin with a period of retreat in the context of Canterbury Cathedral; the welcome we received there was immensely generous and we all valued the message clearly given, that this was our Cathedral, and that all of us were a full part of the worshipping community that had been here since Augustine came to Canterbury in 597.
I know that all present would wish me to express thanks once again to all who planned and organized the Conference, to those who composed the Bible Studies, those who devised and monitored the work of the indaba groups and all others who served us so devotedly in all sorts of ways – not least the Stewards, whose youthful energy and commitment and unfailingly supportive presence gave all of us great hope for the future. Thanks to all of you – bishops and spouses – who attended, for the great commitment shown and for the encouragement you have given each other.
But together we give thanks to God for his presence with us, his faithfulness to us and his gifts to our Communion. As was said in the closing plenary session, we believe that God has many more gifts to give to and through our Communion; and we ask his grace and assistance in teaching us how to receive what he wills to give. "He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness." (2 Cor. 9v10)
Your servant in Christ
+Rowan Cantuar:

A Report from Lambeth

2008-07-30T19:26:00.007-04:00

Dear folks, here is a report from the Lambeth Conference - the once every ten years gathering of the bishops of the Anglican Communion. It is one of three from our bishop, + Mark Lawrence. To check out the two other reports, click on the link at the bottom of the report...

Dear Friends,
A bishop asked me this morning while we were sitting in Canterbury Cathedral waiting for the Eucharist to begin, “What has been the biggest surprise for you?” I thought about it for a moment and said, “The way my heart has been broken and broadened.” I suppose it goes without saying that as a new bishop of the Church I hardly needed any more challenges then I already had before I came here. Yet somehow I must trust that God gives us the grace necessary to sustain us in the responsibilities to which he calls us. Bishop Charles Henry Brent used to say, “Responsibility keeps pace with spiritual development. The more a man carries, the more he is capable of carrying. God fits the back to the burden and the burden to the back.” So, for instance, how can I pray and share meals with these bishops from the Sudan or Ghana who have such needs for their people and then forget them when I return home? How can I reconnect with an old friend like Bishop Tito Zavala from Chile and not sense that God brought us together for his purposes years ago when I was the diocesan liaison between the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Chile and not feel that this relationship should be cultivated afresh? I have met so many bishops of kindred spirits from England, Ireland, India, and elsewhere that it reaffirms my conviction that we need one another to carry out the mission Jesus Christ is calling us to in this global age. It is clear to me that they face challenges that we can help them with—and we challenges for which their clarity and forthrightness is a strengthening balm. One of the highlights of these past few days was our day in London—the Witness Walk from Whitehall to Lambeth Palace where the Prime Minister of England addressed us with passionate conviction regarding the need for people of faith and good will to work together towards the goals of eradicating extreme poverty, hunger and bringing educational opportunities to all. After his speech and that of the Archbishop I wandered into the Lambeth Library seeing documents of the Virginia and Carolina colonies. From there we went by coach to the Garden Party with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. I found it only natural while in this setting of royal majesty to reflect upon the splendor of the heavenly realms which our Lord left in order to sojourn among us in humility and with his body hung in shame upon a cross to purchase our salvation. The Father, in his will to redeem a slave like me, sent his Son, who in his humiliation, revealed his glory and our redemption. We enter now into the final and crucial week. The Bible Study and Indaba Groups have begun to peel away layers of caution and hesitation therein laying bare many difficult issues. This has been painful at times as we’ve faced the chasm that divides us. Like many of you, particularly those who have been to General Convention or provincial gatherings of one kind or another, I have lived with this chasm for so many years that it is easy to forget that for Christians elsewhere it is hardly the most pressing issue they face. For some of them it is the need for food, shelter, clean water, coping as refugees or holding firm to the gospel in the midst of persecution that dominates their ministries. Yet the crisis that The Episcopal Church threw the Anglican Communion into in 2003 has not only complicated our lives as Episcopalians but has made it increasingly difficult for them to do their ministries in what were already demanding cultural contexts. A conference such as Lambeth must address many concerns and these are often interconnected and multilayered. Perhaps I can share some of our discussions with you later, but for now there is a verse in the Mosaic Law that comes to mind as I write about these two seminal groups of the conference: “You shall not uncover your sister’s nakedness.” That is, it would be inappropriate in my mind to discuss in any detail what is transpiring in the Bible Study and Indaba Groups. Beyond saying it is the striving of people from diverse cultures to engage one another respectfully yet honestly in order to understand what the challenges are that dominate the lives of our people. The last two meetings of the Self-Select Session, The Bible and Human Sexuality, I attended (Wednesday and Friday) were much improved over the first. We looked at certain Old Testament passages regarding human sexuality in the second session and New Testament passages in the third session. Some of each session was spent in a lecture format, some in small group work and some in larger group discussion. The time was hardly sufficient for the subject at hand. At the end of our final meeting an Australian bishop made a statement that was in a way a question, but there was hardly any answer that seemed sufficient with which the presenter could reply—“Surely a loving Heavenly Father would not leave his children confused about something so fundamental as human sexuality…if so, I’ve been wasting my time for forty-three years!” I suppose some were put off by the force of his words, but it seemed to me a necessary and poignant pause with which to end our time. Tomorrow we have another hearing on the Windsor process and the Covenant. We’ve already been told that nothing will be definitively decided on the Covenant at this Lambeth, but I suspect that what we do decide will play a role in this ongoing process towards a covenant that unites us in a deeper fellowship or the lack of a covenant that will surely lead to greater division than we already have in the Communion. I need to prepare what I’m going to say at this hearing, or, if I do not get the opportunity to speak, then to turn in my written words to the Windsor Continuation Committee, so I will leave off writing to you for tonight. It is 10:00 p.m. and I have this other work to do. But if I may say in conclusion, Allison and I joined many other bishops and spouses at Canterbury Cathedral for worship this morning. We enjoyed a lovely luncheon given to us by the Cathedral congregation, and then she and I walked over to St. Martin’s Church, the oldest Church in England. Afterwards we visited the ruins of St. Augustine’s Abbey before catching the bus back to the University of Kent and to our dormitory rooms. The three sites which are almost contiguous with one another are World Heritage Sites. They are also reminders that forms and structures may change—yet the Lordship of Christ will abide forever. But some embodiments of the Church and its mission abide, changing faithfully with the culture, and some entirely collapse, or exist merely as relics of prior generations’ faith. These three places were a stark reminder to me of the gravity of the issues before us in Anglicanism and in The Episcopal Church. Can Anglicanism adapt to the opportunities and challenges of a Global age? I, for one, believe it can—and what we do at this Lambeth Conference will either further us towards this opportunity or drag us back into an overly autonomous provincialism that will only thwart the call of Christ for us today and the movement of the Holy Spirit in shaping a church that is sufficient for tomorrow. As I’ve begged you before so I do now, keep us in your prayers.In Christ,
+Mark LawrenceSouth Carolina

http://www.dioceseofsc.org/

http://southcarolina.anglican.org/

Update from Suzy McCall and God's Littlest Lambs

2008-05-21T12:50:00.005-04:00

Dear Members and Friends of St. James Santee, One of the ministries SJS supports is the Lamb Institute based in Honduras. This multi-faceted ministry was founded by Suzy McCall in 1999. Suzy is a native of Barnwell and lived in Charleston for many years. She taught at Trident Academy and also served as the Director of Christian Education at St. Philip's where she had been a long time member.

In the mid 1990's, Suzy was called to serve in the mission field in Honduras. Through her ministry, as you will discover, God has been doing great work with the poorest of the poor in Honduras.

LAMB is supported by many Episcopal Churches in our diocese, and now has a national constellation of congregations and denominations of all kinds who partner with LAMB.

Please read more about this remarkable ministry at the link below. Also included below is posted one of Suzy's regualr update letters. I thought you might be in what is happening with LAMB. God's peace to you all, Jennie

http://www.lambinstitute.org/

Dear LAMB Friends,
It's when we most need your prayers and input that it is most difficult to find the time to get information into your email baskets! We are busy busy busy, but that is when we need God's outpouring more than ever, His love through you. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts, even when I haven't written in awhile.
Betsy's Illness
Some of you already know that Betsy Hake, the missionary with whom I shared a home for ten years, is ill. She has been diagnosed with amyloidosis, and is undergoing chemotherapy in NYC. If you would like to call her, she is staying at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan. Her friend, Dr. Elvia, is with her. Please keep her in your prayers.
Blessing-Filled Suitcases
We are well into the 2008 school year at God's Littlest Lambs in Flor del Campo, and God's LIttlest Lambs in San Buenaventura. Now that we have TWO schools, along with everything else, we are trying to do a better job of coordinating what comes down in suitcases with our visitors. Julie Hoffman (jhoffman@hypercon.net), from Clinton UMC, is working with Valerie to make lists and spread sheets so that all of our programs receive support in this way. We are thankful for Julie's help. Please feel free to get in touch with her if you are planning to come down, or want to send something.
Fighting Corruption
Our ministry was recently involved in a peaceful demonstration against government corruption. About thirty people (no one from our ministry) were on a hunger strike in front of the congressional building, and we helped with latrines, spiritual support, singing from our children, and by marching in the accompanying demonstrations. As a result of the strike and demonstrations, a new law was enacted which makes it possible for state attorneys to be prosecuted for corruption during their administration. Also, several files of high-ranking officials were re-opened for prosecution. The people leading the strike have suspended the demonstrations for ten days to give the government an opportunity to demonstrate good faith. If that does not happen, the strike will begin again. We can be thankful that the process has been completely non-violent. In fact, the organizers called the demonstrations, "A March for Peace." We feel that Christians should join the struggle for justice, and will continue to support this movement. We appreciate your prayers for the country of Honduras.
Battling Hunger
Food prices have escalated tremendous during the past few months, and of course the poor are always hit the hardest. Since we work in a poor neighborhood, people come to us for help. Our food bank has not been able to meet the demand. St. David's Episcopal Church in Atlanta has begun a drive called "Put the Beans Back in the Bag," and have raised several thousand dollars for food for our folks. Thank you, St. David's!
Obeying the Law, Trusting Jesus
Each year during June and December, all Hondurans, by LAW, receive double salaries, a full month's pay. Since we are subject to Honduran law, we pay these bonuses. It is really a wonderful thing, as many many people here, including our own employees, work for little pay. Everyone looks forward to these two months. June is upon us, and frankly, we don't have what we need to pay double salaries. The Lord has always provided, and we are trusting Him to provide this time as well. Please join us in prayer for this immediate financial need, and if you feel led to help, thank you. As I pointed out in the previous paragraph, the economic situation here is grim, and the needs great.
Our Beautiful Children
How can I not mention our beautiful children? When I walk through our schoolrooms in Flor, visit the children's home in SBV, and just sit around my own house, I am struck by the beauty and character of our children! Joyful, well-behaved, intelligent -- well, we have a GREAT GROUP, and we love them all so much. Many of you have visited our children this year, and I'm sure you agree with all that I am saying. Thank you for helping us teach, love and disciple these children -- more than 200 of them!
Inner Healing
In my master's program, we are doing a class called "Healing and Wholeness." First we read two books about physical healing. Now we are reading two books about inner healing. We are praying for people, and we are taking a close look at our own lives in order to receive healing ourselves. This week we are doing a "Healing Prayer Inventory" for ourselves. We have already done genograms on our families to look for patterns which need healing. This master's program has now left being practical, and has gotten downright personal! Thanks be to God. We all need healing, and I am no exception. I thank the Lord for this opportunity, albeit required, to invite the Holy Spirit to do some serious work in my soul and spirit.

Thank you for all that you do for LAMB. Thank you for your prayers for Betsy, for the children, the construction, the double salaries, the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of our staff (including me!), and our precious country, Honduras. May the Lord continue to speak to us His plans, and may we be found faithful in working towards their completion.

Love always,
Suzy

Trinity Sunday

2008-05-17T10:01:00.006-04:00

Copyrighted Art by Jan L. Richardson, used with her permission. Check out her web site http://www.janrichardson.com/

How many sermons have you heard about the Trinity ? I suppose that, since I've really been paying attention, for me, the number would be around forty or so. It's one of those topics that we can talk, talk, talk about and never really feel that we have it pinned down. I want to suggest to you that this is a *good* thing. For, how in the world can we wrap our arms around the ultimate mystery? Below follow some clippings on the topic of mystery and the Trinity. Enjoy!

"There ain't no answer. There ain't going to be any answer.

There never has been an answer.

That's the answer."

That's from Gertrude Stein and could apply to many areas of life (despite her choice of grammar!) Here's another one, this time from Robert Capon. Our efforts to describe the Trinity are fruitless, because....

"We are like a bunch of oysters trying to describe a ballerina"

And finally from William Willimon...."Augustine, one of the greatest minds of the Western World, put his head to thinking about the Trinity. Augustine, a master of words, took fifteen books to talk about the Trinity, fifteen books that took him over a decade to write. Augustine’s On The Trinity continues to be helpful in thinking through that which is difficult to think about, and talking about that which is difficult to describe, namely the nature of God who comes to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Early on in his massive treatise, Augustine had seven statements about God: The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God. The Son is not the Father. The Father is not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Son. And then, after these six statements, Augustine adds one more. There is only one God. This is the thinking that is tough to get into our brains. We have experienced three rather distinctive modes of God’s presence. God is the Father, the Creator of us and the world. God is the Son, the One who comes to us as Jesus, living, suffering, dying, and rising among us.

We experience God as Holy Spirit, that power that has intruded into our world as the near presence and power of God. And yet, we are not trite theists, we don’t believe in three gods. We know, with Israel, that is only one God. These names, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three names for the same thing. They are three names of one God. And how to make sense of that? You can certainly understand our sisters and brothers the Jews who hear talk of this kind and who may think to themselves, “Christians are no longer monotheist. They no longer believe in one God but in three gods.” No, what we are attempting to do in the Trinity is make sense of how there can be one God, and yet that one God being experienced by us in three special ways. In the Council of Nicea, they spoke of God’s “three persons.”

In our language, that sounds like we are talking about three different people. No, Nicea was building upon the Greek experience, from Greek drama of the way in which one character in a Greek play portrayed a number of different people in the play by simply moving off stage, putting on another mask which was called a persona, and returning to the stage as a different actor. One actor could play three different roles. I am one person, but I play the roles of father, husband, and son.

In a similar way, though there is one God, we experience that God working in three different ways in the world. And yet, like most analogies about God, this analogy helped, but not completely. In Book 7 On the Trinity, Augustine tried this. Rather than looking specifically in scripture, or in the world, for analogies to speak about God, he looked within himself. In looking within himself, Augustine noted how the human soul itself is Triadic, Trinitarian.

There is a kind of triune way in which we experience ourselves, as if the Trinity is built right into the structure of our reality. We say for instance “I love myself.” According to Jesus, it is all right to love ourselves, for we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. So we can say, “I love myself.” When we do so, we are speaking in a Triune way. When I say “I love myself,” there is a lover that is doing the loving, namely me loving myself. There is also the beloved, the object of my love, which is also me, then, there is the loving, the act and energy of the lover upon the beloved. So even with the one there is the lover, the beloved, and the loving. Thus, within our own hearts, in our own experience, Augustine said that there is the vestigia trinitatis. Reality is Trinitarian.

One of the church fathers said that, “When we talk about the Trinity, we must forget how to count.” He was simply recognizing that, at first glance, the Trinity is a mathematical impossibility. After all, how can one equal three? We must throw away our math, not because the Trinity is a logical muddle, but because we need a different kind of logic.

It took Augustine fifteen books to try to think about it, because God is God and we are not. Because God comes to us with a complexity and effusiveness, a ubiquity and a plenitude that boggles our modest minds, no wonder we have trouble thinking about God. No wonder the Trinity boggles our imaginations. And that is probably the right way to put it. The problem with the Trinity is not that this is a bunch of nonsense, but that God is God, in God’s particularly glorious, effusive way, and we are just people, the recipients of a love so deep we cannot find words to describe it.

When we think about the Trinity, we must forget how to count. Augustine makes another attempt to think in a Trinitarian way by looking at himself. In my soul, there is memory, understanding, and will. That is when I say, “I remember my mother,” there is the will, my decision to remember something, to draw into the present that which is past. And yet simultaneously there is that act of memory. I will to remember something and, with luck, I will to remember. And yet while I am willing, and remembering, I am also understanding. My mother is appearing instantaneously before my eyes, in my memory. I see her, know her, and understand. It is as if the Trinity, God’s dynamic, effusive nature appears to be built right into the structure of who I am and what the world is. There is a modern word for talking about this dynamic structure — synergy. Within the Trinity, there is constant movement, interaction, as the Father gives to the Son, and the Son is constantly returning praise and glory to the Father, and the Father and the Son give to the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit constantly draws everything back to the Father and the Son.

There is the Beloved, the Lover, and the Love."

Happenings around Diocese of SC

2008-04-30T18:02:00.002-04:00

Our diocesan website has a great listing of what's happening around the diocese. From Healing Days to Tea Rooms, it's all there. Check it out at http://southcarolina.anglican.org/

Happy Earth Day

2008-04-22T10:35:00.006-04:00

It has been a while since I posted, and today is Earth Day, 2008. This is not a feast day that is on our liturgical calendar, although we are approaching what is known as Rogation Sunday which could easily be considered the church's Earth Days.

Click on the image for a beuatiful sight.

Here is a good website for Earth Day resources http://ww2.earthday.net/ and above is a picture of our beautiful planet. As it turns out, I was a particpant in the first Earth Day observance held on the Mall in Washington, DC in 1970 - truthfully, I had never seen anything quite like it then or since.

Here's a question - how will you be exercising greater stewardship of the creation this year?

Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The Annual Brick Church Service...

2008-04-21T11:05:00.001-04:00

...was quite wonderful this year. The weather was damp and chilly, but spirits were glad. People were especially stalwart in their picnicking. Our preacher was the Rev. Andy Morgan from Prince George Winyah Church in Georgetown and it was a good day all around. Here are some photos taken and shared by Kay Muschick Schneide. Kay is an artist who posts her painting daily here http://paintcharlestondaily.blogspot.com/ Check it out! March 30th has a sketch of Brick Church. Thanks Kay!

Here are some of her pictures from the service and picnic

The Revs. Andy Morgan and Jennie Olbrych and Max Olbrych

The Picnic!

Yumm!

Easter Day 2008 Sermon

2008-03-24T11:49:00.003-04:00

Easter Day -2008
Matt. 28:1-10

“Don’t be afraid,” the angel said – almost always, the first word out of the mouth of the Holy One or his emissaries.

“Fear not” – and yet, how could they not have been scared to death?
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary had gone in the dark to the tomb of Jesus, and, suddenly, there was an earthquake, and an angel coming down from heaven and rolling back the stone. “His appearance,” the text tells us, “was like lightening and his clothing white as snow.”
The guards shook with fear and became like dead men– the words Matthew uses tell us they became rigid, immobilized – passed out cold …as if they were dead…

“Don’t be afraid” the angel said to the women..
“Don’t be afraid” the angel said to Mary – Jesus’ mother
“Don’t be afraid” the angels said to the shepherds.

Think about what happened with the Israelites when God miraculously pried them out of Pharaoh’s hands. They ran through the desert pursued by an army and came to the Red Sea .
There was a wall of water in front of them, a wall of Egyptians behind them and the walls were closing. Would it be death by drowning or death by the sword? V. 10 in that 14th chapt of Exodus tells us, “In great fear, the Israelites cried out to the Lord and said, 'Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die out here in the wilderness? What have you done?'" And Moses said, “Do not be afraid, stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will accomplish for you today,” and God made a way through the waters.

Think of the vision of desolation seen by the prophet Ezekiel who lived at a time when the people of Israel had been defeated in war. Towns and cities had been razed with untold numbers of casualties. The survivors were marched off into slavery – all forms of family and community destroyed. An entire people were disheartened and disappearing, probably so sick at heart, they wanted nothing more than to lie down and die. “Don’t be afraid” God said to them through Ezekiel, “I will give you new life.” And He did.

To the same Ezekiel, God showed the vision of the valley of the Dry Bones—I have wondered if a modern-day equivalent imagery might not be some of the photos coming out of the concentrations camps like Dachau – with death everywhere…no life, no future, no hope. Can these bones live, came the question to Ezekiel…and he responded…o Lord, only you know..and you remember what happened…the Spirit of Life itself breathed over, blew over those bones and the bones were joined together, flesh and muscle,came on them. In the valley of death, the Spirit of Life danced and blew over the dead bones of a whole people, and they lived.

And, St Paul proclaims over and over again that that when we are united to Christ, Death has no hold over us.

Now, back to our gospel reading. The angel of the Lord said to the women , “Do not be afraid. You are looking for Jesus…he is not here…he has been raised from the dead and is on his way ahead of you to Galilee…you will see him there. "
With joy and fear and everything else, they ran to tell the disciples, and suddenly on the road with them was Jesus. What a moment! And, what did he say to them? He said,“Greetings” or the equivalent of “hey, y’all." Then, he said to them, Don’t be afraid…go and tell.

You see, the followers of Jesus have nothing to fear… NOTHING. God’s resurrection power can overcome anything… So, what are you afraid of? Financial loss? disease? Our own death? The death of someone we love? The anguish and heartsickness of grief?

These are very real losses but we need to know that 1. those we love are not lost but in God’s keeping…2. that resurrection is real..perhaps, the most real thing of all. 3. that death can do its worst and does not have the final word…because in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, God’s final word to us is life, and life energized by a love that will never die.

“Don’t be afraid” is the sermon delivered first by a lightening –faced angel and then by Jesus himself. We are witnesses to the resurrection and there is nothing on this earth that is beyond the reach of God’s resurrection power.

Jesus says to us – go and tell others that I have walked this road before you and there is nothing to fear… go and be witnesses to the resurrection…go be Easter people who live with joy and anticipation in our sad, anxious and fearful world.

Go to those who are anxious or fearful and surround them with resurrection love..
Go to those who are grieving and embrace them with resurrection love (this doesn’t mean beating someone over the head)…but simply loving them..walking with them---- if they will let you…praying for them..and embodying resurrection hope.

Because Jesus has been raised from the dead, love and life have the last word and will ALWAYS have the last word.

Today, right now, to you, Jesus says---hey, y’all--- don’t be afraid, but go and tell. AMEN.

JTCO

Schedule for Holy Week, Easter Day, and Brick Church

2008-03-19T13:21:00.003-04:00

Painting by John Coburn, Australia, contemporary, Asian Christian Art Association.

March 20 -----7:00 pm----- Maundy Thursday

March 21 -----12 Noon------ Good Friday

March 23----- 10:00 am----- Easter Day !!!! & Flowering of the Cross

Easter Egg Hunt after Church

March 29----- 10:00 am ------Brick Church Cleanup/Setup (Saturday)

March 30----- 11:00----- Annual Brick Church Service & Picnic*

* Please note that in the event of very inclement weather (tornado or hurricane), the picnic will be held at the Morrison House in the Village.

From Your Vicar

2008-03-17T21:30:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe that I have now been your vicar for two years. My, how time flies when you’re having a good time! Truly, I am blessed to serve you.

When I first came on board, the vestry expressed a strong desire that SJS continue the work of moving from being a Sunday only chapel to having a fuller ministry presence. To that end, we have been working for some time to identify our vision for ministry.

Vision for ministry, mission, mandate and other like terms are often used to help organizations focus their efforts and resources more effectively.

In the Church, mission is the larger term, and we already know what that is because it was given to us by our Lord. The Mission of the Church is delineated by The Great Commandment on one side (Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and Love your neighbor as yourself – Luke 10.27) and The Great Commission on the other (Go make disciples – baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded. –Matthew 28.19-20). The Vision for Ministry is the unique call or way in which a congregation (or individual) carries this out in a particular season.

Your vestry and I have been working for some time now to articulate the unique call of God for this Church family. My assumption has been that God has already been at work here for quite a long time (!) and that probably what we needed was simply to identify more precisely what is already happening. Consequently, over a period of time, I have sensed and observed that St. James Santee is a place of healing.

As I have talked about this and checked out this perception with many of you, it seems to ring true. As a result, we have been using the following phrase to describe who we are and what we are doing in this season as , “Called to be the Hands of Jesus – Connecting, Caring and Healing.” The helpfulness of this kind of focus is that strategic decision making becomes so much simpler. When we are faced a decision, we ask, “How will this further our call to be a healing community?”

As one could imagine, this is a broad description, and we have lots of ideas about how to live it out. These have included developing a Recovery Ministry as well as a ministry of healing prayer. What is also included is the sense of being called to heal the hurts in the community and the families around us. To this end, we are offering The Marriage Course which is designed to strengthen marriages. This will be offered first to the congregation and then later, after a trial run, to the community,. This is not to say that we are overlooking the needs of single persons, but just that this is a good and obvious starting place.

There's more to add but the conversation will continue. See below for more information about The Marriage Course.

May you all have a blessed Holy Week and a glorious Easter,

Jennie TCO

Time to sign up for The Marriage Course

2008-03-12T13:37:00.001-04:00

The Marriage Course at SJS- Register Now!
Wednesday evenings – April 2-May 14 from 7-9:30 pm.

Cost - $125 per couple (includes dinners and materials – Financial assistance is available)
The Course will be facilitated by Kent MacEachern, LMFT / PartnerCoach. More general information can be found at http://www.themarriagecourseusa.org/

The first course will be limited to six couples. Please sign up by speaking with Mrs. Olbrych – - or at stjamesec@knology.net.

About The Marriage Course.....

The Course is a series of eight sessions designed to help any married couple strengthen their relationship. ….“It’s a great opportunity to spend time together as a couple looking at the important issues in your marriage. The Marriage Course is very practical and will help equip you with the tools needed to build a healthy marriage that lasts a lifetime. Each week you are given the opportunity to enjoy a special meal together and listen to a talk. Then there is plenty of time to discuss the topic as a couple. There is no group work involved at any stage of the course. The Marriage Course is now being run in 60 countries and we hope you will be able to join us.

Return with all your heart

2008-02-05T14:44:00.000-05:00

Ash Wednesday this year, for me, is about the condition of our hearts. The Collect for Ash Wednesday gets at this. It reads:

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the god of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness...

The painting above is entitled Prodigal Son. It is by the contemporary Russian artist Vladimir Zunuzin www.zunuzin.com I have found myself drawn to this biblical image as depicted by many different artists, but no one captures the colors of the heart the way this painting does.

During this Lent, may we, like the Prodigal lament our sins and acknowledge our wretchedness ....just perhaps we will receive a brand new heart.

Ash Wednesday

2008-02-05T14:11:00.001-05:00

A Portion of the poem Ash Wednesday from TS Elliot.

Although I do not hope to turn again

Although I do not hope

Although I do not hope to turn

Wavering between the profit and the loss

In this brief transit where the dreams cross

The dreamcrossed twilight between birth and dying

(Bless me father) though I do not wish to wish these things

From the wide window towards the granite shore

The white sails still fly seaward, seaward flying

Unbroken wings

And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices

In the lost lilac and the lost sea voices

And the weak spirit quickens to rebel

For the bent golden-rod and the lost sea smell

Quickens to recover

The cry of quail and the whirling plover

And the blind eye creates

The empty forms between the ivory gates

And smell renews the salt savour of the sandy earth

This is the time of tension between dying and birth

The place of solitude where three dreams cross

Between blue rocks

But when the voices shaken from the yew-tree drift away

Let the other yew be shaken and reply.

Blessèd sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden,

Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood

Teach us to care and not to care

Teach us to sit still

Even among these rocks,

Our peace in His will

And even among these rocks

Sister, mother

And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,

Suffer me not to be separated

And let my cry come unto Thee.

Annaul Meeting is January 20th

2008-01-19T18:54:00.000-05:00

What fun! Vestry elections, membership report, year in review.....what more could you want?

You are Invited...

2008-01-09T20:47:00.000-05:00

For more details, click here http://www.dioceseofsc.org/mt/archives/000306.html/

The E-100 - 2011-2012 - New Testament Cycle

2008-01-01T16:21:00.002-05:00

Dear St. James Santee Members and Friends,

The story of Jesus Christ began before time, and the threads of this “ best story of all” run throughout the whole of the Old and New Testaments. The E-100 plan has been adopted to help us follow those threads so that we might be better able to grasp the breadth and depth of God’s love for us. It is suggested that each week you read and meditate on the passage for the week. On Sundays, except for major feast days, we will hear a sermon on a portion of that reading. May you be blessed in your study, reflection, hearing and learning.

Jennie+

E-100, Pt. 2 - The New Testament Plan

The Living Word

51. The Word Became Flesh- John 1:1-18 - Jan. 16

52. Gabriel’s Messages Luke- 1:1-80 - Jan 23

53. The Birth of Jesus - Luke 2:1-40 - Jan 30

54. John the Baptist - Luke 3:1-20 - Feb 6

55. Baptism and Temptation - Mt. 3:13-4:17 - Feb. 13

The Teachings of Jesus

56. Sermon on the Mount - I Mt. 5:1-6:4 - Feb. 20

57. Sermon on the Mount -II - Mt. 6:5-7:29 - Feb 27

58. The Kingdom of Heaven - Mt. 13:1-58 - March 6

59. The Good Samaritan Luke - 10:25-37 - March 13

60 Lost and Found - Luke 15:1-32 - March 20

The Miracles of Jesus

61. Feeding the Five Thousand - Luke 9:1-36 - March 27

62 Walking on the Water - Mt. 14:22-36 - April 3

63 Healing a Blind Man - John 9:1-41 - April 10

Palm Passion Sunday April 17

Easter Day April 24

Second Sunday of Easter – Brick Church May 1

64 Healing a Demon-Possessed Man - Mark 5:1-20 - May 8

65 Raising Lazarus - John 11:1-57 - May 15

66 The Last Supper - Luke 22:1-46 - May 22

67 Arrest and Trial - John 18:1-40 - May 29

68-70. The Crucifixion & Resurrection - John 19:1-42 - June 5

The Church is Born

71 - Pentecost Day - Acts 2:1-47 June 12

72 Growth and Persecution - Acts 3:1-4:37 - June 19

73 The First Martyr - Acts 6:8-8:8 - June 26
74 Sharing the Word - Acts 8:26-40 - July 3

75 Good News for All - Acts 10:1-11:18 - July 10

The Travels of Paul

76 The Road to Damascus - Acts 9:1-31 - July 17

77 The First Missionary Journey - Acts 13:1-14:28 - July 24

78 The Council at Jerusalem - Acts 15:1-41 -  July 31

79 More Missionary Journeys - Acts 16:1-20:38 - August 7

80 The Trip to Rome - Acts 25:1-28:31 - August 14

Paul to the Churches

81 More than Conquerors - Romans 8:1-39 - August 28

82 The Fruit of the Spirit - Gal. 5:16-6:10 - Sept. 4

83 The Armor of God - Ephesians 6:10-20 - Sept. 11

84 Rejoice in the Lord - Philippians 4:4-9 - Sept. 18

85 The Supremacy of Christ - Colossians 1:1-23 -  Sept. 25

Paul to the Leaders

86-87 Elders & Deacons   - 1 Tim. 3:1-6:21 - Oct. 2

88 Good Soldiers of Christ - 2 Tim. 2:1-26 - Oct. 9

89 All Scripture is God-Breathed - 2 Tim. 3:10-4:8 - Oct. 16

90 The Coming of the Lord - 1 Thess. 4:13-5:11 - Oct. 23

The Apostles’ Teaching

91 The Most Excellent Way - 1 Cor. 13:1-13 - Oct. 30

92 A New Creation in Christ - 2 Cor. 4:1-6:2 - Nov. 6

93 A Living Hope - 1 Peter 1:1-2:26 - Nov. 13

Christ the King – Last Sunday after Pentecost - Nov. 20

1 Advent C Nov. 27

2 Advent C Dec. 4

3 Advent C Dec. 11

4 Advent C Dec. 18

Christmas Day Dec. 25

Christmas 2 Jan. 1, 2012

94 Faith and Works - James 1:1-2:26 - Jan. 8

95 Love One Another - 1 John 3:11-4:21 - Jan. 15

The Revelation

96 A Voice and a Vision - Rev. 1:1-20 - Jan. 22

97 Message to the Churches - Rev. 2:1-3:22 -  Jan. 29

98 The Throne of Heaven - Rev. 4:1-7:17 - Feb. 5

99 Hallelujah! - Rev. 19:1-20:15 - Feb. 12

100 The New Jerusalem - Rev. 21:1-22:21 - Feb. 19 Last Epiphany

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,

and a light unto my path. (Ps. 119:105)

St. James Santee Episcopal Church

The Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence., Bishop

Vicar – The Rev. Jennie C. Olbrych: 843-571-7915

stjamesec@tds.net & stjamessantee.blogspot.com

205 Oak St. * P.O. Box 123, McClellanville, SC 29458

Be sure to check December happenings

2007-12-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Click Here http://stjamessantee.blogspot.com/2003/09/this-month-at-sjs.html

Christmas Eve 2007

2007-12-24T05:50:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve Blessings to one and all! Here is a Christmas story that touched me. Unfortunately, I do not know who the author is. I pass it along in hopes that it will be meaningful to you. God bless you all!

TWO BABES IN A MANGER

In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words: It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger. Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city. Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia, were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States. The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately...until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?" And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me. So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him for always." As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him...FOR ALWAYS. I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts.

Archbishop of Canterbury's Advent Letter

2007-12-14T13:03:00.000-05:00

From the website of the Anglican Communion http://www.anglicancommunion.org/index.cfm

To: Primates of the Anglican Communion & Moderators of the United Churches

Greetings in the name of the One 'who is and was and is to come, the Almighty', as we prepare in this Advent season to celebrate once more his first coming and pray for the grace to greet him when he comes in glory.
You will by now, I hope, have received my earlier letter summarising the responses from Primates to the Joint Standing Committee's analysis of the New Orleans statement from the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church. In that letter, I promised to write with some further reflections and proposals, and this is the purpose of the present communication. Although I am writing in the first instance to my fellow-primates, I hope you will share this letter widely with your bishops and people.
As I said in that earlier letter, the responses received from primates differed in their assessment of the situation. Slightly more than half of the replies received signalled a willingness to accept the Joint Standing Committee's analysis of the New Orleans statement, but the rest regarded both the statement and the Standing Committee's comments as an inadequate response to what had been requested by the primates in Dar-es-Salaam.
So we have no consensus about the New Orleans statement. It is also the case that some of the more negative assessments from primates were clearly influenced by the reported remarks of individual bishops in The Episcopal Church who either declared their unwillingness to abide by the terms of the statement or argued that it did not imply any change in current policies. It should be noted too that some of the positive responses reflected a deep desire to put the question decisively behind us as a Communion; some of these also expressed dissatisfaction with our present channels of discussion and communication.
2.
Where does this leave us as a Communion? Because we have no single central executive authority, the answer to this is not a simple one. However, it is important to try and state what common ground there is before we attempt to move forward; and it is historically an aspect of the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury to 'articulate the mind of the Communion' in moments of tension and controversy, as the Windsor Report puts it (para. 109). I do so out of the profound conviction that the existence of our Communion is truly a gift of God to the wholeness of Christ's Church and that all of us will be seriously wounded and diminished if our Communion fractures any further; but also out of the no less profound conviction that our identity as Anglicans is not something without boundaries. What I am writing here is an attempt to set out where some of those boundaries lie and why they matter for our witness to the world as well as for our own integrity and mutual respect.
The Communion is a voluntary association of provinces and dioceses; and so its unity depends not on a canon law that can be enforced but on the ability of each part of the family to recognise that other local churches have received the same faith from the apostles and are faithfully holding to it in loyalty to the One Lord incarnate who speaks in Scripture and bestows his grace in the sacraments. To put it in slightly different terms, local churches acknowledge the same 'constitutive elements' in one another. This means in turn that each local church receives from others and recognises in others the same good news and the same structure of ministry, and seeks to engage in mutual service for the sake of our common mission.
So a full relationship of communion will mean:
The common acknowledgment that we stand under the authority of Scripture as 'the rule and ultimate standard of faith', in the words of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral; as the gift shaped by the Holy Spirit which decisively interprets God to the community of believers and the community of believers to itself and opens our hearts to the living and eternal Word that is Christ. Our obedience to the call of Christ the Word Incarnate is drawn out first and foremost by our listening to the Bible and conforming our lives to what God both offers and requires of us through the words and narratives of the Bible. We recognise each other in one fellowship when we see one another 'standing under' the word of Scripture. Because of this recognition, we are able to consult and reflect together on the interpretation of Scripture and to learn in that process. Understanding the Bible is not a private process or something to be undertaken in isolation by one part of the family. Radical change in the way we read cannot be determined by one group or tradition alone.
The common acknowledgement of an authentic ministry of Word and Sacrament. We remain in communion because we trust that the Lord who has called us by his Word also calls men and women in other contexts and raises up for them as for us a ministry which can be recognised as performing the same tasks – of teaching and pastoral care and admonition, of assembling God's people for worship, above all at the Holy Communion. The principle that one local church should not intervene in the life of another is simply a way of expressing this trust that the form of ministry is something we share and that God provides what is needed for each local community.
The common acknowledgement that the first and great priority of each local Christian community is to communicate the Good News. When we are able to recognise biblical faithfulness and authentic ministry in one another, the relation of communion pledges us to support each other's efforts to win people for Christ and to serve the world in his Name. Communion thus means the sharing of resources and skills in order to enable one another to proclaim and serve in this way.
It is in this context that we must think about the present crisis, which is in significant part a crisis about whether we can fully, honestly and gratefully recognise these gifts in each other.
The debates about sexuality, significant as they may be, are symptoms of our confusion about these basic principles of recognition. It is too easy to make the debate a standoff between those who are 'for' and those who are 'against' the welcoming of homosexual people in the Church. The Instruments of Communion have consistently and very strongly repeated that it is part of our Christian and Anglican discipleship to condemn homophobic prejudice and violence, to defend the human rights and civil liberties of homosexual people and to offer them the same pastoral care and loving service that we owe to all in Christ's name. But the deeper question is about what we believe we are free to do, if we seek to be recognisably faithful to Scripture and the moral tradition of the wider Church, with respect to blessing and sanctioning in the name of the Church certain personal decisions about what constitutes an acceptable Christian lifestyle. Insofar as there is currently any consensus in the Communion about this, it is not in favour of change in our discipline or our interpretation of the Bible.
This is why the episcopal ordination of a person in a same-sex union or a claim to the freedom to make liturgical declarations about the character of same-sex unions inevitably raises the question of whether a local church is still fully recognisable within the one family of practice and reflection. Where one part of the family makes a decisive move that plainly implies a new understanding of Scripture that has not been received and agreed by the wider Church, it is not surprising that others find a problem in knowing how far they are still speaking the same language. And because what one local church says is naturally taken as representative of what others might say, we have the painful situation of some communities being associated with views and actions which they deplore or which they simply have not considered.
Where such a situation arises, it becomes important to clarify that the Communion as a whole is not committed to receiving the new interpretation and that there must be ways in which others can appropriately distance themselves from decisions and policies which they have not agreed. This is important in our relations with our own local contexts and equally in our ecumenical (and interfaith) encounters, to avoid confusion and deep misunderstanding.
The desire to establish this distance has led some to conclude that, since the first condition of recognisability (a common reading and understanding of Scripture) is not met, the whole structure of mission and ministry has failed in a local church that commits itself to a new reading of the Bible. Hence the willingness of some to provide supplementary ministerial care through the adoption of parishes in distant provinces or the ordination of ministers for distant provinces.
Successive Lambeth Conferences and Primates' Meetings have, however, cautioned very strongly against such provision. It creates a seriously anomalous position. It does not appeal to a clear or universal principle by which it may be decided that a local church's ministry is completely defective. On the ground, it creates rivalry and confusion. It opens the door to complex and unedifying legal wrangles in civil courts. It creates a situation in which pastoral care and oversight have to be exercised at a great distance. The view that has been expressed by all the Instruments of Communion in recent years is that interventions are not to be sanctioned. It would seem reasonable to say that this principle should only be overridden when the Communion together had in some way concluded, not only that a province was behaving anomalously, but that this was so serious as to compromise the entire ministry and mission the province was undertaking. Without such a condition, the risk is magnified of smaller and smaller groups taking to themselves the authority to decide on the adequacy of a neighbour's ministerial life or spiritual authenticity. The gospels and the epistles of Paul alike warn us against a hasty final judgement on the spiritual state of our neighbours.
3.
While argument continues about exactly how much force is possessed by a Resolution of the Lambeth Conference such as the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution on sexuality, it is true, as I have repeatedly said, that the 1998 Resolution is the only point of reference clearly agreed by the overwhelming majority of the Communion. This is the point where our common reading of Scripture stands, along with the common reading of the majority within the Christian churches worldwide and through the centuries.
Thus it is not surprising if some have concluded that the official organs of The Episcopal Church, in confirming the election of Gene Robinson and in giving what many regard as implicit sanction to same-sex blessings of a public nature have put in question the degree to which it can be recognised as belonging to the same family by deciding to act against the strong, reiterated and consistent advice of the Instruments of Communion. The repeated requests for clarification to The Episcopal Church, difficult and frustrating as they have proved for that province, have been an attempt by the Communion at large to deal with the many anxieties expressed in this regard. The matter is further complicated by the fact that several within The Episcopal Church, including a significant number of bishops and some diocesan conventions, have clearly distanced themselves from the prevailing view in their province as expressed in its public policies and declarations. This includes the bishops who have committed themselves to the proposals of the Windsor Report in their Camp Allen conference, as well as others who have looked for more radical solutions. Without elaborating on the practical implications of this or the complicated and diverse politics of the situation, it is obvious that such dioceses and bishops cannot be regarded as deficient in recognisable faithfulness to the common deposit and the common language and practice of the Communion. If their faith and practice are recognised by other churches in the Communion as representing the common mind of the Anglican Church, they are clearly in fellowship with the Communion. The practical challenge then becomes to find ways of working out a fruitful, sustainable and honest relation for them both with their own province and with the wider Communion.
That challenge is not best addressed by a series of ad hoc arrangements with individual provinces elsewhere, as the Dar-es-Salaam communiqué made plain. The New Orleans statement, along with many individual statements by bishops in TEC, expresses the anger felt by many in the US – as also in Canada – about uncontrolled intervention, and it is evident that this is not doing anything to advance or assist local solutions that will have some theological and canonical solidity.
I believe that we as a Communion must recognise two things in respect of the current position in TEC. First: most if not all of the bishops present in New Orleans were seeking in all honesty to find a way of meeting the requests of the primates and to express a sense of responsibility towards the Communion and their concern for and loyalty to it. It is of enormous importance that the Communion overall does not forget its responsibility to and for that large body of prayerful opinion in The Episcopal Church which sincerely desires to work in full harmony with others, particularly those bishops who have clearly expressed their desire to work within the framework both of the Windsor Report and the Lambeth Resolutions, and that it does not give way to the temptation to view The Episcopal Church as a monochrome body. Second: it is practically impossible to imagine any further elucidation or elaboration coming from TEC after the successive statements and resolutions from last year's General Convention onwards. A good deal of time and effort has gone into the responses they have already produced, and it is extremely unlikely that further meetings will produce any more substantial consensus than that which is now before us.
The exact interpretation of the New Orleans statements, as the responses from around the Communion indicate, is disputable. I do not see how the commitment not to confirm any election to the episcopate of a partnered gay or lesbian person can mean anything other than what it says. But the declaration on same-sex blessings is in effect a reiteration of the position taken in previous statements from TEC, and has clearly not satisfied many in the Communion any more than these earlier statements. There is obviously a significant and serious gap between what TEC understands and what others assume as to what constitutes a liturgical provision in the name of the Church at large.
A scheme has been outlined for the pastoral care of those who do not accept the majority view in TEC, but the detail of any consultation or involvement with other provinces as to how this might best work remains to be filled out and what has been proposed does not so far seem to have commanded the full confidence of those most affected. Furthermore, serious concerns remain about the risks of spiralling disputes before the secular courts, although the Dar-es-Salaam communiqué expressed profound disquiet on this matter, addressed to all parties.
A somewhat complicating factor in the New Orleans statement has been the provision that any kind of moratorium is in place until General Convention provides otherwise. Since the matters at issue are those in which the bishops have a decisive voice as a House of Bishops in General Convention, puzzlement has been expressed as to why the House should apparently bind itself to future direction from the Convention. If that is indeed what this means, it is in itself a decision of some significance. It raises a major ecclesiological issue, not about some sort of autocratic episcopal privilege but about the understanding in The Episcopal Church of the distinctive charism of bishops as an order and their responsibility for sustaining doctrinal standards. Once again, there seems to be a gap between what some in The Episcopal Church understand about the ministry of bishops and what is held elsewhere in the Communion, and this needs to be addressed.
The exchange between TEC and the wider Communion has now been continuing for some four years, and it would be unrealistic and ungrateful to expect more from TEC in terms of clarification. Whatever our individual perspectives, I think we need to honour the intentions and the hard work done by the bishops of TEC. For many of them, this has been a very costly and demanding experience, testing both heart and conscience. But now we need to determine a way forward.
4.
The whole of this discussion is naturally affected by what people are thinking about the character and scope of the Lambeth Conference, and I need to say a word about this here. Thus far, invitations have been issued with two considerations in mind.
First: I have not felt able to invite those whose episcopal ordination was carried through against the counsel of the Instruments of Communion, and I have not seen any reason to revisit this (the reference in the New Orleans statement to the Archbishop of Canterbury's 'expressed desire' to invite the Bishop of New Hampshire misunderstands what was said earlier this year, when the question was left open as to whether the Bishop, as a non-participant, could conceivably be present as a guest at some point or at some optional event). And while (as I have said above) I understand and respect the good faith of those who have felt called to provide additional episcopal oversight in the USA, there can be no doubt that these ordinations have not been encouraged or legitimised by the Communion overall.
I acknowledge that this limitation on invitations will pose problems for some in its outworking. But I would strongly urge those whose strong commitments create such problems to ask what they are prepared to offer for the sake of a Conference that will have some general credibility in and for the Communion overall.
Second: I have underlined in my letter of invitation that acceptance of the invitation must be taken as implying willingness to work with those aspects of the Conference's agenda that relate to implementing the recommendations of Windsor, including the development of a Covenant. The Conference needs of course to be a place where diversity of opinion can be expressed, and there is no intention to foreclose the discussion – for example – of what sort of Covenant document is needed. But I believe we need to be able to take for granted a certain level of willingness to follow through the question of how we avoid the present degree of damaging and draining tension arising again. I intend to be in direct contact with those who have expressed unease about this, so as to try and clarify how deep their difficulties go with accepting or adopting the Conference's agenda.
How then should the Lambeth Conference be viewed? It is not a canonical tribunal, but neither is it merely a general consultation. It is a meeting of the chief pastors and teachers of the Communion, seeking an authoritative common voice. It is also a meeting designed to strengthen and deepen the sense of what the episcopal vocation is.
Some reactions to my original invitation have implied that meeting for prayer, mutual spiritual enrichment and development of ministry is somehow a way of avoiding difficult issues. On the contrary: I would insist that only in such a context can we usefully address divisive issues. If, as the opening section of this letter claimed, our difficulties have their root in whether or how far we can recognise the same gospel and ministry in diverse places and policies, we need to engage more not less directly with each other. This is why I have repeatedly said that an invitation to Lambeth does not constitute a certificate of orthodoxy but simply a challenge to pray seriously together and to seek a resolution that will be as widely owned as may be.
And this is also why I have said that the refusal to meet can be a refusal of the cross – and so of the resurrection. We are being asked to see our handling of conflict and potential division as part of our maturing both as pastors and as disciples. I do not think this is either an incidental matter or an evasion of more basic questions.
This means some hard reflective work in preparation for the Conference - including pursuing conversations with each other across the current divisions. There will also be a number of documents circulating which will feed into the Conference's discussions, in particular the work of the Covenant Design Group, the resources available from the dialogues with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Report of the Doctrinal commission and the papers coming from IASCER. Also significant will be the papers on the core elements of Anglican ministerial education and formation prepared by the group advising the Primates on Theological Education in the Anglican Communion, and the paper on the theology of inter faith relations prepared by the Network for Inter Faith Concerns (NIFCON), Generous Love.
But direct contact and open exchange of convictions will be crucial. Whatever happens, we are bound to seek for fruitful ways of carrying forward liaison with provinces whose policies cause scandal or difficulty to others. Whatever happens, certain aspects of our 'relational' communion will continue independently of the debates and decisions at the level of canons and hierarchies.
Given the differences in response to The Episcopal Church revealed in the responses of the primates, we simply cannot pretend that there is now a ready-made consensus on the future of relationships between TEC and other provinces. Much work remains to be done. But – once again, I refer back to my introductory thoughts – that work is about some basic questions of fidelity to Scripture and identity in ministry and mission, not only about the one issue of sexuality. It is about what it means for the Anglican Communion to behave with a consistency that allows us to face, both honestly and charitably, the deeply painful question of who we can and cannot recognise as sharing the same calling and task.
5.
Finally, what specific recommendations emerge from these thoughts?
I propose two different but related courses of action during the months ahead. I wish to pursue some professionally facilitated conversations between the leadership of The Episcopal Church and those with whom they are most in dispute, internally and externally, to see if we can generate any better level of mutual understanding. Such meetings will not seek any predetermined outcome but will attempt to ease tensions and clarify options. They may also clarify ideas about the future pattern of liaison between TEC and other parts of the Communion. I have already identified resources and people who will assist in this.
I also intend to convene a small group of primates and others, whose task will be, in close collaboration with the primates, the Joint Standing Committee, the Covenant Design Group and the Lambeth Conference Design Group, to work on the unanswered questions arising from the inconclusive evaluation of the primates to New Orleans and to take certain issues forward to Lambeth. This will feed in to the discussions at Lambeth about Anglican identity and the Covenant process; I suggest that it will also have to consider whether in the present circumstances it is possible for provinces or individual bishops at odds with the expressed mind of the Communion to participate fully in representative Communion agencies, including ecumenical bodies. Its responsibility will be to weigh current developments in the light of the clear recommendations of Windsor and of the subsequent statements from the ACC and the Primates' Meeting; it will thus also be bound to consider the exact status of bishops ordained by one province for ministry in another. At the moment, the question of 'who speaks for the Communion?' is surrounded by much unclarity and urgently needs resolution; the people of the Communion need to be sure that they are not placed in unsustainable and damaging positions by any vagueness as to what the Communion as a whole believes and endorses, and so the issue of who represents the Communion cannot be evaded. The principles set out at the beginning of this letter will, I hope, assist in clarifying what needs to be said about this. Not everyone carrying the name of Anglican can claim to speak authentically for the identity we share as a global fellowship. I continue to hope that the discussion of the Covenant before, during and beyond Lambeth will give us a positive rallying-point.
6.
A great deal of the language that is around in the Communion at present seems to presuppose that any change from our current deadlock is impossible, that division is unavoidable and that any such division represents so radical a difference in fundamental faith that no recognition and future co-operation can be imagined. I cannot accept these assumptions, and I do not believe that as Christians we should see them as beyond challenge, least of all as we think and pray our way through Advent.
The coming of Christ in the flesh and the declaration of the good news of his saving purpose was not a matter of human planning and ingenuity, nor was it frustrated by human resistance and sin. It was a gift whose reception was made possible by the prayerful obedience of Mary and whose effect was to create a new community of God's sons and daughters. As we look forward, what is there for us to do but pray, obey and be ready for God's re-creating work through the eternal and unchanging Saviour, Jesus Christ?
'The Spirit and the bride say, "Come"... Amen. Come Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen' (Rev.22.17, 20-21).

Advent Thoughts from Karl Rahner

2007-12-05T09:47:00.000-05:00

"As the autumn season fades and winter begins, the world becomes still. Everything around us turns pale and drab. It chills us...Here is the moment to conquer the melancholy of time; here is the moment to say softly and sincerely what we know by faith. This is the season for the word of faith to be spoken in faith...: 'Listen, my heart, God has already begun to celebrate in the world and in you his Advent. He has taken the world and its time to his heart, softly and gently, so softly that we can miss it. He has even planted his own incomprehensible life in this time (we call it his eternity and we mean thereby that which is nameless, which is wholly other from the time that makes us so hopelessly sad). And this is precisely what happens in you yourself, my heart. It is called the grace of faith, the grace of the gradual falling away of the fear of time, of the fear that fades away because he who is more powerful than time (which he made to be redeemed into eternity) has done great things to it. A now of eternity is in you, a now that no longer has any denial before it or behind it. And this now has already begun to gather together your earthly moments into itself."'

The Eternal Year, Karl Rahner, BX2170/C55/R33, Chapter One.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"The final end and consummation of Christ's strange work is the restoration of all things in Himself and for the heavenly Father's glory...It is to the accomplishment of this divine plan that Advent so eagerly looks, and for which it so fervently prays. Nothing less than the absolutely complete and publicly proclaimed victory of the Lord suffices for the Church which so loves Him and it is in this sense that one must understand the holy impatience of the ever-recurring Advent cry, 'Come.'

All Saints Day- November 1

2007-11-01T09:45:00.000-04:00

O Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord: Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys which thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love thee; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God in glory everlasting. Amen.

This has a bit of age to it, but is a worthy meditation today.

It's Official!!!

2007-10-29T19:57:00.000-04:00

Today the Standing Committee of the Diocese of SC announced that we have received the required number of consents to proceed with the consecration of The Very Rev. Mark J. Lawrence as the Fourteenth Bishop of SC. WooHoo!!! Bishop Salmon asked us to ring church bells at noon. These bells are from Jerusalem and will just have to do!

The Consecration Date is set for January 26th. Here is a link to a story from the Epsicopal News Service http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_91401_ENG_HTM.htm

About You Tube

2007-10-17T12:49:00.000-04:00

Many of you know that I am genuinely thankful to be living in the age of the Internet. It is a cross between the greatest library in the world, the biggest shopping mall, and the worst that humankind can devise. It is both blessing and curse.
One of the most interesting phenomena of the world wide web is You Tube. Andy Warhol said it best, "In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes." You Tube is a fulfillment of that prophecy. Anyone with a video camera can upload footage of themselves or of anything else that crosses his or her mind. As you can imagine, there is some wretched stuff there so one has to exercise a measure of caution. On the other hand, some absolutely inspiring pieces are posted. Here is one I have particularly enjoyed.

Some great Mom advice from Anita Renfroe set to the William Tell Overture.

The Samaritan Again

2007-10-10T16:45:00.000-04:00

The Gospel Reading for October 14th is Luke 17:11-19 - What strikes you ?

11On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. 15Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

The art is from the JesusMafa project at http://www.jesusmafa.com/

St. Francis of Assisi, Friar and Renewer of the Church

2007-10-04T10:52:00.000-04:00

(Art by Jean Fitzgerald of Mulberry, FL)

On this day we remember one of the most beloved saints of Christendom - St. Francis of Assisi. Born in Umbria, Italy in 1182, he died on October 4, 1226 in a little hut attended by a few of his closest followers. His last act was the singing of Psalm 142 (see below). In two years' time after his death, he was recognized formally as a saint, and it has often been said of him that he is "the one saint whom all suceeding generations have agreed in canonizing." His humility, generosity, love of nature, simple and unaffected devotion to God have combined to make him one of the most cherished of all saints."

It is his love of nature that continues to resonate with many early 21st century folk - especially his love for animals. Many churches remember St. Francis with a Blessing of the Animals service (as we do). It is easy to imagine how St. Francis could be captured by the beauty of the creation growing up as he did in Umbria. Here is a contemporary picture ...double click for a larger version.

I am especially reminded today of another Francis - Francis Kline, abbot of Mepkin Abbey, who died this past year. Abbott Francis understood environmental advocacy as part of his call to stewardship of the creation, and, especially so when the government threatened to put an interstate highway right through the fragile and lovely ecosystem of the Cooper River area where Mepkin is located.

It would be quite possible for contemporary environmental advocates to claim St. Francis of Assisi as their patron. One of our members, David Stoney, has become very involved in the issue of global warming. This past week he visited Washington, DC as part of a lobbying effort sponsored by the National Wildflife Federation. Here is the link for the UTube piece about it (David appears several times!) http://youtube.com/watch?v=fgYFE9lYKkY

As St. Francis neared the end of his life, he suffered blindness and serious illness. Yet, even this was redemptive as his greatest desire was to find perfect joy through experiencing the suffering of his Lord.

Psalm 142 - Voce mea ad Dominum

I cry to the LORD with my voice; * to the LORD I make loud supplication.
I pour out my complaint before him * and tell him all my trouble.
When my spirit languishes within me, you know my path; * in the way wherein I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
I look to my right hand and find no one who knows me; * I have no place to flee to, and no one cares for me.
I cry out to you, O LORD; * I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."
Listen to my cry for help, for I have been brought very low; * save me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your Name; * when you have dealt bountifully with me, the righteous will gather around me.

On Oct 4th of 1226, St. Francis was brought out of prison and entered the company of the glorious saints in light. May we follow his example and give thanks for his life.

A New Chapter in the Episcopal Mess

2007-09-21T14:37:00.000-04:00

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is there. Quite a few bishops from the larger Anglican Communion are there. Also present is the largest number of bishops of the Episcopal Church to attend a House of Bishops Fall Conference in a good many years. They have gathered in New Orleans (Sept. 20-25), not just to visit a place in the US that continues to be in pain, but to talk together honestly and with charity about the Perfect Storm unfolding in the Anglican Communion at this moment. It is definitely not business as usual.
The crisis was precipitated by the General Convention confirmation of a partnered gay man as a Bishop in the Episcopal Church and by the apparent permission given by the same convention to dioceses to exercise a local option for the blessing of same-sex unions. BUT, and this is really important to understand, this is not a fight about sexuality. As Mouneer Adis says, “It is not just about sexuality, but about your views of Christ, the Gospel, and the authority of the Bible. Please forgive me when I relay that some say you are a different church, others even think that you are a different religion.” (Please read the rest of his address below).
So, our bishops have some big decisions to make. Will we be a part of the Anglican Communion or not? Is the Episcopal Church willing to live in genuine interdependence with the rest of our church or are we so convinced of the rightness of our cause that we are willing to fracture the third largest denomination in the world?
There will be a number of resolutions before the bishops. May Jesus Christ, who is our peace, be in their midst as they chart our course.

To see ourselves as others see us......

2007-09-21T14:19:00.000-04:00

.....is such a difficult thing. One of the visiting bishops at the HOB meeting is The Rt. Rev. Mouneer Anis - Archbishop and Primate of the Epsicopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East. This is what he had to say to our bishops about the challenge at hand. Please understand, the position he represents is strongly felt by many of the international leaders of our church.

Address of Archbishop Mouneer Anis to the House of Bishops at New Orleans. September 21, 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Thank you so much for inviting me here to come and listen to you and for giving me the opportunity to share my heart with you. I am very aware of my own shortcomings and weaknesses, but every word I want to say is out of love and concern for the unity of the Church of Christ.I do not come with great authority, nor am I the primate of a province with a great number of Anglicans; I do however, come from a region where Christ walked and where the Church was born. I come representing the Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East.

The Church in this region has faced many challenges since the first century. Our brothers and sisters in the early centuries were ready to sacrifice their very lives to stay true to the Faith they received from the Lord and his Apostles. Their blood was not in vain; rather it became the seed of the Church across our entire region. Many disputes and heresies took place in our region. In face of all the challenges, persecutions, and heresies our ancestors—people like St. Athanasius, St. Clement, Origen, and Cyril from Alexandria, along with Tertullian, Cyprian, and St. Augustine from North Africa—kept the faith of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
We are constantly learning from our ancient martyrs and forbearers how to serve the Kingdom of God faithfully.

Today our Anglican Church in the Middle East still lives within a very exciting and challenging context. We live among the Oriental Orthodox, the Greek Orthodox, the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims. We greatly value our ecumenical relations and continue to work for unity. We also deeply respect and appreciate our Muslim friends and value our interfaith relations while in no way compromise our faith. I have to tell you that many of these relations were severely strained after your decision to consecrate Gene Robinson as bishop in 2003. We are seen as the new heretics and this has hindered our ecumenical and interfaith relations as well as our mission in the region.

My friends, like you, we want to be relevant to the culture in which we live. More importantly, we want to be salt and light to our societies. That is not an easy calling but it means we must remain distinct and humble at the same time. Without being distinct we cannot be salt and light; without humility we will not represent the one who said, “I am meek and lowly in heart.” We are also continuously challenged whether we should allow the culture to transform the Apostolic Faith we once received, or if we should allow the Gospel of Jesus Christ to transform our culture as it has in the past.

As we struggle to answer this question we must never divorce ourselves from the faith that countless men, women and children died to protect. I believer that if we faithfully serve the Church of Christ, He will continue to fulfill his promise that the gates of Hades will not prevail against her.

Rupertus Meldenius said, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity”. Our hope is to be united on the essentials of faith which are defined only by the whole church.

We are not in any way trying to impose rigid views on you. Like you we celebrate diversity, but we believe that such diversity should not be unlimited and should not contradict the essentials of our faith. We are not schismatic, but we are diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. We want unity but not unity at any expense.

Anglicans are aware with humility that we are not “the” church but we are one member of the body of Christ, the one Holy Catholic Church. We proclaim this every week in our churches. This places upon us the responsibility to listen to and respect our ecumenical partners.

My friends, you may believe you have discovered a very different truth from that of the majority in the Anglican Communion. It is not just about sexuality, but about your views of Christ, the Gospel, and the authority of the Bible. Please forgive me when I relay that some say you are a different church, others even think that you are a different religion.

I understand that it is difficult for you in your context to accept the standard teaching of the Anglican Communion. That is why you refused to accept Lambeth Conference Resolution 1.10. You also ignored all the warnings of the Primates in 2003, 2004, and 2005. Your response to the Windsor Report is seen by the Primates as not clear. You cannot say you value being a member of the Anglican Communion while you ignore the interdependence if the member churches. The interdependence is what differentiates us from other congregational churches.

I would like to remind you and myself with the famous resolution number 49 of the Lambeth Conference of 1930 which declares “the Anglican Communion is a fellowship of churches that…are bound together not by a central legislative and executive authority, but by mutual loyalty sustained through the common counsel of the bishops in conference.” With respect, I have to say that those who would prefer to speak of laws and procedures, constitutions and canons, committees and process: you are missing the point! It is our mutual loyalty and fellowship, submitting to one another in the common cause of Jesus Christ that makes us of one Church one faith and one Lord.

It is clear that your actions have resulted in one the most difficult disputes in the Communion in our generation. You may see them as not core doctrinal issues. Many like me see the opposite but the thing that we all cannot ignore is that these issues are divisive and have created a lot of undesired consequences and reactions. For the first time in centuries, the fabric of our Communion is torn. Our energies have been drained and our resources are lost and it is difficult for both of us to continue like this.

My friends, if you really believe that the truth revealed to you is different from that shown to the rest of the Communion, then you need to uphold that claim with boldness even at the risk of losing unity. If you think it is right and necessary to ordain and consecrate practicing homosexuals and that you should bless same sex partnerships or even marriages, you should be true to what you believe is right and accept the consequences. However, if you appreciate being members of the global Anglican family, then you have to walk along side the members of your family.

Those who say it is important to stay together around the table, to listen to each other and to continue our dialogue over the difficult issues that are facing us are wise. We wholeheartedly agree with this, but staying around the table requires that you should not take actions that are contrary to the standard position (Lambeth 1.10) of the rest of the Communion. Sitting around one table requires humility from all of us. One church cannot say to the rest of churches “I know the whole truth, you don’t”.

Archbishop Rowan reminded us in his paper “Challenge and Hope” that “the whole truth is revealed to the whole church”. Sitting around one table requires that each one should have a clear stance before the discussion starts. It also requires that true openness and willingness to accept the mind of the whole. We do not have to be in the communion to sit around the one table. We do so when we dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox and with other faiths. It would be extremely difficult to sit around one table when you have already decided the outcome if the discussion and when you ignore the many voices, warnings and appeals from around the communion.

Today I appeal to you to respond with great clarity to the requests that were made in Dar Es Salaam. If you accepted the Primates’ recommendations, would you be able to give assurances to the Executive Committee of the General Convention of TEC would ratify your response? It is the responsibility of the bishop to guard the faith as we promise during our consecration.

In many of not most parts of the Communion and the historic churches, present and ancient, matters of faith and order, is the responsibility and therefore the authority of the Bishops to safeguard and teach.If you don’t commit yourself to the Dar Es Salaam recommendations would you be willing to walk apart at least for a period during which we continue our discussions and dialogue until we reach a common understanding, especially about the essentials of our faith?

Forgive me when I say that for many of us in the Communion, we feel that you have already walked apart at least theologically from the standard teaching of the Communion. I know that you value personal freedom and independence. The whole world learns this from you. You need to demonstrate this by securing freedom for the American orthodox Anglicans who do not share your theological direction. Show your spirit of inclusiveness when you deal with them. I am afraid to say that without this more and more interventions from other provinces is going to happen. No one wants this.

I pray for wisdom and grace, for myself as well as for you, and I pray that God will lead us both in the right direction. Remember the illustrious history of God’s church and remember future generations who will sit in judgment on us. Remember also that the whole world is waiting and watching what you do.Please forgive me if I have said anything that offends you. May the Lord bless you. +Mouneer Egypt