2nd Century Community
In reading St. Justin’s First Apology, I was startled to find this reference; the bold phrase is what I wish to point out. This is followed by a further description of the practice of the community.
Death of a Dream
In 2001, with the calling of a new rector and subsequent personal dialog with him for the first few months, I thought there was a real opportunity to form a Christian community within the context of an existing Anglican parish.
Immigration
A friend asked me a few days ago what I thought about the current immigration debate in the US. This is my response. My response to this may initially seem oblique, for reasons that I hope are clear by the … Read More
Becoming a Generous Community
All Saints is a small parish, perhaps 30-50 depending on the Sunday. We are seeing the beginnings of something that over the last few years I have found that I deeply desire, to find an expression of authentic community centered … Read More
Reflections on growing up in the Church of Christ
I grew up in the Church of Christ, with most of its impact in my formative teenage years in the 60s. My father was an elder, and we were what would be called a ‘faithful’ family, meaning that we showed … Read More
Eucharist and Word
Reflecting on my thoughts about the centrality of the Eucharist, it occurred to me that they were incomplete. Both Eucharist and Word are necessary. Word informs the Eucharist; without Word, Eucharist becomes an empty, meaningless form. Word also informs all … Read More
A Generous Community
Listening to a podcast from the Conversatio Fide site, in a presentation by Rose Madrid-Swetman on a generous community, I was touched by the (com)passion of the speaker in a way that broke down an old reserve. I have always … Read More
Orthodoxy / Orthopraxy
It would be easy to align with the orthodox movement of the Episcopal church, and in fact have done so in the past. I no longer can uncritically endorse it, for the simple reason that I no longer see it as I once did.
Primary Vision
What we must be about instead is teaching people to rearrange the priority of their lives so that they understand the need to give for the rest of their lives. Casseroles paid for out of on-hand cash will not do that.