A recent podcast caught my attention as it compared the cultural upheaval of our own day to the year 1968. I was a senior in high school that spring, and remember vividly the sense of things falling apart. There were violent anti-war rallies, the continuing Civil Rights debates, and the horrific assassinations of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy. Kennedy was a presidential candidate in that tumultuous and divisive election year. And yes, there was a deadly pandemic that year as well....
While we have used the term a lot, I struggle a bit with the language of the “new normal.” Obviously, we mean what life will be like after the pandemic, and certainly many things have changed already. I think there will be major impacts on business travel, online education, various types of available jobs, the economy, etc., etc. But my real struggle is with the concept of “normal.”...
Although we are not quite there yet, the new normal, post-pandemic world is thankfully almost in sight. While this has been a physical health restoration process, I am more concerned that there be a spiritual restoration coming out of it. Will we take the time to hear what the Lord will speak? There can be no real revival without such hearing....
I was struck by a scene in one of the most recent episodes of the online series The Chosen (see below**). Jesus’ new disciples Peter and Matthew get into a heated argument. Matthew is depicted as the tax collector who had made Peter’s life financially miserable....
Lockdown. It is the tragic and fearful state which we all experienced early on in the pandemic. Everything came to a halt. Sadly, some countries are in the midst of lockdowns again. What struck me as I considered the story of Jesus appearing to the disciples after the resurrection (John 20:19-23) is that they were in lockdown:...
Most of you are probably familiar with the military acronym AWOL, Absent Without Leave. It refers to persons who have left their posts without permission (but who have not permanently deserted.) In the midst of Lent, I want to re-purpose the same acronym. I think many of us are regularly Absent Without Leaving. In other words, we may be physically present (or at least virtually present on a phone call or video chat), but we are emotionally absent, our minds and hearts engaged somewhere else....
Have you ever felt like you are sailing in a fog? I think the pandemic alone, even without the other stresses we are experiencing nationally, makes us all feel disoriented....
I write to call for prayer for our nation and to reflect personally and Biblically on some of what we have seen....
What a traumatic and tragic week we have been through together. I am reeling from the report of the death of a Capitol police officer from the mayhem on Wednesday in Washington. I know many of you, like me, are still having trouble believing that the Capitol could have been under siege with members of Congress literally hiding in the building....
To All Clergy Dear brothers and sisters, Let me begin with how I am being encouraged and challenged. I was reading the Jubilate this morning in Morning Prayer and these words came alive: Be assured that the Lord, he is God;it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves;we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.(BCP 2019 version) In the midst of a pandemic that i...
Keep ReadingDear diocesan family, We are in unprecedented and difficult times. But as I reflect on our situation in this midst of this pandemic, I find comfort in the fact that God is our refuge and strength, our help in times of trouble, and therefore we need not, indeed should not, fear (Psalm 46). As I shared with clergy earlier this week, there is a weighing of what seem like c...
Keep ReadingTo the Clergy and Wardens - Steps for Reopening Dear brothers and sisters, Greetings in the Risen Jesus who is Lord over all! We have faced the challenge together of ending public church services for this season. I want to commend you all for the prayerful and creative ways you have continued to share the gospel and pastor your flocks. In many ways, moving churches onl...
Keep ReadingDear Clergy and Wardens, Greetings in our Risen Lord this Easter season! I have been asked whether there can continue to be "drive-by" communion services. The quick answer is that the bishops only envisioned and permitted this drive-by exception for Easter as a major Christian feast, not as an on-going practice. You or your eucharistic ministers may continue to t...
Keep ReadingDear brothers and sisters in the diocese, I received a special call to prayer and fasting on Good Friday from Archbishop Beach as we face the pandemic together It is a unique opportunity to join in prayer with hundreds of thousands of Christians from around North America, including faithful Presbyterians. Please join in heeding this call. Click here for the link. In t...
Keep ReadingDear rectors and wardens, May the Lord Jesus uphold you in your leadership during this season of the pandemic. I know that in several churches the giving last month was down as a result of the crisis we face as a country.Therefore, I wanted you to know that churches qualify for loans from the Small Business Administration to help with payroll. The loans will be forgiven ...
Keep ReadingDear brothers and sisters in the diocese, While we may not all be together this Easter, the Easter declaration will still ring out among us: Alleluia! Christ is risen!The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! There is no better news in human history than the Resurrection of Jesus, the ultimate validation by God the Father of his Son's saving work on the Cross. There is so ...
Keep ReadingDear diocesan clergy, St. Paul wrote to Timothy, "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel" (2 Timothy 2:8). As we come to Holy Week and Easter Sunday, this is our goal: remembering what the Risen Lord Jesus accomplished for us and for our salvation. Please focus on Jesus in your hearts and minds and be determined to w...
Keep ReadingTo rectors and clergy,Greetings in the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that this season of coronavirus exile is very hard. I am reminded of Psalm 137, the song of the exiles:"By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered ZionHow shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" Many of you have asked when will we be able to worship together again as ...
Keep ReadingDear Diocesan Family, As we are living in this time of a truly global pandemic, let me begin with the transforming words Jesus shared with his disciples. They were about to face his crucifixion, the greatest tragedy and most redemptive act in human history, when all of human sin crushed our Savior (Isaiah 53). After predicting that the disciples would abandon him, Jesus c...
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