Presiding Bishop's Epistle: January-June 2022

Below is Bp. Chad’s Presiding Bishop’s Epistle:

Reflections: Recovering Koinonia

“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” -Acts 2:42 (KJV)

According to Acts 2:42, the primitive church dedicated itself to four practices: apostolic teaching, fellowship (koinonia), breaking of bread (the Eucharist), and prayer. In some way or another, most Christian traditions maintain these practices despite disagreements concerning their meaning and shape. Yet, of the four, koinonia is the least understood. Is it a mutual association flowing from affinity? Is it just “doing life together?” Koinonia is deeper than that; it is a theological reality before it is a pragmatic one.

In his significant book Christ, the Christian, and the Church, Anglican theologian E.L. Mascall invites us to contemplate which comes first: the Church or the Christian. The assumption made by many moderns would no doubt be that the individual Christian comes first; the Church comes into being through a network of relationships with like-minded people who also identify as Christian. Mascall points out that the reality is actually the opposite: individuals cannot precede the Church. As the domain of grace, the Church is where the individual becomes a Christian. It begs the question: if the Church is not dependent on individuals, what is its basis for existence? The answer is Christ himself, the head of the Body (Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 12:12-27; Eph 3:6, 5:23; Col 1:18, 24). Further, he is the one who appointed the apostles and gave them their authority (John 20:23). The Church, then, is divinely instituted.

Within modernity, our conceptualization of community has become warped. In his article “Authenticity, Community, and Modernity,” Kenneth C. Bessant discusses how, in social theory, the forces of urbanization, industrialization, and rationalism are credited with creating a shift away from the village as an authentic expression of community towards a more fragmented, impersonal, and artificial understanding of how we are to live together. The Church has mirrored the larger culture in this shift. Parish life was, at one time, a microcosm of the rural village, but has undergone changes as modernity has progressed. Robust community life has been replaced by the shallow “worship-industrial complex” and a program-driven church mentality. Worshippers are treated as consumers to be satiated, rather than as humans to be formed. Authentic koinonia in such a system is only ever an abstract ideal to which lip service is paid, rather than a lived reality.

The remedy to our modern malaise and return to a biblical and traditional sense of koinonia, we must return to the starting point that the Church is the divine organism “in Christ,” with him at its head. According to Anglican theologian L.S. Thornton, “Christians are specifically united neither by material good, nor by cultural interests, nor even by rational ideas.” Koinonia, rather than being merely affinity-based, is derived from and energized by the Sacraments. Properly understood, it is the self-sacrificial participation of redeemed persons with each other and God on the basis of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. What is common to the members of the Church is cruciformity. This is true from the moment of Baptism where one dies with Christ (Rom 6:3-4) to weekly celebrations of the Eucharist where we present ourselves as “living sacrifices” at the altar (Rom 12:1). Christ’s work is the basis for koinonia. Thornton observes that, as a result of the suffering and glory which characterized the messianic life, the messianic community can expect the same pattern to compose our common life. Further, as we become who we are called to be, we must be keenly aware that we are becoming in mutuality with the other members of the body. The Church, far from being a place for individuals to voluntarily associate is a place where its members are increasingly conformed to the Messiah through cruciformity.

Colossians 1:18 reminds Christians that “He [Christ] is the head of the body, the church.” Thornton observes, “Partnership in the Gospel creates a common mind.” What is this “common mind?” The answer can be found in what Pauline scholar Michael J. Gorman calls his “master story,” Philippians 2:5-11: “Have the mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The Christian koinonia is the domain in which we live out Romans 12:1-2 by becoming living sacrifices and are transformed as a result of offering ourselves on the altar. Koinonia is the place where the sacramental benefits bestowed in Baptism, the Eucharist, and the other sacraments come to fruition.

The Church is in desperate need of recovering its purpose. We need sacraments, preaching, and prayer, but without recovering a robust conception of koinonia we will remain stuck in the doldrums of a world where fragmented community is the norm. By recovering the true koinonia of the Church, we can recover an ecclesiology that is thoroughly cruciform and engage in a space where we become what we are supposed to be.

Reflections: Divisions in the Church

The Church has a single origin point: the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Whoever is saved is a member of the Church because the Church is the “company of all faithful people” (BCP 83). The Church is one because to be in the Church is to be “in Christ.” Yet, the lived experience of Christians in the modern age is not unity, but division. At St. Paul’s we have people who have arrived here from a variety of backgrounds: former Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and others. Further, even within already established traditions, we have seen further fracturing. Anglicanism is just one example: The Continuing Anglican Church (also called the G3 movement)—made up of the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), Anglican Church in America (ACA), and the Anglican Province of America (APA; our province)—left the Episcopal Church in the 1970s to preserve the faith from heterodox innovations. Another group, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), left the Episcopal Church in the mid-2000s over more innovations. So how do we theologically account for these divisions between various traditions and even among churches?

The first major division that occurred in the Church was the Great Schism (1054 A.D.). It is from this split that we get the divisions of Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Catholicism. The major issue that separated them was theological language which came to a head when the Pope, in an effort to combat the heresy of Subordinationism, unilaterally added the phrase “and the Son” into the third article of the Nicene Creed, describing the Holy Ghost as proceeding “from the Father and the Son.” This provoked a negative response from the Eastern Church that culminated in the Pope excommunicating their chief bishop (called the Ecumenical Patriarch) and their chief bishop excommunicating the Pope. Even today, this division persists though Roman Catholics do recognize the Orthodox as having valid orders and even open their Communion to include Orthodox. The Orthodox do not generally reciprocate.

The second great schism occurred in the Western Church between Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism. This schism was, in many ways, precipitated over a controversy between King Henry VIII and the Pope over whether the annulment of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon was permissible. That may have been the historical occasion, but the split between the English Church and Roman Catholic Church was about more than that: it was about the authority of the Pope and the autonomy of local bishops, especially in terms of liturgy and ceremony.

These divisions, while perhaps historically necessary, are a scandal for Christians. In John 17:21, Jesus prays that his followers all “may be one,” so that the Church’s communion might reflect the union between Father and Son: “as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” This is a good reminder that while we have to speak of various churches (Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox), we can still speak of the Church as a singular entity. That various churches exist is the result of human conflict and failure to measure up to God’s ideal; however, the Church finds the ground of its unity in the person and work of Jesus Christ and the continual work of the Holy Spirit. The divisions among us may constitute a crisis; however, Anglican theologian E.B. Pusey reminds us that “suspended intercommunion alone does not destroy unity.” Divisions are wounds that may have injured the Body but they are not mortal in that the Body has lost its life. This is a good reminder that the Church’s power is not derived from us but rather from the Holy Spirit. God is faithful even when we are unfaithful.

A good image to illustrate these principles is that the Church is a tree (see Romans 11). This is a fitting image because the Tree of life stood in the middle of the Garden of our Eden and our Lord redeemed us through the means of the tree. Our various churches are like branches affixed to the tree. There is one tree but multiple branches. We shouldn’t confuse our particular branch for the whole tree because that would be overly narrow-minded and miss the Holy Spirit’s work in the Church. But we should pray that these often damaged and unhealthy branches would be healed.

The Collect For the Unity of God’s People (BCP 37-38)
O GOD, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace; Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly union and concord: that as there is but one Body and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Reflections: The Foundation, Purpose, and Ministry of the Church

Given that we are heading into “Ordinary Time,” we will use the next few weeks of this newsletter to talk a little bit about the Church and our place in it.

The Church is not another social club, political organization, or affinity-based organization. Rather, the Church is a divinely instituted and sustained organism, the Body of Christ which is made up of “the blessed company of all faithful people” (BCP 83). The Church was founded by Jesus. Some people say the Church was brought into existence on Pentecost (Acts 2) or born from the blood and water that poured from Jesus’ side on the Cross (John 19:34). Chronologically, either of these options may be true; however, there is a sense in which, just as Jesus has always existed and presents the offering of himself to the Father outside of time, we may say that the Church has always existed. The Church, as the Body of Christ, brings the beautiful salve of Christ’s Sacrifice to all. Just as the Good Samaritan brought the beaten and bruised man to an inn to be healed, so our Lord brings us to the Church that we might be healed from the injuries of sin by his saving grace, imparted to us via the proclamation of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments.

It is a good thing that God established the Church and not humans. Human institutions come and go; but, the divine origin of the Church guarantees that “that gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18). This doesn’t stop Satan from trying—divisions and schisms, abuse, and corruption are present in the Church in ways that distract us from our essential mission and identity. The Church is a divine institution inhabited by sinful, messy humans. No matter what, however, we can rest in the reality that the Church is a Kingdom ruled ultimately by Christ. In spite of our “unhappy divisions” (see “For the Unity of God’s People,” BCP 37-38), we can trust that God will be faithful to his Church.

Anglican priest and theologian Martin Thornton once described the world as a beautiful garden planted for the glory of God and watered by God’s grace. Unfortunately, because of sin, the garden couldn’t be watered properly, being subjected to floods and droughts. The Incarnation, and by extension, the Church, act as a hose to irrigate the garden, funneling grace into a world that desperately needs it. The Church is a Remnant of faithful people that vicariously offers prayer for the world.

According to Anglican theologian Vernon Staley, the purpose of the Church is threefold: (1) it is the sphere of grace; (2) it is the home of truth; and (3) it is the ark of safety.

The Church is the sphere of grace because it is the place where the Gospel is proclaimed and the sacraments duly administered. These are necessary because without them, we cannot know, love, or serve the Lord. Grace elevates us out of a “state of nature” and into a “state of grace.” Jesus tells us that, “I am the vine, ye are the branches” (John 15:5). The branches cannot live unless they’re connected to a vine that pumps life into them. This is the relationship the Church has with our Lord: without him, “there is no health in us” (BCP 6). To be a Christian is to be a member of the Church and to be a part of the Church is to be unified to Our Lord.

The Church is the home of truth because it is where we find a sure and trustworthy testimony to the self-disclosure of God. The Church perpetually testifies to God as revealed in Christ because it is led by the Holy Spirit (cf. John 16:13). There are multiple ways the truth is preserved and passed on. The first is through the canonical Scriptures. The Church not only canonized and preserved these texts, but also interprets them. Another way the Church preserves truth is through the rulings of the Seven Ecumenical Councils of the undivided Church and the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. In these decisions, the Church offers us a way of talking about God within the bounds of orthodoxy which is not at all a purely academic exercise, but rather one that aids us in becoming a people of prayer.

Finally, the Church is the ark of safety because it is how we have assurance that we are recipients of God’s grace. While we leave those outside the Church to the mercy of God through our prayers for them, we can rest in the knowledge that grace is imparted to us in the Sacraments and that truth is dispensed in the teachings of the Church. We are never safer than when we are in the Church.

The Collect for the Church (BCP 37):
O Gracious Father, we humbly beseech thee for thy holy Catholic Church; that thou wouldest be pleased to fill it with all truth, in all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, establish it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of him who died and rose again, and ever liveth to make intercession for us, Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.

Summer Retreat: "Forgive Us Our Trespasses as We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us: Forgiveness and the Rhythm of the Christian Life"

Forgiveness is what we are called to do as Christians. But what does it really mean for us to forgive? How do we do it? Is it a decision, process, or something else? Join us on Saturday, June 25th for a half-day retreat as we discuss these questions and more. The retreat will begin at 8:30am with refreshments following. There will be three 45-minute sessions and the day will end with Mass at noon.

Schedule:

• 8:30a: Morning Prayer and Refreshments

• 9a: Session 1

• 10a: Session 2

• 11a: Session 3

• 12p: Mass

Reflections: The Athanasian Creed

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, a day on which we reflect upon the mystery at the heart of our faith: that we worship one God in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity. If you think about the Trinity too long, odds are one of two things will happen: your head will start to hurt and/or you might accidentally lapse into some form of heresy. It is for this reason that the Church gives us Creeds which provide us language to articulate these doctrines.

The Trinity is hinted at in the Apostles’ Creed. We profess that we believe in “God the Father almighty,” “Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,” and, “the Holy Spirit.” Yet, the Apostles’ Creed doesn’t flesh out the implications of the Trinity specifically. It remains broad and basic.

The Nicene Creed is more elaborate. The same basic relationship is posited between the Father and the Son as what the Apostles’ Creed affirms, but it emphasizes their “consubstantiality” by describing Jesus as “God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God; Begotten, not made; Being of one substance with the Father.” It also elaborates on the Holy Ghost as a member of the Godhead, affirming that he is “The Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified.” Still, questions can be raised about the relationships between the various persons of the Trinity.

It is here that the Athanasian Creed (Quicunque Vult) is helpful. Unfortunately, the Athanasian Creed is omitted from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer most likely because of the strong language that anathematizes divergence from the Creed, but it was present in the earlier British versions of the Book of Common Prayer and was even recited at the Daily Offices. That said, it is affirmed as authoritative for the Anglican Province of America via the Affirmation of St. Louis and in other canonically-permitted liturgical sources. It has two major sections. The first is about the Trinity and the second is about Christ. It attempts to walk a careful balance that affirms the equality of the Trinity to avoid the implication that some members of the Trinity are “more” or “less” God than the others while also stressing the unity of the Godhead to prevent the misconception that Christians actually worship three different gods.

As we approach Trinity Sunday, it is always helpful to read the Athanasian Creed to remind ourselves of what we believe:

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith unless every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Essence. For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is; such is the Son; and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreated; the Son uncreated; and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father unlimited; the Son unlimited; and the Holy Ghost unlimited. The Father eternal; the Son eternal; and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites, but one uncreated; and one infinite. So likewise the Father is Almighty; the Son Almighty; and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties; but one Almighty. So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods; but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord; the Son Lord; and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords; but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity; to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord; So are we forbidden by the catholic religion; to say, There are three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none; neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created; but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten; but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before, or after another; none is greater, or less than another. But the whole three Persons are coeternal, and coequal. So that in all things, as aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.
Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation; that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess; that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the Substance of the Father; begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the Substance of his Mother, born in the world. Perfect God; and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father as touching his Manhood. Who although he is God and Man; yet he is not two, but one Christ. One; not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh; but by assumption of the Manhood into God. One altogether; not by confusion of Substance [Essence]; but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man; so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell; rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies; And shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the catholic faith; which except a man believe truly and firmly, he cannot be saved.

The Presiding Bishop's Teaching on Liturgy at the APA Spring Retreat 2022 - Session 1

You can find the text of his teaching here.

REMINDER: Annual Meeting: April 24, 2022

Hello Everyone,

Our annual Parish meeting will be April 24 immediately following the 10:00 am service. There will only be one service that Sunday.

In addition to the regular Rector, financial and committee reports, we will be voting on a proposed By-Law change. Please review the attached document which includes the current By-Law, the proposed change, and the reasons the Vestry is proposing this change. If you have any questions or concerns about the proposed change, please speak to Fr. Wes, Cathy Gates or any other Vestry member. It is important for everyone to attend the meeting to vote on the proposed change.

The meeting will be followed by one of our scrumptious pot lucks! Be sure to stay for the good food and fellowship. A sign-up sheet is on the sign-up board outside the nursery. Let us know what you're bringing and how many people are coming with you.

Cathy Gates
Senior Warden

h) 410-672-7597
c) 443-928-2980

The Presiding Bishop’s Easter Message 2022

Below is Bishop Chandler Holder Jones’ Easter Message:

2022 Lenten Appeal

You can find the original 2022 Lenten Appeal here.

From the Presiding Bishop:

Having dedicated our Lenten Appeal efforts on our domestic missions during these past several years we are once again shifting our focus to our foreign missions and their needs.

Our effort this year will be to collect funds for the construction of churches in both the Philippines and Haiti. Both countries have an overarching Roman Catholic ethos and the presence of a permanent building is viewed as a sign of the seriousness of the Church’s efforts in those parts. While we have managed in the past holding services under a large mango tree in the Philippines or in the courtyard of the school or converted classrooms in Haiti, the churches in both of these places now have land, both donated and purchased, on which proper churches can be built.

There are currently two churches that have been completed and a third one under construction in the Philippines and the potential for still three more, and there are two properties that we currently own in Haiti. The goal for this year’s Lenten Appeal is to raise sufficient funds to complete the construction of five new churches (three in the Philippines and two in Haiti). Our Goal as in previous years is $100,000, which will be divided proportionally between the two places. Our churches, unlike the Roman Catholic placement of churches, will be in the local communities where the people live and will not require them to travel great distances on Sundays in order to participate in weekly worship services. The presence of these churches will change the lives of many in these communities and provide tremendous opportunities for evangelism and the growth of God’s kingdom. At least one of the churches in the Philippines will be constructed in a community of one of the unreached indigenous groups on the island of Mindoro.

I am asking each individual within our churches to make a Lenten offering of $1.50 per day for the 40 days of Lent (a total of $60 per person), or more as our Lord leads you. We will need one hundred percent participation in order to achieve this goal. Please make this a family project for Lent. Your generous gifts will enable God’s kingdom to grow and expand in both these countries and help to provide eternal hope to people who are in extreme poverty and hardship.

Please pray every day during Lent that God will use our offering to show His great mercy on the people of the Philippines and Haiti.

Checks should be made payable to your local church with a notation in the memo field “APA Lenten Appeal 2022.” I ask each church treasurer to combine the monies and send one church check to the APA Treasurer (Mr. Dan Wilder, Wilder Accounting, 3208 W State Rd 426, Ste 2060, Oviedo, FL 32765) with the designation “APA Lenten Appeal 2022.”

Please make your Lenten Offering by April 24 if possible.

In Christ,
The Most Rev. Chandler Holder Jones, SSC, Presiding Bishop