Dear Servants of Christ,

 

What a cold start to our new year here in Gainesville! I love the cold as much as anyone, but come on, this is Florida after all! Well, despite the frigid start, a new year is upon us! Have you made a re-commitment to reading Scripture daily as a part of your resolutions? The familiar Psalm verse above reminds us that God’s Word is essential to following the Lord in our daily life.

 

Last year at this time we shared multiple ways of incorporating the daily reading of Scripture into your routine. The feedback we received as a vestry and staff was that for some of you, this was an important step forward in your discipleship. A few years ago the vestry read a book produced by the Willow Creek Church in Illinois that found that daily Scripture reading was the number one factor responsible for spiritual growth in the life of a Christian. Even though we haven’t emphasized various tools this Advent and Christmas, my prayer is that you will continue to pursue reading Scripture as a rule of life that leads to your spiritual growth.

 

To that end, I want to let you all know that we will continue our weekly Evening Prayer service in our lovely chapel every Wednesday evening at 6:30. The liturgy lasts about thirty minutes and has been a blessing to many of you who have attended at some point during the trial period last fall. Our liturgy uses a selection from the Daily Office Lectionary created by the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). This link will take you there: Daily Office Lectionary.

 

I include that link so you may consider this new tool for daily reading yourself. Attending Evening Prayer on Wednesday could be a help in your weekly reading and also provide a place to discuss what comes up as you go through the entire Bible. Thomas Cranmer, the author of the first English Prayer Book, felt it essential to provide a way for God’s people to read through the entire Bible in a year. Our new ACNA leadership is carrying forward that vision through this lectionary. I have made a personal commitment to using the lectionary for my Scripture reading this year. Perhaps God would lead you to join me in this commitment.

 

Following Evening Prayer, you will be invited to look at a couple of the questions from the Catechism with some brief discussion. Anyone is free to just stay for the liturgy and depart prior to the Q&A. We may offer a similar study before or after the 9:30am service on Sundays or through a virtual study online. Stay tuned for details to follow.

 

Cold or not, the new year has started. May God direct your feet as you seek to follow Jesus in 2018.

 

 

Onward and Upward,

 

What better time than Thanksgiving to share with all of you that we have a signed contract with Newberry Christian Community School to purchase the twelve thousand square foot building we commonly refer to as the “big sanctuary and east wing.” After many years of prayerful consideration, this facility which meets our criteria allows us to put down roots as a permanent church home. It also signifies to the city of Gainesville that Servants of Christ Anglican Church is here to stay. I cannot yet give you a definitive date that we will close on the property but it will be sometime next spring! My heart is filled with gratitude for God’s faithfulness to us over these first eleven years and for your faithfulness to trust in God’s provision for the life of our parish.

 

At this season of Thanksgiving, especially in light of our new facility, I want to remind you of Paul’s words to the church at Corinth above. Paul is reflecting on the suffering in his life for the sake of the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul says, “it’s all for your sake,” referring to the new followers of Jesus at Corinth. Paul says as grace extends there will be more people to offer thanksgiving to God, resulting in God’s glory. My prayer is that as God brings us into our new space it might always be for the purpose of more effectively sharing the grace of God, the good news of hope in Jesus Christ. Former Archbishop William Temple once said, “the Church is the only institution that exists for those who are not yet its members.” We exist as a congregation in Gainesville so that we might see the grace of God extend more and more to the end that thanksgiving might increase to the glory of GOD. Amen.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you,

 

Dear Servants,

 

As I mentioned last week in my blog, in October the emphasis will be on the theme of prayer. We have lots of opportunities to pray: Soaking Prayer tomorrow night (Tuesday, Oct. 3, 6:30-8:30pm), intercessory prayer during our liturgy on Sunday, and healing prayer during Communion. But I want to invite you to join me in the new chapel for Evening Prayer at 6:30 pm each Wednesday night in October.

 

Some are busy with our youth ministry, and others are attending the Boada’s class on financial contentment and that’s great. I was so blessed to walk around the campus last week and see so many of you participating in those discipleship opportunities. I also know of at least one small group that meets on Wednesday nights. Perhaps there are others. Keep meeting just as you are doing. Praise God. But if you are not already involved in one of the above, consider trying out Evening Prayer.

 

One of the gifts of our Anglican heritage is what we call the Daily Offices. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) website says this about these offices: “Daily Morning Prayer and Daily Evening Prayer are the established rites by which, both corporately and individually, God’s people annually encounter the whole of Holy Scriptures, daily confess their sins and praise Almighty God, and offer timely thanksgivings, petitions, and intercessions.”

 

It has long been my hope that in time the use of these daily offices might become tools for discipleship in our parish. During my years at seminary, one of my devotional practices was attendance at Morning Prayer each weekday before class. Two of our faithful women have met each Thursday morning for Morning Prayer since Servants began. For years we have used Morning Prayer along with Compline (another Anglican prayer service) at Camp Araminta. The Sunday we cancelled services due to Hurricane Irma, David LaCagnina and a few others led Morning Prayer through Facebook live. During this month-long emphasis on prayer, we want to encourage the parish to try out these resources. You can find liturgies for these and other services at the ACNA website.

 

At the end of Evening Prayer (usually 30 minutes) I am also inviting you to remain with me in the chapel for conversation. It has been brought to my attention that there have been lots of changes over the last year, and with those changes, plus the prospect of purchasing a new worship space, many of you may have questions. I look forward to a rich time of sharing in “all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2-4

 

God bless you all in the week to come.

 

 

Onward and Upward,

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Servants,

 

It’s not often I can quote from the book of Ecclesiastes, so when I came across this passage I just had to write a blog.

 

Like most of you, I’m trapped in my house watching the weather and wondering what the next 24 hours will bring. I take from the writer of Ecclesiastes (King Solomon) that we aren’t going to make sense of this hurricane. This will be an event like so many natural events that we must live by faith and trust that the Lord has a plan.

 

“He who observes the wind will not sow,” I take to mean a lot of time can be wasted watching the weather. Consider alternatives, at least periodically, to staring at the Weather Channel or out the back door (one of my favorite pastimes). For instance, I’m trying to catch up on my daily Bible reading (yes, I’m about 3 days behind) along with some time spent finishing a book. I realize that some of you are trapped with young children and so free time isn’t in great supply.  May we all pray for those caring for young children during this storm. Lord, give them strength!  If it’s any consolation young parents, I would give anything to have my three back here living through this storm with me. Can’t help but think about Hurricane Charlie back in 2004.

 

We do not understand the work of God, Solomon tells us, but we do know His work for us. The sermon I didn’t get to give this morning from Romans 12 includes verses 12-13 where Paul shows us love in action:

 

“12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

 

For now we meditate on verse 12. Once this storm has passed (and it will pass) there will be many opportunities to practice verse 13. Be mindful of the needs of others, show hospitality and contribute to needs where possible. Just this morning at the church, I found a family from Trenton, FL living in our worship space. Thanks to the McCreadys we were able to outfit them with two air mattresses rather than having them sleep on the pews another night.

 

Like Solomon, I don’t know what God’s work with be in this storm, but I am reminded of Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus is Lord over the storm and He comes to us in its midst. Stay safe and I will see you next Sunday if not before.

 

God bless and keep you,

Alex +

 

 

 

Dear Servants,

 

On Sunday, by the grace of God, I will preach on the necessity of suffering from the words of Jesus written above. Suffering, while we cannot always understand God’s purpose in it, is something we all experience. Viktor Frankl, a Nazi concentration camp survivor, was convinced that “our response to unavoidable suffering is one of the chief ways of finding [the] meaning [of life].” (Philip Yancey, The Question That Never Goes Away, p. 52)

 

Like you, I find myself in prayer this week for those suffering from the effects of Hurricane Harvey, along with all my brothers and sisters suffering within our community. We Floridians know the scary moments before a hurricane, worrying about how bad the storm will be. Some of us also know how horrible the winds and rains can be, disrupting our everyday lives for weeks afterward. Though I for one have no idea what it is like to suffer through the kind of flooding happening in Texas. If you are looking for a way to help, you might donate to the Anglican Relief and Development Fund or any of a host of other amazing charities focused on bringing relief. One of our ACNA bishops, Fr. Clark lives in the Houston area and is working with local ministries to aid those displaced.

In the face of such suffering, not just in Texas and Louisiana but in our own congregation, I am reminded of a book I read during my sabbatical that I found helpful. Philip Yancey, a well-known Christian author, has written a book called The Question That Never Goes Away, which I quoted from above. In it, he explores the question of suffering, focusing on mass tragedies in particular. He has spoken to groups following tragedies like Columbine and Sandy Hook Elementary here in the U.S., the tsunami of 2012 in Japan, and the bloody civil war in Sarajevo. Talk about speaking into fear and darkness! Before you run out and buy it, he doesn’t give the definitive answer for “why suffering.” But it is helpful on many levels for struggling with the issue as a follower of Jesus. As we struggle with these ideas together, allow me to relate a couple of his points.

 

First, Yancey reminds the reader that every critical question about suffering that people ask of God can also be found in Scripture. We are not alone in our doubts and questions. Next, he also points out that Jesus did not meet people with theological answers to suffering, but rather touched them, healed them, and spoke words of comfort. God is now working through His Church to do the same. Lastly, Yancey reminds us that God promises a day of restoration; quoting from John 14, “I go away to prepare a place for you.” I recommend this book to you as a helpful tool.

 

Please know what a privilege it is for me to walk along with you through the painful circumstances of your lives. May we gather Sunday to be reminded of our hope in Christ and to pray for one another and the world.

 

Onward and Upward,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Servants,

 

In the sermon Sunday I will tackle the above passage from the mouth of Jesus. What, if anything, is Jesus saying in this passage about the modern church in all its current manifestations? After all, we have everything from mega-churches to family-sized, various denominations, non-denominational types, liturgical, online, traditional, revisionists, etc. I don’t want to steal my own thunder for Sunday, but I do want to tease out a thought that arises from time to time with regard to picking a local congregation to attend.

 

As of late, I have been asked to officiate several weddings for young adults. I was, in fact, down in the Orlando area this past weekend to officiate another wedding. One of the by-products of taking on these weddings outside the congregation is that I get to speak into the lives of young adults through the pre-marital counseling (usually 4 or 5 sessions via Skype). One point I focus on is finding a congregation to join so that you and your spouse can grow together in Christ. The classic way of stating this is ‘if both husband and wife are growing closer to the Lord individually, the closer they will become as a couple.’ In the early days of my marriage, Sunday mornings were one of the times Jody and I felt the closest. Finding a congregation in which to worship and grow with your spouse is so essential to marriage.

 

I don’t think many would disagree with this statement; however something changes when we have children, especially when children become a little older and start expressing their thoughts and feelings. At this point, some married couples put their own spiritual growth on the “back burner” and focus primarily on finding a church that meets their children’s needs. I remember years ago, a young couple saying that they really loved worshiping at SOC but that the service was just so long with weekly communion that they had decided to join a church with a one hour service…for the kids.

 

The question I want to raise is simply, if finding a place for worship and growth is so essential for a couple, why is it no longer a factor for that couple once kids come along? I have two points to make. First, I would strongly suggest that the spiritual life/health of mom and dad is the number one determinant of the spiritual health of children. In fact, Deuteronomy 6 reminds us that as parents, it is our responsibility to be the primary disciplers of our children. Verse 7 says, “You shall teach [these commandments] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” For this reason, I think the most important question for parents to ask when seeking a congregation is, where can I best worship, be spiritually fed and equipped to lead my children?

 

Second, I would like to point out that where our children want to go to church or what they think should happen at church is not always truly best. I always go back to a time when we were living in Pittsburgh and the kids asked if they could climb out their upstairs bedroom window and play on the roof. Would it be tons of fun for a kid to go on the roof? Yes. Would it be best for them? No! Our job is to train our children in the way they should go. This means we as their parents must make the best decision we can for them, whether they understand it or not. As a former youth pastor, I can tell you that the biggest factor in your child pursuing Christ in the adolescent years will be if they have a core group of friends also seeking Jesus. That is not guaranteed in a church of any size but can be achieved in a church regardless of size. I am so grateful for the friends Jake, Charleigh, and Samantha had growing up. I’m also thankful for caring adults at Servants of Christ who invested in their lives. The focus of our prayers and action should be in helping them make good friendships, and for a community that can speak into their lives with the love of Christ. Now I’m not suggesting you should join a congregation where there is no thought or resources for children and youth ministry. This is why I am so thankful for Kim Harris and Nikki Smith who lead our ministry to youth and children. Pray for this important ministry as we head into the fall. I pray that SOC is a place where you as adults are growing in relationship to Christ, fully equipped to lead your children. If any of you have questions, Jody and I are always available for conversations about raising kids: it’s one of our passions.

 

See you Sunday,

 

 

Dear Servants,

 

We are only days away from our Special Parish Meeting on Sunday, August 20th. We will enjoy a fish fry dinner starting at 5:00pm followed by an information meeting regarding the opportunity before us for a facility purchase and also an update on our current financial position. There will be a presentation from several key leaders and then opportunity for the congregation to ask any questions or bring forward any concerns.

 

I trust every member, and anyone interested in hearing what Servants is planning, has RSVPd by now. The fish fry is being paid for by the vestry members because they feel the need for this meeting so strongly. The meal will be catered by a team from Forest Meadows Funeral Home – their cook team makes these fish fries available to non-profits at cost! Please thank these generous men on Sunday.

 

For those who could not be in church last Sunday, my sermon focused on Matthew 14. Jesus invited Peter to step out of the boat and walk to where He was on the Sea of Galilee. While I didn’t mention the building purchase process and finances specifically, this week God keeps bring this image to my mind. Meeting with the vestry and preparing for our time together Sunday, keep in mind that Jesus is calling us to come to where He is. This requires faith on our part. It also requires us to keep our eyes focused on Jesus rather than the storm. Storms are scary! Yet Jesus comes to us “walking through the storm,” wrote Rev. Dr. Michael Green. “Jesus walks on the storm.” My prayer is that God will continue to strengthen our congregation and unify us around His vision for our parish.

 

Like all of you, I rejoice in the news that the potentially-violent rally with an extremist speaker which was planned at UF on September 12 has been cancelled. Yet even when we still thought this “storm” was coming, our eyes stayed focused on our Lord! I rejoice in the unity among the churches of Gainesville, which crosses racial lines. Today the Alachua County Christian Pastors’ Association (of which I am a member) will meet for our monthly fellowship under the leadership of President Karl Anderson and Vice-President Phil Courson. I am confident that regardless of what plans the evil one brings against our city or county, the body of Christ in this city will stand in unity “to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.”  (Micah 6:8, ESV)

 

Onward and Upward,