Joint MSJ-APA Synod Re-Cap

See the full report here: http://www.msjanglican.org/Site_8/Synod.html

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Women On A Mission Gathering

Women of the Missionary Society of St. John will descend upon Auburn, Indiana tomorrow for the 10th annual gathering of Women On A Mission.

The three day retreat will reinforce the WOAM motto "Our Hands To His Service". Spiritual growth, worship, fellowship, encouragement and an awful lot of fun await the participants.
For more information about the WOAM gathering, call 586-264-6044

Symbols of the Holy Trinity

An early Trinitarian design found especially in Great Britain,
its three equal arcs represent equality, its continuous line
expresses eternity, and the interweaving represents indivisibility.
It is suggested that the design is based on the sign of the fish known
to be used by early Christians.

A circle is an endless line, having no beginning and no end, which
symbolizes eternity or God. Three entwined circles represent the
Trinity, with its three eternal and unified members.

Confirmations In Kentucky

Yesterday, Christ Community Church-Anglican hosted Bishop Fick who administered the rite of Confirmation to four young people; Ethan Dunlap, Jessica Martin, Svetlana Dunlap and Joel Lemmon. Christ Community is nestled in the beautiful hills of southern Kentucky where music is played with skill and sung with heart and beauty. Father Bob Lemmon blogs his thoughts as an Anglican priest at Bread and Sawdust.

Meet Bishop Richard Boyce

One of the joys of the recent synod was getting to know one of our special guests, Bishop Richard Boyce, ordinary of the Diocese of the West, Anglican Province of America. We were blessed to have had +Richard stay after the synod and join the Missionaries of St John as they gathered in clericus. We discovered a very real, gentle and relaxed man of deep convictions and we count it a special joy to have made a new friend . Thank you Bishop Boyce for coming to share with us.

St John Children Gather Supplies For Shelter

The Sunday School children of the younger classes took on a project for Lent at St John the Apostle Anglican Church, Clinton Township, Michigan. They gathered toys, books, crayons, Disney videos, stuffed animals and other goods for the needs of the children to make their stay at the Oscoda Emergency Homeless Shelter a more blessed experience.

The women of St John also knitted 30 pairs of slippers for the children of the shelter because of a rule that all shoes must stay at the door.


These gifts were presented to Father Thomas Anderson at the Missionary Society clericus gathering. To save gas, Fr. Tom had driven his wife Jackie's Beetle and faced the dubious of challenge of seeing just how many gifts could be stuffed into a VW Beetle. Praise God for the opportunity to be as Christ to the least of these our brothers and sisters.

MSJ Clericus

On Tuesday morning, after our synodical guests had returned home, the missionaries of St John gathered for a quiet clericus. We reflected on the synod, spoke of ministry, set our eyes on the future and how to fulfill our mission. We heard reports from the Office of Foreign Missions, our work in Tanzania, our home missions and our evangelical call to share Jesus and teach the faith, giving particular attention to our catechism teaching material. Some of us have shared ministry together for decades and we count these hours spent together are precious.

Synod Isn't All Serious

So, what is Synod for?

A time to reconnect and a time to share.

A time to goof around a little.

A time to relax and a time to laugh together.

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MSJ - Diocese of St Augustine Synod

The Missionary Society of St John hosted the Diocese of St Augustine in a joint Synod this past week. Much more than a time of church business, the days were filled with worship, fraternity, and the refreshing of the Holy Spirit's presence. A renewed fervor for sharing the Gospel and fulfilling the great commission was evident. Everyone it seemed, was returning to their portion of the vineyard refreshed and invigorated. We praise God!

Bishop Amos A. Fagbamiye of CANA brings greetings and strong words of encouragement.

+Walter Grundorf, APA presiding bishop, addresses the synod.


Thirty-six clergy representing 24 parishes, missions and ministries gather for the obligatory "group shot".

The bishops bless the oil of chrism and the oil of anointing the sick.

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Society and Diocese To Meet In Synod

The Missionary Society of St John will host the Diocese of St Augustine for a joint synod. The gathering will take place Sunday, April 20 and conclude at noon, Tuesday, April 22.

Our special guest will be the presiding bishop of the Anglican Province in America, +Walter Grundorf. The Rt. Rev'd Amos A. Fagbamiye of CANA is also expected to be in attendance.

Guests and visitors are welcome, but should seek guest credentials, motel information and registration in advance by emailing msjanglican "at" yahoo.com.

MSJ and DSA Joint Synod
April 20-22
St. John the Apostle Anglican Church
18401 Canal Rd.
Clinton Township, MI 48038
(586) 264-6044

Yaroslav Pelikan On The Need For Creed

Over on Per Christum, this interesting post was noticed.

Public Radio's interview with the late theologian. Here’s a transcript of an excerpt I found particularly quotable:

Tippet: So, what is it about Christianity that has needed creeds?

Pelikan: Well, what it is about religious faith that needs creed is that religious faith in general, prayer addressed to “to whom it may concern”, sentiment about some transcendent dimension otherwise undefined does not have any staying power. It’s OK to have that at ten o’clock on a Sunday morning when you’re out with your friends somewhere, but in the darkest hours of life you gotta believe something specific. And that specification is the task of the creed. Because, much as some people may not like it, to believe one thing is also to disbelieve another.

Tippet: *curtly* Huh.

Pelikan: To say yes is also to say no.

Worship Our Goal - Mission Our Work

Dean Robert Munday, Nashotah House president, recently wrote:



Minneapolis pastor and author John Piper, in his book, Let the Nations Be Glad! has written:

Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Mission exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.

But until the worship due to God resounds among people of every nation, tribe and tongue, missions must be the pre-eminent work of the Church. The love that we are to give to God and to our neighbor is incomplete until every one who draws breath has been given the chance to own and express that love.

True Meaning Of Easter

In our contemporary culture, Easter has largely been relegated to being a festival of Spring, eggs, chicks, rabbits and the generic rejoicing of new life. While in themselves nice things, yet, as Christians have we also allowed these themes to express our own understanding of the resurrection of Christ? We confess in the Creed our belief that Jesus was "crucified, died and buried." True enough.

We also confess that Jesus also "rose again on the third day." Also, spectacularly true! Alleluia!

However, there is this phrase in the Creed that lies between the two phrases quoted above. These words; "he descended to the dead" (or into hell). What are we to make of the apostolic church having included this phrase as an essential, core belief of Christianity? Essential enough to include the truth that Jesus "descended to the dead"? To understand this is to grasp a much greater truth of Easter and why this feast is to be seen as the greatest Feast of all. Jesus certainly did not descend into hell to suffer, nor did he descend to merely proclaim his victory over the devil. There are even greater things here.

Notice in the icon depiction that Jesus extends his hands to Adam and Eve, pulling them from death. Contemplate that in the resurrection, Jesus has destroyed death, broken down the gates of Hell, and defeated the Devil. The victory of the empty tomb is the victory of Christ over sin, death and the devil. The victory was total, complete and death was plundered. Hallelujah.

Good Friday

Lord Jesus Christ, who didst stretch out thine arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of thy saving embrace. So clothe us in thy Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know thee, to the knowledge and love of thee; for the honor of thy name. Amen.

Go To Dark Gethsemane

As a young boy, I would have the rare opportunity to enter my grandmother's "parlor", that strange, dark, front room that was never used except on the rarest of occasions.

On the wall was this picture, or one much like it, framed in a wonderful old world frame. This picture served as my personal icon or mental picture of Jesus praying in the garden.

A few years back, I had the privilege of walking and praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, overlooking the Kidron valley, on the Mount of Olives. Part of me returns to that place on Maundy Thursday each year. Pictures are important to prayer, Scripture reading and faith.

Holy Week Begins

This week, we Christians call Holy Week, we set time aside to contemplate the works of Christ on our behalf for our redemption. St. John, the evangelist, dedicated half of his Gospel to telling the story of Holy Week. This Sunday, in our churches, we will bless real palm branches to use in our worship. Later, these palms will often be woven into crosses to place in our homes for a year. (directions found here)

"Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord."

This familiar song from Palm Sunday is called the Song of the Children and is joined with the Song of Angels and Cherubim in heaven;

"Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of Your glory".

Together, these songs make up the Sanctus, the song we sing each week at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer. At the altar of the Eucharist, heaven and earth are joined in unending praise and thankfulness.

Hands On Housing

Smaller mission parishes have something in common, and that something is often a feeling of not being big enough, not having enough resources to make a difference in ministry to a community. St Brendan’s Anglican Church in Austin, Texas has found a way to overcome that sense (or excuse) of being too small to make a difference.

In most major towns there are cooperative ministries, often made up of many small faith communities such as our own. Getting involved in these groups via acquaintances with other clergy has led us to a significant involvement in our local community: ministering to the less fortunate through a program called Hands On Housing. Hands on Housing is dedicated to providing essential volunteer-based home repair services to the marginalized in our society - the elderly, the poor, the disadvantaged, the disabled. This ministry, overseen by Austin Area Inter-religious Ministries, is the largest volunteer home repair effort in Austin. We repair and revitalize homes for homeowners that cannot afford to do needed repairs and thus enable them to remain in their own homes.

There are two main repair events per year repairing 25-35 homes, engaging upward of 1,000 volunteers. Other smaller projects are ongoing throughout the year. The upcoming work project begins April 26.

The typical client served is over 70 years old living on less than $10,000 per year in a home he/she owns and loves but cannot maintain. The clients are often approached to sell their homes but they do not want to leave the home they love and have lived in for often well over 20 years. Our repair efforts enable them to remain in their homes in safety and dignity.

While making such repairs, we help build relationships across social and geographic boundaries. Working with others, we help our neighbors in need.

It is wonderfully satisfying to be united with other faith communities to foster respect, partnership and transformation in service of the common good. We, the small, are called to be, and can be instruments of His transforming love.


John 15:12 - My command is this:
Love each other as I have loved you.

The Rev. Jeff Johnston
Saint Brendan Anglican Church (Austin, TX)

Random Thoughts on Campus Ministry

It was Robert Mullholland who said, “Spiritual Formation is the process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.” As the Assistant Director of Campus Ministries at a Huntington University, I find myself on the front lines of this process on a daily basis. College students are no simple group of people - actually, they are quite complex, struggling, doubting, questioning and sometimes outright rebellious individuals. Yet, that is what I love about them. I love to hear the stories of their lives, their families, their tragedies, their hopes and dreams, and how that is going to translate into having an impact on the world we live in.

Lately, one of the books that has “hit a nerve” with the upperclassman is “To Be Told” by Dan Allender. By using the simple metaphor of “story” to represent our life, Allender draws the students into the depth of who they are, and who they are becoming. With the “baggage” emotionally, spiritually and mentally the average college student carries (and also brought to college with them), they need a safe place to begin unpacking their story – they need a community.

Even within the community of a Christian campus, it is normal to find students who have not been raised in Christian homes. Most have not had positive church experiences growing up. Actually, many find it hard to trust organized religion at all. And probably the most apparent and the saddest thing is that most college students do not know the Bible. Not only are they having a hard time articulating their own story - they do not know God’s story.

Allender mentions, “God is not merely the Creator of our life. He is also the Author of our life, and He writes each person’s life to reveal His divine story.” This is the beginning of the journey for many of my students. To admit that God is writing something with their life – the good and the bad - is when the light bulb goes on. They do have a purpose – God’s purpose. This is frequently realized two or three years into college. More and more, I have juniors and seniors come in my office saying, “I’m not sure of my calling.” Quickly, it is discerned that they don’t have a clue how to define “calling.” Some see it as a vocation or career, others a deep longing or even possibly guilt. They also flippantly use the word “passion” without knowing the root of the word – suffering.

Life for the college student seems like “a series of random scenes that pile up like shoes in a closet.” They do not see how their tragedies, friendships, families, church backgrounds or lack of any of them are intertwined and have shaped them into who they are or who they are becoming. Sadly, most have never reflected on their own lives. More often they have been told (by well meaning church folk) to forget or suppress their past and follow their calling – but almost never have they been asked to learn their past and begin to explore their calling.

“When I study my life story, I can then join God as a coauthor. I don’t have to settle for merely being a reader of my life; God calls me to be a writer of my future.” Allender put it so well in that quote. God calls us to coauthor our life with Him. Those students who take up this challenge to study their life story, find that God has been authoring a pretty interesting book – their life. And yes, their decisions have been very important as well.

My “passion” (hopefully using the word correctly) is to see students learn how to begin this process of conforming to the image of God. If I can get them to take this step, they will see the necessity and blessing in telling their stories for the sake of others. I’m not talking about creating more preachers or Bible-thumpers, but authentic, genuine believers, who through their lifestyle imitate Christ to the World and bring about “real” change.

Rev. Fr. Bob Henry , Assistant Director of Campus Ministry at Huntington University in Huntington, Indiana. He also is an adjunct faculty member teaching classes in Leadership, Calling, University Life and Capstone. Bob is happily married to Sue and has three wonderful boys (Alex, Sam and Lewis). Check out Bob’s blog at www.spiritualinform.blogspot.com

Northern Ohio Cluster Meeting

The quaint village of Willoughby, Ohio was the setting for the Missionaries of northern Ohio meeting this past weekend for a three day gathering of renewal, prayer, teaching on Anglican spirituality, joyous fellowship and worship. Pictured below are, left to right; Nathanael Mauer, Frederick Fick, Isaac John Geyer, Terry Moore and Ray Zeitz. At the concluding Eucharist, Bishop Fick confirmed two persons in the faith.

"God Sat On My Chest"

Fr. Nathanael Maurer MSJ is no stranger to ministry to those in substance abuse programs, having spent every Friday morning and afternoon for the past 15 months in ministry with the men in the drug/alcohol treatment program at the Keating Center and the past 4 years as part of a ministry team that supported them.

Jack Malhall is the 85 year old executive director of The Ed Keating Center, established almost 40 years ago. There are now 3 treatment centers where the men come and spend 3-6 months in an intensive “God-centered” AA – 12 step treatment program. They then move on to one of the dozen or so “sober houses” where the men work and live for another 6 months to 2 years, maintaining their sobriety and actively participating in community AA meetings with their sponsors. The Keating Center has a vast network of support from the AA community of Northeast Ohio and the community at-large. Thousands of men over the years have attributed their sobriety to Jack Malhall and the Keating Center’s help.

This past weekend, Fr. Nathanael led a team ministering with a retreat at the Brookpark facility that included a program of prayer, sharing, reflection, teaching, worship and reconciliation. Says Fr. Nathanael, “I was the first to share and presented my own story of how I found the love and mercy of God and how it changed me. A drug addict for 12 years, in and out of jails and prisons, I came to a place where by God’s mercy, He ‘sat on my chest’. I was no longer able to run. He loved me back to Himself. That was 25 years ago. He gave me a promise from Jeremiah 29:10-14a, “a future and a hope”. God is faithful. He has kept His promise."