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Notes from the Rector's Desk

Exhortation to Outreach

6/26/2018

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After our service on Sunday, June 25, the congregation heard a special report about an outreach opportunity at Holy Trinity Parish.

At both this year's CANA East Synod and the recent gathering of GAFCON in Jerusalem, Holy Trinity received a challenge, by virtue of our association, to be intentional about outreach and evangelism this year. Fr. Adam began the presentation by offering a summary of the salient points of each and an exhortation of his own.

He then handed the floor over to his wife, Katherine Rick, who spoke on behalf of Stevi Nichols and the planning team of the Family Fun Day we are going to offer to our community on Saturday, August 11. Then some Q&A followed.

In order to put this idea into action, the whole parish will need to lend a hand. Please listen to the entire presentation, which you can find below. It lasted 32 minutes in its entirety.
exhortation_to_outreach_june_2018.mp3
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Bishop Julian's response to GAFCON III

6/23/2018

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Below is a video of Bishop Julian in Jerusalem at the conclusion of GAFCON III offering his thoughts on the conference's "Letter to the Churches" (Source).

The letter can be found here.

Bishop Julian Dobbs of CANA diocese in the Anglican Church of North America reacts to the #Gafcon2018 'Letter to the Churches' from GAFCON Official on Vimeo.

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GAFCON's Letter to the Churches

6/22/2018

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Source: GAFCON Letter to the Churches

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Greetings from the land of the birth, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. The third Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) was held in Jerusalem in June 2018, a decade after the inaugural Gafcon in 2008. Gafcon 2018, one of the largest global Anglican gatherings, brought together 1,950 representatives from 50 countries, including 316 bishops, 669 other clergy and 965 laity. A unanimity of spirit was reflected throughout the Conference as we met with God in the presence of friends from afar. We celebrated joyful worship, engaged in small group prayer and were inspired by presentations, networks and seminars.

We met together around the theme of “Proclaiming Christ Faithfully to the Nations”.  Each day began with common prayer and Bible exposition from Luke 22-24, followed by plenary sessions on God’s Gospel, God’s Church and God’s World.

PROCLAIMING GOD’S GOSPEL
We renewed our commitment to proclaim the gospel of the triune God in our churches and in all the world. Our Chairman reminded us in his opening address: “God’s gospel is the life-transforming message of salvation from sin and all its consequences through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is both a declaration and a summons: announcing what has been done for us in Christ and calling us to repentance, faith and submission to his Lordship.” It involves the restoration and reaffirmation of God’s original creative purposes. It is addressed to men, women and children and it is our only hope in the light of the final judgment and the reality of hell. 

This is God’s gospel, the gospel concerning his Son (Romans 1:1–3). The centre of the gospel message is this one person, Jesus Christ, and all that he has done through his perfect life, atoning death, triumphant resurrection and glorious ascension. In our daily expositions, we followed Jesus’ path from the judgments by Pilate and the Jewish leaders, to his death for us on the cross,  to his breaking the bonds of death on Easter morning and to his commission to the disciples to proclaim “repentance for the forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). The uniqueness of Jesus Christ lies at the heart of the gospel: “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The gospel confronts us in the midst of our confusion and sin but it does not leave us there. It includes a summons to repentance and a call to believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15), which results in a grace-filled life.  The ascended Christ gave his Spirit to empower his disciples to take this gospel to the world.

Yet faithful proclamation of this gospel is under attack from without and within, as it has been from apostolic times (Acts 20:28-30).

External attacks include superstitious practices of sacrifices and libations that deny the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice. Some religions deny the unique person and work of Christ on the cross, and others are innately syncretistic. Secularism seeks to exclude God from all public discourse and to dismantle the Christian heritage of many nations. This has been most obvious in the redefinition of what it means to be human, especially in the areas of gender, sexuality and marriage. The devaluing of the human person through the advocacy of abortion and euthanasia is also an assault upon human life uniquely created in the image of God. Militant forms of religion and secularism are hostile to the preaching of Christ and persecute his people.

Internally, the “prosperity gospel” and theological revisionism both seek in different ways to recast God’s gospel to accommodate the surrounding culture, resulting in a seductive syncretism that denies the uniqueness of Christ, the seriousness of sin, the need for repentance and the final authority of the Bible. 

Tragically, there has been a failure of leadership in our churches to address these threats to the gospel of God. We repent of our failure to take seriously the words of the apostle Paul: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:28-30).

We dedicate ourselves afresh to proclaiming Christ faithfully to the nations, working together to guard the gospel entrusted to us by our Lord and his apostles.

REFORMING GOD’S CHURCH
The gospel of God creates the church of God. Through the invitation of the gospel, God calls all people into fellowship with his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As the word of the gospel goes forth in the power of the Holy Spirit, they respond through the work of the Holy Spirit to repent, believe and be baptised, and are thereby joined to Christ’s body which is his church (Acts 2:37-44; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13). As members of Christ’s body, they are sanctified in him, called to live lives of holiness and to be salt and light in the world.

One Conference speaker reminded us: “In the councils of the church, we should not mimic the ways of the world but gather to pray, to praise (i.e., to be eucharistic), to consult, to decide, and if necessary to discipline. These gatherings should be properly conciliar in nature, decisive in moving the church forward in its mission and common life. There should be the will to exercise loving but firm discipline to bring sinners to repentance and restoration.” Likewise at the Communion level, there are times when the leadership must come together to exercise its responsibility to discipline an erring member province. 

For some time, our Communion has been under threat from leaders who deny the Lordship of Christ and the authority of Scripture. In the late 20th century, human sexuality became the presenting issue.

The 1998 Lambeth Conference by a huge majority (526 to 70) approved Resolution I.10 on Human Sexuality, which affirmed the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 19 that there are only two expressions of faithful sexuality: lifelong marriage between a man and a woman or abstinence. The resolution rightly called for pastoral care for same sex attracted persons. At the same time, it described homosexual practice as “incompatible with Scripture” and rejected both the authorisation of same sex rites by the Church and the ordination of those in same sex unions.

Lambeth Resolution I.10 reflected the rising influence of the Global South in the Communion. The ground for the Resolution had been prepared by the 1997 Kuala Lumpur Statement of the Global South Anglican Network. Our collaboration with the Global South Network has been ongoing, and its leaders took an active part in this Conference.

The subsequent rejection of Lambeth I.10 in word and deed by the Episcopal Church USA and later by some other Anglican provinces led to a “tear [in] the fabric of the Communion at its deepest level”, followed by ten years of futile meetings in which the four Instruments of Communion failed to exercise the necessary discipline. The Primates’ Meeting repeatedly called upon these provinces to repent and return to the faith.  Yet their efforts were undermined by other Instruments of Communion, culminating in the failure of the Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury to carry out the clear consensus of the Primates’ Meeting in Dar es Salaam in 2007.

In the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration, the 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference took up the challenge of restoring biblical authority (and the teaching on human sexuality in particular) by affirming the primacy of the Bible as God’s Word written and going back to the other sources of Anglican identity – the Creeds and Councils of the ancient church, the 39 Articles, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal. The Conference also constituted a Primates Council and authorised it to recognise Anglican churches in areas where orthodox Anglicans had been deprived of their church property and deposed from holy orders.
 
During the past twenty years, the Instruments of Communion have not only failed to uphold godly discipline but their representatives have refused to recognise our concerns and have chosen instead to demean Gafcon as a one-issue pressure group and accuse it of promoting schism, where in fact the schismatics are those who have departed from the teaching of the Bible and the historic doctrine of the Church. Slogans such as “walking together” and “good disagreement” are dangerously deceptive in seeking to persuade people to accommodate false teaching in the Communion.

We grieve for the situation of our global Communion as it has been hindered from fulfilling its God-appointed task of reaching the world for Christ. We repent of our own failures to stand firm in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13). But we do not lose hope for the future, and note that there is strong support for the reform of our Communion.  Prior to Gafcon 2018, delegates overwhelmingly affirmed the following propositions:
  • Lambeth Resolution I.10 reflects the unchangeable teaching of the Bible;
  • the Gafcon movement should continue to be faithful to the Jerusalem Declaration; 
  • the Primates Council should continue to recognise confessing Anglican jurisdictions.

Over the past twenty years, we have seen the hand of God leading us toward a reordering of the Anglican Communion. Gafcon has claimed from the beginning: “We are not leaving the Anglican Communion; we are the majority of the Anglican Communion seeking to remain faithful to our Anglican heritage.” As Archbishop Nicholas Okoh stated in the inaugural Synodical Council: “We are merely doing what the Communion leadership should have done to uphold its own resolution in 1998.”

We give thanks for the godly courage of our Gafcon Primates in contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.  We applaud their decision to authenticate and recognise the provinces of the Anglican Church in North America and the Anglican Church in Brazil, to recognise the Anglican Mission in England and to consecrate a Missionary Bishop for Europe. This has become necessary because of the departure from the faith by The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Episcopal Church of Brazil and the Scottish Episcopal Church.  At Gafcon 2018, we heard many testimonies of faithful Anglicans who have been persecuted by those holding office in their respective provinces, merely because they would not surrender to, nor be compromised by, the false gospel that these leaders profess and promote. We also recognise the Gafcon Primates’ willingness to assist faithful Anglicans in New Zealand where the Anglican Church has recently agreed to allow bishops to authorise the blessing of same sex unions.

As the Gafcon movement matures, it has also seen the need for a more conciliar structure of governance.  We endorse the formation of Gafcon Branches where necessary and of a Panel of Advisors, comprising bishops, clergy and lay representatives from each Gafcon Province and Branch, to provide counsel and advice to the Primates Council. Together with the Primates, the Panel of Advisors form a Synodical Council to bring recommendations to the Gafcon Assembly. The Synodical Council met for the first time at this Conference.

In light of the recommendations of the Synodical Council, we respectfully urge the Archbishop of Canterbury
  • to invite as full members to Lambeth 2020 bishops of the Province of the Anglican Church in North America and the Province of the Anglican Church in Brazil and
  • not to invite bishops of those Provinces which have endorsed by word or deed sexual practices which are in contradiction to the teaching of Scripture and Resolution I.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, unless they have repented of their actions and reversed their decisions.
In the event that this does not occur, we urge Gafcon members to decline the invitation to attend Lambeth 2020 and all other meetings of the Instruments of Communion. 

REACHING OUT TO GOD’S WORLD
Our conference theme has been “Proclaiming Christ Faithfully to the Nations.” We have received the gospel through the faithful witness of previous generations. Yet there are still billions of people who are without Christ and without hope. Jesus taught his disciples: “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matthew 24:14). 

We repent for the times and seasons when we have only preached to ourselves and not embraced the difficult task of reaching beyond our own cultural groups in obedience to God’s call to be a light to the nations (cf. Acts 13:47).  In faith and obedience, we joyfully recommit ourselves to the faithful proclamation of the gospel. 

In order to expand our ability to proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations in both word and deed, we launched nine strategic networks.
  • Theological Education: To promote effective theological training throughout the Anglican Communion
  • Church Planting: To expand church planting as a global strategy for evangelisation
  • Global Mission Partnerships: To promote strategic cross-cultural mission partnerships in a globalized world
  • Youth and Children’s Ministry: To be a catalyst for mission to young people and children of all nations so that they may become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ
  • Mothers’ Union: To expand the potential of this global ministry to promote biblical patterns of marriage and family life
  • Sustainable Development: To establish global partnerships which work with the local church to bring sustainable and transformative development
  • Bishops Training Institute: To serve the formation of faithful and effective episcopal leadership throughout the Communion
  • Lawyers Task Force: To address issues of religious freedom and matters of concern to Anglican lawyers and Chancellors and to further the aims of the Jerusalem Declaration
  • Intercessors Fellowship: To inspire and develop globally connected regional and national intercessory prayer networks

In the world into which we go to proclaim the gospel, we shall encounter much which will need us to walk in paths of righteousness and mercy (Hosea 2:19; Micah 6:8). We commit to encouraging each other to give strength to the persecuted, a voice to the voiceless, advocacy for the oppressed, protection of the vulnerable, especially women and children, generosity to the poor, and continuing the task of providing excellent education and health care. As appropriate, we encourage the formation of other networks to assist in addressing these issues.

OUR GLOBAL ANGLICAN FUTURE
To proclaim the gospel, we must first defend the gospel against threats from without and within.  We testify to the extraordinary blessings on this Conference, which leads us to call upon God even more, that the Anglican Communion may become a mighty instrument in the hand of God for the salvation of the world. We invite all faithful Anglicans to join us in this great enterprise of proclaiming Christ faithfully to the nations.
​
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21
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Addresses from CANA East Synod

6/17/2018

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Fr. Adam spoke recently about the recent Synod meeting of our diocese and the excellent presentations that were given there. Bishop Julian encouraged each congregation towards evangelism. The guest speaker, Dr. Ashley Null, a leading scholar on Thomas Cramner and the Book of Common Prayer, spoke about the comforting love of God. Here are links to enjoy the presentations given at Synod; they are well worth your time!

Bishop Julian Dobb's Pastoral Address -- text
Bishop Julian Dobb's Pastoral Address -- audio

Guest Speaker -- The Rev. Canon Dr. Ashley Null, "The Divine Allurement of God" -- audio 
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Sermon at Ordination Service
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God Becomes Man (Entire Series)

6/9/2018

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God Becomes Man Series
A journey through the biblical story of salvation

On Wednesday nights throughout the 2017-2018 academic year (roughly September to May), we gradually walked our way through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, learning the story of salvation, especially how everything points to and is fulfilled by Jesus.

Below is the entire series in full; click the "LESSON PAGE" links next to each heading to go to the page where the overview, readings, and media for each lesson can be found.

All Lessons

Lesson 1: Why Bother with the Bible?  - LESSON PAGE
Introductory lesson: the basics of biblical interpretation in light of the story

Lesson 2: Creation as Kingdom Making - LESSON PAGE
The six days of creation, how their structure reveals the creation of a kingdom

Lesson 3: The Installation of Kings - LESSON PAGE
​The creation of mankind in Genesis 2 reveals our original purpose

Lesson 4: Abdication - LESSON PAGE
The narrative of the Fall in Genesis 3, and the nature of the curse

Lesson 5: Destruction of the Kingdom - LESSON PAGE
The Flood (Genesis 6-9) as the curse in microcosm, the uncreating of creation

Lesson 6: Planting Seeds - LESSON PAGE
The call of Abraham (Genesis 12) and God's Covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15)

Lesson 7: The Creation of a New Kingdom - LESSON PAGE
The creation of Israel, the Passover and Exodus (Exodus 11-14)

Lesson 8: Abdication, Redux - LESSON PAGE
Israel repeats mankind's fall, the Golden Calf at Sinai (Exodus 32-34)

Lesson 9: Dwelling of God is with Man - LESSON PAGE
The grace and paradox of the Tabernacle/Temple in Exodus 35-40

Lesson 10: Dealing with Sin - LESSON PAGE
How the sacrifices of the Old Covenant deal with sin (Leviticus 1-7 and 16)

Lesson 11: The Law a Blessing and a Curse - LESSON PAGE
The promise and failure of the Law according to Deuteronomy 4-9, 28, and 30

Lesson 12: God's Holy D-Day - LESSON PAGE
Israel's conquest of Canaan and the Holiness of God (Deuteronomy 7 and Joshua 6)

Lesson 13: Reclaiming the Throne - LESSON PAGE
Israel's folly and the call of King David (1 Samuel 8 and 15-17)

Lesson 14: God's Anointed Man - LESSON PAGE
God's covenant with King David for an eternal heir in 2 Samuel 7

Lesson 15: Bad Kings and Better Prophets - LESSON PAGE
Overview of Judah's/Israel's kings and God's prophets (2 Kings 17, 2 Chronicles 36)

Lesson 16: Prophets and Promise - LESSON PAGE
God's promise to David and the ministry of the Prophets (Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 37)

Lesson 17: God's Anointed Man, Redux - LESSON PAGE
The prophet Isaiah and his Four Servant Songs (Isaiah chapters 42, 49, 50, and 53)

Lessons 18 and 19, two lessons in one! - LESSON PAGE
Lesson 18: Advent of the Kingdom - introduction to the age of Jesus (Nehemiah 9)
Lesson 19: The Second Adam - the birth of Jesus and the new humanity (Luke 4)

Lesson 20: The Second Exodus - LESSON PAGE
How Mark 6 connects Jesus feeding 5,000 people to the Exodus of Israel

Lesson 21:  The Second Moses - LESSON PAGE
Case Study of the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus the definitive interpreter of the Law

Lesson 22: The Second Temple - LESSON PAGE
Jesus describes in John 14-17 how he fulfills the dwelling place of God with man

Lesson 23: The Second David - LESSON PAGE
God makes good on his promise to David: the authority of Jesus (Matthew 21-23)

Lesson 24: Full, Perfect, and Sufficient - LESSON PAGE
Jesus both priest and offering of a New Covenant according to Hebrews 7-10

Lesson 25: Firstborn of All Creation - LESSON PAGE
The Resurrection and the creation of a new humanity (John 20, Pascha Nostrum)

Lesson 26: Rereading the Story - LESSON PAGE
Paul looks at the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus in Galatians 3-5

Lesson 27: He Became Nothing... - LESSON PAGE
God Becomes Man, Part 1 - God empties himself unto death (Philippians 2)

Lesson 28: ...That We Might Have Everything... - LESSON PAGE
God Becomes Man, Part 2 - God gives us the fullness of his riches (Colossians 1:9-3:17)

Lesson 29: ...In Him - LESSON PAGE
God Becomes Man, Part 3 - God unites us to himself in Jesus (Ephesians 2-5)

Lesson 30: The Dwelling Place of God, Redux (Finale) - LESSON PAGE
The end of the story and the Christian hope according to Revelation 4-5 and 21-22
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    Fr. Adam Rick

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