The Mid-America Anglican A Newsletter of the Diocese of Mid-America Anglican Province of America www.dmaanglican.org Eastertide, Anno Domini MMXIV Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Greetings from the Diocese of Mid-America, Anglican Province of America. This is the first edition of The Mid-America Anglican, the newsletter of our Diocese. It will be published quarterly and contain pertinent and up-to-date information about our Diocese and all the parishes and missions therein. As I am confident you have heard, the Diocese of Mid-America is now formally embarking on our pastoral planning process as to the future of this Diocese, and we approach this process in a spirit of faith, hope, and love. I have great faith in God, and in all God’s people throughout the expanded geography of this Diocese. I have deep hope in what we can accomplish together with God’s grace as we confidently plan our future as a traditional Anglican family. And, I love Jesus, His Church, and you, the splendid people of this Diocese. As we begin this process, I am reminded that ―without a vision the people will perish‖ (Proverbs 29:18). When I visit parishes and talk with priests, deacons, and our dedicated lay people, one challenging question keeps emerging—how can we strengthen our parish life, and help more people grow in their faith? I believe that promoting a new and fresh vision for the Diocese will help us respond to this question in many important ways. First of all, God’s people in our Diocese have told us their needs. Here is what we know: • love your parishes, and want them stronger, more stable and alive; • love our priests, deacons, and lay leaders, hope for more, and are eager to share in leadership and service in the Church; • want a Church where people are welcomed, and Sunday Eucharist is celebrated with reverence, joy, a solid homily, and full participation; • want intense religious education and faith formation, not just for children, but for our teens, young adults, and adults; • want our parishes not just to survive but to flourish; • want attention to marriage and family; • want a Church embracing all newcomers; • want a Church vigorous in the promotion of the culture of life, care for the poor, sick, vulnerable, unborn, immigrants, and our elders; • want a Church purified, positive, and transparent; • want a Church much better equipped in communications and technology; • want a Church, not a museum; Pastoral planning is really the assessment of our communal response to our baptismal call to be followers and friends of Jesus. It is about responding to the invitation of Jesus in our time, given the needs of His Church, and His people right now. It is a call to discipleship, discerning how are we meeting the real needs of our people, and how can we best shepherd our resources to further His Person, message, and invitation to be His disciples. In a way, the Church has been doing pastoral planning since the first Pentecost, as His first disciples prayed and considered His imperative to ―Go, and make disciples of all nations!‖ At the heart of our planning process is the urgent reply to the call to be disciples, to invite others back to and into the Church, and to equip our parishes and ministries to do this. Very closely related to discipleship is the call to be evangelizers—to spread the Gospel that we are a loved, redeemed, and saved people through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Our Diocesan planning efforts are aimed at increasing the effectiveness of our evangelization efforts in living out the commitment to make all things new. We just don’t close or merge parishes, but ask why they are not full! We read in the Acts of the Apostles how the first Christians planned the best ways to evangelize, preach the Gospel, celebrate the sacraments, and organize the communities of faith. The mission of the Church, then and now, is precisely the same: the salvation of souls. This mission is accomplished as the Church and her members proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God, and, with the help of God’s Grace, witness to that coming by the quality and character of their lives. Since the beginning of the Diocese of Mid-America 4 years ago, we have been committed to this very same mission. The proclamation of the mission, the carrying out of Jesus’ mandate to ―Go, and make disciples‖ has been influenced by the signs of the times, and the Church has always adapted to changing situations, while at the same time proclaiming the fullness of the Gospel message and the dignity of each and every human person. There has been a constancy in mission and service that has inspired millions and renewed the Church for the better time after time. There have been many exciting changes in our Diocese. We have established the James DeKoven House of Studies in order to promote the education of men to Holy Order’s within our Diocese but also the wider Church of which we are a part. Additionally, the House of Studies will be offering courses in liturgy, altar guild, acolyte training, and much more once the Certificate of Sacred Theology Program is underway in the fall of 2014. Applications are presently being accepted and may be downloaded at our website, www.dmaanglican.org I will be visiting the Anglican Church of St. Andrew the Evangelist, Merrillville, Indiana on Sunday, May 18, being the Fourth Sunday after Easter, and St. Joseph’s Anglican Church, New Braunfels, Texas on Sunday, June 8, Being Whitsunday (Pentecost). I am in the process of scheduling other visitations for 2014 and the beginning of 2015, so please let me know when a visitation would be best. Pax et Bonum, +Robert BIRTHDAY AND ANNIVERSARY LIST Please notify Norma Jean of the Diocesan office at [email protected] to get your name on the list. Please provide dates for birthdays, wedding anniversaries and ordination anniversaries for inclusion in the next Newsletter. The Prayer List for Members & Friends of the Diocese The list will be kept current and expanded in future editions of the Newsletter. To add individuals to the prayer list, please call or email the church office: 812.573.9174; [email protected] PRAYERS FOR MEMBERS Bishop Larry Shaver – for his continued recovery and physical rehabilitation Archdeacon Frank Endres - for reduced stress and better health Phyllis Grove—for continued rehabilitation after hip replacement PRAYERS FOR FRIENDS Bob McDonald – for discernment of vocation Jessica Stanford – for increased health and direction JAMES DEKOVEN HOUSE OF STUDIES Certificate of Sacred Theology Program Accepting Applications for the fall 2014 Module (3 courses) The Certificate curriculum, course descriptions, tuition and fees, and applications may be found at www.dmaanglican.org Please contact the Registrar, Norma Jean Giffin, at [email protected] for any questions. From the Diocesan Administrator A thank you is extended to all the parishes for submitting their ANNUAL PAROCHIAL REPORTS on time before the Special Election Synod in February!!!!! Well done!!!!! 5TH DMA SYNOD AND PROVINCIAL COUNCIL MEETING, OCTOBER 15, 16, 17 To be held at Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, Illinois The Uncommon Prayer Book Canon Gregory Wilcox, Priest-in-Charge, St. Joseph’s Anglican Church, New Braunfels, Texas The Book of Common Prayer is what it says it is-a book of prayer for common use. That seems so obvious as to make the observation not only unnecessary but perhaps even trite, but some things seem so obvious they can fly over our heads unawares. So ponder the obvious with me for a minute. The Common Prayer Book is intended for us to use together. Whatever our personal inclinations about prayer-common prayer is meant to transcend them. Personal prayer is essential to a Christian, but prayer in common is more important yet. When the Lord Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, He taught them a common prayer: Our Father. Not ―My Father.‖ Even when you and I are alone we still say ―our‖ when we begin the Lord’s Prayer. We do that not just because that’s what the Lord taught us to say, but because of the truth that lies below the surface of that word ―our.‖ The Lord taught this prayer to His disciples precisely because they were His disciples. If you remember why He taught it to them in the first place, they came to Him because St John the Baptist had taught his followers to pray and the disciples wanted the Lord Jesus to teach them a prayer of their own. So He did. He gave them, and us, this prayer not only perfect in its words but also as a perfect guide to prayer. The first word teaches us that none of us prays in isolation. His basic teaching about prayer is that every prayer is common prayer. Does that do away with the notion ―private‖ prayer? Sort of it does. When you and I pray, we pray as Christians-as those who, in baptism, have ―put on Christ.‖ We may turn to God in personal prayer, but in our most personal anguish, pleading our deepest fears, we pray as Christians, members of the Body of Christ. Since you are His faithful soldier to your life’s end, it’s the only way you can pray-more, it’s the best possible way to pray. So in a sense, all Christian prayer is common prayer. The Prayer Book, though, is common prayer in a special way.