The Anglican Digest Winter 2018 PDF
The Anglican Digest Winter 2018 PDF
The Anglican Digest Winter 2018 PDF
2017
VOL. 59 NO. 4
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
CHAIRMAN
THE REV. CHARLESTON D. WILSON
VICE CHAIRMAN
THE REV. CHRISTOPHER COLBY
SECRETARY/TREASURER
DR. E. MITCHELL SINGLETON
THE RT. REV. JOHN C. BAUERSCHMIDT,
THE RT. REV. ANTHONY J. BURTON,
THE REV. DR. C. BRYAN OWEN,
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
THE RT. REV. ANTHONY F. M. CLAVIER,
CATHERINE S. SALMON
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4 A Letter from the Chairman of the Board
5 Incarnation
7 The Ark of the Covenant
11 Seasons
15 Love and Christmas
18 The Gift of Love
20 Love Came Down at Christmas
23 And the Word Became Flesh
27 Peering Through Frosty Windowpanes
31 The Anglican Bookstore Listings
36 Vintage TAD:
36 A Lenten Story
39 A Holy Season — Lent
41 A Paschal FAQ
47 Thank You, Lord
48 God’s Lone Ranger
50 Law of Moses
52 Heart of the Lenten Journey
55 Jesus Saves!
58 The Seven Virtues
59 Fear Not
61 Necrology
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A Letter from the
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Dear Reader,
When a new bishop is officially seated, the ancient rite begins with the bish-
op knocking loudly on the door of the cathedral, with a crozier, saying, “I
pray that the ministry which we will share may be pleasing to God.” Al-
though I’m certainly not a bishop, nor am I seeking that noble calling, I can
think of nothing better to say to you, dear reader, than the very same, as I
begin my ministry as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Pray with me that
the ministry of The Anglican Digest, which we will undertake together, will
be pleasing to God.
The Digest has a goodly heritage — 2018 is our sixtieth year of “re-
flecting the words and work of the faithful throughout the Anglican
Communion.” Also in 2018, Mr. Tom Walker, General Manager of the
Digest, begins his 53rd year of service. In an age where we bounce from job
to job and hobby to hobby at the drop of a hat, Mr. Walker has been qui-
etly and faithfully working to continue the mission begun sixty years ago.
What an example to us all. Please join me in giving thanks to God for Mr.
Walker’s ministry and work among us. We are blessed with dedicated,
talented Editors, a devoted Board family, thousands of faithful readers, gift-
ed contributors, and faithful friends from across the entire Anglican Com-
munion. The Digest family has so much for which to be thankful.
In the coming days, we will continue to strategically position the Digest for
an even brighter future. We will soon be entering a visioning process and
an endowment/planned giving campaign. On the other side of those criti-
cal endeavors, the Digest will emerge stronger than ever and positioned to
serve the Communion for the next sixty years and beyond.
It is a blessing to serve you. Read. Pray. Partner.
Yours in Christ,
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that God should have come and mind, with word and rit-
so near to us — so much so ual. We have stammered over
that the Gnostics saw Jesus it for two millennia. With
as God masquerading as hu- great respect to Athanasius,
man. Then the Church had Augustine, and all the giants
to insist on Jesus’ humanity. of our faith, the best theolo-
We tried to make this fit our gian of the Incarnation for me
brittle human categories and is Christina Rossetti, a High
wound up speculating that Je- Church Anglican in Victo-
sus was a half-man half-God rian England, a time when
hybrid. Even today, we hear the celebration of Christmas
people saying things like, ‘Oh was coming to full flower. I
that was Jesus’ human part imagine her sense of the In-
speaking, not his God part.’ carnation event came as a
Against that demigod picture meditative insight. I imagine
borrowed from a dozen Greek it happened while she was
myths, the Creeds define our posing as the Blessed Vir-
faith by holding fast to the gin while her brother Dante
paradox that Jesus is 100% Gabriel Rossetti painted one
human and 100% God at the of his works on the Nativity.
same time — a Zen koan of (She did serve as his model for
Creed blowing open our lim- Mary.) I imagine her imag-
ited notions of God and our inatively experiencing the
equally limited notions of moment as Mary did, partly
ourselves. understanding it as Mary may
have done.
Christmas is a mystery we
cannot grasp, but we can Love came down at Christmas
touch – indeed, we draw our Love all lovely, love divine.
very life from touching it. We Love was born at Christmas,
touch that mystery with heart Star and angel gave the sign.
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mother and family. One year our lives, our churches, and
I made the best of it and pre- our communities.
pared a fabulous meal — just
Please be aware of those who
for me. And once I was able to
grieve for any reason this sea-
spend Christmas with my son
son, and for those who are oth-
and his family.
erwise struggling. And know
that every person who grieves
For many people every year,
has different needs. Some may
the Holiday season in general,
do well surrounded by fami-
and Christmas in particular,
ly and friends. Others would
is a struggle. Those who are
prefer to be left alone, but still
grieving may paste a smile
acknowledged and remem-
on their face, but they are
bered. Invite the grieving and
inwardly aching. And grief
struggling to your homes and
comes from so many sources
and experiences besides the church events with gentleness
and grace, giving them the
death of a loved one. What
freedom to respond as they
about those who are facing
need. Be welcoming without
life after divorce or separa-
hovering. Allow them space,
tion? Those who have lost a
and yet let them know you
job? Those who are living with
love and care for them, and
cancer or other life-threaten-
that they are welcome — even
ing illness in themselves or a
welcome to choose their level
family member — where the
of involvement.
future is truly unknown, or
even the heartbreak when a The Holiday Season in the
person we know and love is Church is already bittersweet.
practically guaranteed to die I have always been especially
soon. These kinds of human drawn to T.S. Eliot’s poem,
situations make the joy of the “The Journey of the Magi,”
season painful for many in and especially the last stanza:
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All this was a long time ago, in much the same way that
I remember, spring follows winter. Ac-
And I would do it again, but cording to Martin Luther,
set down “Our Lord has written the
This set down promise of resurrection, not
This: were we led all that way in books alone, but in every
for leaf in springtime.”
Birth or Death? There was a
Birth, certainly, Nadia Bolz Weber, an ELCA
We had evidence and no pastor, wrote that “[d]eath
doubt. I had seen birth and
and resurrection — the recur-
death, ring experience of seeing the
But had thought they were emptiness, weeping over our
different; this Birth was inability to fill it or even un-
Hard and bitter agony for us,derstand it, and then listening
like Death, our death, to the sound of God speaking
We returned to our places, our names and telling God’s
these Kingdoms, story — is a messy business.”
But no longer at ease here, in
Birth and death, and all the
the old dispensation, life experiences described in
With an alien people clutching
Ecclesiastes, are messy. And
their gods. yet it is the business of the
I should be glad of another church, it is our business, to
death. wrestle both with the chang-
ing seasons of our lives — and
Bittersweet: Life and death, those of our heart — in rela-
birth and death — is it the tion to Christ.
same thing? Two sides of the
same coin? The Christian I began this article with words
story reminds us that death from Ecclesiastes and while in
is followed by resurrection all of our lives there certainly
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Love came down at Christmas, our sin with his blood for our
Love all lovely, love divine; pardon, to die that we might
Love was born at Christmas, live, to rise that we too might
Stars and angels gave the sign. be resurrected, and to reign in
glory, all for the love of you
Love offers hope to eyes filled and me and the whole world.
with despair, Love restores
faith, where faith has been There are those of us who live
lost, and when in sorrow, in the warmth of God’s love.
Love is the comfort. This is Because we have received the
the Love that came down at gift of God’s love in Jesus, we
Christmas, Immanuel, God have been able to receive the
is with us. God so loved the gifts that come with it. We
world that he gave his only have been able to receive gifts
begotten son, Jesus, Jesus of grace and peace and joy
who is Wonderful Counsel- and hope and healing and
or, Mighty God, Everlasting much more. For us, we are
Father, Prince of Peace, Jesus inside the room, enjoying the
who came to love, to heal and fire and realizing the love that
to restore our souls. comes through these gifts.
But, what of those on the out-
God gave his son, his only side? Those who don’t know
son, to become truly human, the love that comes from God
to have a nature like ours. through Jesus our Savior?
God gave his son, his only
son, to be born of a virgin and How shall they know if they
laid in a manger to bear our are not told? How shall they
defenselessness and depen- feel love if it isn’t reaching
dence, our fatigue, our sor- out to them? How shall they
row and our pain. God gave receive the peace that passes
His son, his only son, to cover all understanding, how shall
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they receive this gift of love whose eyes see only the black
for all the world? soot on the window as they
The prophet Isaiah exclaims peer in?
in this paraphrase of Isaiah
What can you do for the
52:7: How beautiful on the
mother of the autistic child
mountains are the feet of the
who melts down in the gro-
messenger who brings good
cery store, the mother who is
news, the news that God loves
exhausted with the constant
you enough that he sent his
care of a child whose behavior
son, his only son, who is the
is erratic at best? Or, what can
good news of peace and sal-
you do for the autistic child
vation, that through his son,
whose world is in constant
his only son, he reconciled
flux driven by fear and anxi-
the world to himself, the great
ety? What about the woman
news that the God of Israel
and his only son, Jesus reign living down the street who
frequently shows up in the
in great glory and continues
neighborhood with bruises
to love the world and all who
on her arms and face? Will
dwell therein.
you be the Presence of Jesus
for one of these?
Are you willing for your feet
to be his feet, the feet of a While chaplain at a major
messenger bringing the good medical center, I was hurry-
news to those around you, ing across campus to get to
this Christmas? Are you will- a meeting, which I chaired;
ing to reach out to those who I was almost late. Out of the
so desperately need to know corner of my eye, I caught
the love of God through your sight of a tiny woman with a
care? Are you willing to move plate screwed into her arm.
out of your comfort zone to This little old woman was
touch the heart of the one making circles with her body,
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ANGLICAN
BOOKSTORE
We offer many titles for sale through our in-house book supplier, the Anglican Bookstore.
We also offer bargain books, which are priced at $3.00 each. You may also order by calling
800-572-7929
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Total Order
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VINTAGE TAD
QQQQQQQQQQQ
a lenten story friends sat with him in silence
in that ash-heap. Job sat in the
The Rev. Terry Russell, ash-heap of his sorrow and
St. James, Painesville, Ohio
suffering and asked, “What is
Once there was a man who the meaning of life? Is this all
had a large and happy family, there is?” Everyone searches
a big farm and many cattle. for the meaning of life, but
He feared and loved God; he when we are in deep agony,
helped and took care of his we feel its horror. Job sat in
neighbors, for God had bless- his ashes and suffered his rid-
ed him. His name was Job. dle on earth.
But one day God and Satan
Ash Wednesday begins the
were talking and Satan said,
season of Lent, reminding us
“Your servants serve you only
of brokenness and humility.
because you reward them.
Jesus came so that we might
Take away a person’s family,
have abundant life, and he
property and health and see
became the channel of that
what happens.”
abundant life to the world.
Satan was extremely persua- On the other hand, the Phar-
sive, so God said, “All right; isees of that day believed they
test Job!” knew who God was and what
he willed for everyone. God’s
So — Job’s cattle died; his
laws for living were clear to
sons and daughters died; his
them and they felt comfort-
friends, all but three, left him,
able in that knowledge.
and his body became covered
with sores. Job sat in dust and Then came Jesus, a humble
ashes, in misery, and his three preacher, a carpenter from
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But before he could speak, the As Job sits upon his ash-heap,
Pharisees shouted. “You can’t we sit with him as we are re-
heal on the Sabbath!” Jesus minded that Lent is the time
looked into the frightened to re-examine ourselves, try-
faces of his disciples. They ing to recognize the ways we
didn’t know what to say or do. plot to silence the Christ in
Then he looked into the an- our lives. As Jesus overthrew
gry faces of the Pharisees who the values and practices of his
lived by all those rules. “If you day, he threatens our estab-
had a sheep or an ox, and it lished beliefs today as well. In
fell into a hole on the Sabbath, Lent Jesus tells us how God
would you help it out and save breaks into our lives, reveal-
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forbidden, but they are very gave them after washing their
strongly discouraged, and are feet.
usually done only in an emer-
gency. For example, if a cou- Why is the day of Jesus’ death
ple wants to marry and the called Good Friday?
groom is about to be shipped For all the horror of the
off to war, most parishes Crucifixion, the day is never-
would allow a Lenten wed- theless good for us, because
ding. The Great Vigil on Holy by the death of Jesus we are
Saturday is a traditional time freed from the bondage of sin.
for baptisms. In the ancient The name of the day, however,
Church this was the only time is actually a corruption of the
that people were baptized, Middle English Godes Fridai,
having been prepared for it “God’s Friday.”
during Lent.
What does “Paschal” mean?
What is Maundy Thursday? “Paschal” (pron. pás-kal)
This is the day of the com- stems from the Hebrew pe-
memoration of the Last Sup- sach, “Passover,” and is the
per, the first Holy Eucharist. adjective for both Passover
At the Last Supper, Jesus and Easter. Jesus died and was
washed the feet of the Apos- resurrected at the time of the
tles and gave them “a new Passover. His sacrifice on the
Commandment, that you cross is closely associated with
love one another.” The term the sacrifice that the Jewish
“Maundy” comes from the Law commanded at Passover.
Middle English maunde,
“foot-washing.” This comes Why is Jesus often referred to
from the Old French mande, as the “Paschal Lamb?”
“commandment,” referring The Covenants between
to the commandment that he God and the Jews were sealed
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Saute onion and garlic in oil in soup pot. Add broth, tomatoes,
and beans; season with rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a
boil; add pasta and cook for 12 minutes. Add kale and cook
until wilted.
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NECROLOGY
The Rev. Dr. Rick Hart- also served in the U.S. Marine
ley, 48, in Mukwonago, Wis- Corps during the Korean con-
consin. A graduate of Nasho- flict. He was ordained in 1957
tah House where he was asso- and served parishes in Bates-
ciate dean for student services
burg, Ridge Spring, Greer,
and an affiliate professor of and Spartanburg, SC as well
ascetical and pastoral theolo-as serving on the Board of the
gy. He also served churches inPresiding Bishop’s Council of
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Mon- Advice, the University of the
tana and, Louisiana. South, Kanuga Conference
Center and, in retirement
The Rt. Rev. Arthur E. in Kairos. He was Suffragan
Walmsley, 89, in Deering, Bishop of Upper South Caro-
NH. A graduate of the Episco- lina from 1985 to 1989 when
pal Theological School, Cam- he was elected Bishop of
bridge, MA, he was ordained Southwest Florida and served
to the priesthood in 1952. He until 1997.
served parishes in St. Louis,
MO, New York, NY, and New The Rev. Henry Cornick
Haven, CT. He became Bish- Coke, III, 89, in Dallas, TX.
op Coadjutor of the Diocese He was a graduate of Yale
of Connecticut in 1979 and College and The General
Bishop from 1981 to 1993. Theological Seminary, he was
The Rt. Rev. Rogers S. ordained to the priesthood in
Harris, 87, in West Colum- 1954 and served churches in
bia, SC. A graduate of The Wichita Falls, TX, Santa Bar-
University of the South he bara, CA, and in Dallas, TX.
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PLANNED GIVING
While you’re considering your 2017 income tax savings, we suggest
discussing long-term tax savings with your attorney and gift planner – and
we hope you will also consider a charitable bequest in your will to benefit
the work of The Anglican Digest. Please contact us at 479-253-9701 for more
information.
autumn 2017 63
Trinity Episcopal Church, Williamsport, Pennsylvania