Monday in Easter Week
I begin this new enterprise, blogging as we move into Eastertide. It seems a fitting time to begin a new thing. Indeed, much of my last few days have been about new things.
At the Easter Vigil, I was privileged to baptise two new followers of Jesus as well as confirm, received, and reaffirm many others. It was a glorious night.
Then on Easter morning, I went to Fallbrook to celebrate and preach at St. John's Episcopal Church. This was the first service in the church since a dissident group claimed the propert
y in July of 2007. It was necessary for the congregation to take legal action which ended successfully last month. It was an emotional and joyful resurrection moment. What made it an even more extraordinary day was that people from half of the congregations of the diocese came to rejoice with the people of St. John's, Fallbrook. The photograph above is taken of the congregation. My continuing prayer is that those who have left will begin to see that we are all one church and that we will be able to bring the Body of Christ together. That seems like resurrection work.Articles about St. John's Episcopal Church, Fallbrook:
North County Times:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/04/12/news/inland/fallbrook/z801785f4ff55410488257582007c73fc.txt
San Diego Union Tribune:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/apr/13/1m13easter2379-many-messages-easter/?zIndex=81585
Posts
The real winner in Court was not the Diocese, the Bishop, the Clergy, or the people of the parish of St. Johns Fallbrook. The real winner was Jesus Himself. It was not our homecoming; it was His. As the Passion restored our relationship to His Father by conquering sin and death, St. Johns was restored to communion with the fullest expression of the Church--on earth and in Heaven---through the celebration of the Holy Mysteries in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Jesus stands next to the open door in Fallbrook to welcome ALL of his brothers and sisters to be at home there with Him.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the world of blogging! I look forward to reading your posts. I added your blog to the list of Bishops'Blogs on the Province VIII website: www.provinceviii.org. Craig Justice tells me you're on Facebook too. Bravo!
ReplyDelete