On this Ascension Day, may your heart be drawn upward in worship of our Ascended Lord. In leaving this earth to enter heaven, he is now King of kings and Lord of lords.

My prayer for the Anglican Communion and my prayer for our diocese comes from Titus 2:11-14: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

Rejoice, Beloved Ones, during this Eastertide because we have a great and living hope!

There is a deep conundrum at the heart of our faith. And it’s this: no one wants a cross.

I’m currently reading Beth Moore’s newly released memoir. I picked it up after reading an article in Christianity Today entitled, “When I was a Stranger in the SBC, Anglicans took me in.” Moore’s book is full of humor and brokenness and heartache and wisdom. The quote above is just one of many wonderful turns of phrase she employs throughout this engaging read.  

In Sabbath, we remember and celebrate the Lord and what God alone can do. We remember God’s deliverance of His people from slavery and bondage. Only He can set us free from sin, addiction, and brokenness. We celebrate Jesus’s triumph over death through his cross and resurrection. Ultimately only God can give us fullness of life.

It was a remarkable day - and the worship! 850 voices exuberantly declared praise to our God who is worthy. It was otherworldly.

I don’t know about you, but when I’ve been insufferable and God is just about to move me to repentance, I don’t look like I’m about to repent. I look—and am—just as angry or obnoxious as ever. But then, God in his mercy breaks through and, in a moment, moves me to turn back toward him and toward the one I’ve hurt.

I am delighted to report that today the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America, meeting this week in Melbourne, Florida, voted to consent to the election of the Rev. Chris Warner to be the second Bishop of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic.

Our recent annual Diocesan Synod was such an encouraging experience.

How easy it is to look at our circumstances and think we’re not on mission. Perhaps we think that because of our situation we can’t go, so we’re off the hook! Or maybe we think wistfully that as much as we might wish we could engage in mission, we’re just not able to in the way those who are younger or fitter are called to go to certain places or in particular ways.

What a joy to experience our Electing Synod on Saturday, as we voted, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, to elect the Rev. Chris Warner to be our next bishop.

As I’ve shared with our clergy, I urge each of our churches to establish an intentional partnership with a church or diocese overseas. This could involve support of a long-term missionary, but it should also include developing a meaningful connection with indigenous church leadership.

As we draw near to the election of our next bishop, there is quite naturally both excitement and uncertainty in our life together as a diocese. We know that Jesus is on the throne, he is the head of the Church, and he has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against his Church (Matthew 16:18).

Let’s pray that God will give each of us the grace to take hold of Jesus afresh and the power to follow him in costly obedience.

May God give us the grace to offer ourselves to him as living sacrifices, serving always for his glory and for the spread of his Kingdom.

The world doesn’t yet look like it’s under the rule and authority of Jesus. But as Hebrews 2:8-9 says, though we do not yet see everything in subjection to him, we do see Jesus.

His story calls us to love our enemies, too. To forgive those who hurt us, even those who hurt us deeply, just as God in Christ forgives us. To release our bitterness and anger, so that the love of Jesus might flow through us to others, and so that in forgiving, you and I might truly know the peace of God that passes all understanding.

In Holy Week, we encounter Jesus’ suffering and death, and we experience anew his great love. We do not go through Holy Week because we are unsure of Jesus’ forgiveness, but because we must never take it for granted. We must never skip glibly from the “Hosannas” of Palm Sunday to Easter’s “Christ is risen.” We must walk the Way of the Cross.

In Holy Week, we encounter Jesus’ suffering and death, and we experience anew his great love. We do not go through Holy Week because we are unsure of Jesus’ forgiveness, but because we must never take it for granted. We must never skip glibly from the “Hosannas” of Palm Sunday to Easter’s “Christ is risen.” We must walk the Way of the Cross.