You are likely familiar with Archbishop William Temple’s famous words, “The Church is the only institution that exists primarily for the benefit of those who are not its members.” We plastered that quote on our church website in Philadelphia. It inspires, it calls, and it convicts us to chew on what it means – practically. Honestly, 17 years later I wonder if we ever really plumbed the depths of that powerful assertion. It still feels far more aspirational than anything we ever realized.

I have two things that are uppermost in my mind as I write to you today. The first has to do with an emerging sense of vision that I’m seeing for our diocese and our churches. The second is related to the book of Revelation and Hispanic Heritage month.

Is evangelism a thing of the past?

That was the title of an article I read some time ago in Relevant Magazine. The article stated that according to a Barna study, 83 percent of American churchgoers aren’t clear about the Great Commission. Of those, roughly half indicated they had no idea what it is, while the others said they’d heard of the Great Commission but weren't sure of its exact meaning. The article also said that this lack of knowledge about the Great Commission increases among younger generations.

Will you join me in seeking God’s purpose for your life? Will you look for ways to serve Him in the lives of others? And will you learn to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with those around you? Start by praying. Ask God to give you his conviction. Seek what the Scripture says. And then pay attention to the opportunities before you and join God as His hands and feet and mouth in this world.

Jesus (and later Paul) exploded all the stereotypes we tend to have about God. God is not an angry tyrant. God is not a cosmic cop. God is not a merciless accountant. He is not a universal killjoy. He is not an impersonal force. God is a personal God. He wants to have a relationship with us, and he created you with the ability to have a relationship with him.

It’s clear to me that the COB is not a perfect institution. How could it be? It’s populated by people including me. But in my observation, it is a prayerful, godly, wise, biblically-committed, and canonically-oriented group. It is both apostolic and catholic in its orientation and I look forward to working within the College in the years to come.

We recently celebrated the Feast of Pentecost and we’re now in the long liturgical season of Ordinary Time which will last until Advent. Though the season is called ordinary, it’s anything but that because it is the time of the Holy Spirit.

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.