Bishop Chris visits us this weekend! On Saturday he will teach “The Five P’s of the Holy Spirit” from 9:30am-12pm. On Sunday, Bishop Chris will celebrate and preach at both services. At the 8am service he will deconsecrate our mobile Holy Table and Lectern, and consecrate our beautiful new ones. At the 10:30am service, in addition to giving thanks for those furnishings, the Bishop will lay hands on ten people in the Rite of Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation. I think it’s helpful to understand this Rite in three ways: Renewal; Empowerment; Welcome.
· Renewal: The Candidates stand before the Bishop and renew “the solemn promises and vows” made at their Baptisms (p. 176, BCP 2019). If they were children when baptized, this is the moment they publicly proclaim their mature, personal commitment to Jesus. If they were adults, this is a moment of reaffirmation.
· Empowerment: The Candidates then kneel, and the Bishop places his hands on each person’s head. It’s another significant moment. The Bishop stands in a generations-long line of Bishops reaching back to the Apostles themselves—the first ones empowered through Jesus by the Holy Spirit for mission and ministry and he prays “that the Holy Spirit may fill [each Candidate] more and more for their ministry in the Church and the world” (p. 176, BCP 2019).
· Welcome: In that same moment of prayer, the Bishop also welcomes that person into the fellowship of the ancient, global Anglican Church. When these people stand, they now stand as Anglicans, a communion of Christians pursuing a unique way of following Jesus, formed through centuries of Spirit-inspired Scripture, Sacrament, Liturgy, and Order.
A reception and Q&A will follow the second service. Please plan to attend each of these events in person or via livestream. It is our once-a-year opportunity to get know and be known by our Bishop, the under-shepherd our Good Shepherd has called to guide the congregations of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic. And remember to wear your name tags!
Finally, please make sure you’ve read Pastor Sallie’s recent letter regarding her call to join Anglican Frontier Mission as a Cross-Cultural Worker serving in Bali, Indonesia! I whole-heartedly affirm this call, and am grateful for the deep faithfulness of our dear sister in Christ. We’ll hear more from her in the days to come, and explore together how to support her in this surprising, Spirit-led participation in extending the Refuge, Reconciliation, and Renewal of Jesus to Southeast Asia.
Your Pastor in Christ,
Comments