A Godly Man and True: Daniel Martins

Bishop Martins of Springfield

For some time, I've been following the thought provoking blog of one of the Communion Partner Bishops, The Right Reverend Daniel Martins of Springfield, Illinois.  He first came to my notice at the recommendation of Fr. David Halt, a priest in the Diocese of Springfield and an old Army buddy.  

Over the last few years, it has been increasingly difficult to function with integrity as a traditionalist in mainline American protestantism.  Creedal Faith is almost regularly redefined and often the authority of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition is rejected outright in favor of personal feelings and "individual evolving truth" (whatever that means.)    For many of us in the Communion Partner Movement http://www.communionpartners.org/, Bishop Martins is proving a real inspiration and source of leadership, especially in light of the departure of the Diocese of South Carolina from the Episcopal Church.

A few months back, Title IV disciplinary charges were brought against Bishop Martins and several other bishops after they expressed theological opinions about the nature of the church in civil court cases outside their dioceses.  In the past few days, the results of the "conciliation process" were released http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=17294.

Many have criticised Bishop Martins for signing the conciliation document.  It is easy to condemn a brother in the first flush of anger, but I believe that he, and the others charged, have prayerfully done what they believe is the best for their dioceses and for the ministry to which they are called.  Bishop Martins' response to his critics can be found at http://cariocaconfessions.blogspot.com/ in his March 10th, 2013 posting, entitled "Conciliation."

Daniel, Right Reverend Father in God, know that one dinosaur here in Southern Ohio appreciates the difficulty of your situation, and your faithfulness to God in the midst of that situation. May God bless you, and give you wisdom and strength to keep the faith received.

Sincerely,
Bill Pursley+
Communion Partner Rector 

PS: You can follow the Bishop's thoughts at http://cariocaconfessions.blogspot.com/ and at http://movingdiagonally.blogspot.com/.

Rector's Report 2012: St. John's Episcopal Church

Rector’s Report- 2012

Twenty Twelve has been a blessed year for us at St. John’s. We had six baptisms and four confirmations, and our average Sunday attendance stood at just over 103. Those numbers are well within the average parameters of the years since 2005. But numbers without interpretation are seldom helpful in evaluating who we are, where we have been, or where we are going. And so I offer some other measures which help to round out the picture of life here at St. John’s.
Our finances ended the year in the black.
Average attendance at our weekly Christian Formation events runs in the upper twenties.
We are a regular presence in three nursing facilities and two jails.
Our cooperative meals missions with St. Paul’s Logan involves about 15 parishioners each time.
We give to local pantries and distribute household supplies through the drug court.
We support local schools through job training placement for students and providing cheerleaders a place to practice.
AA and Alanon meet in our undercroft every week.
We participate in community-building activities sponsored by the Mayor’s office, Family Services, and the Fairfield Medical Center.
The Art Walk, community recitals, and the Candlelight Tour allow us to support our community.
Episcopal Parish Health Ministries offers a monthly program here, including a fellowship meal with a speaker, and free blood pressure screening.
We offer three services of Holy Communion and one of Choral Evensong each week, in forms which span the breadth of our Anglican heritage.
Daughters of the King offered a ladies retreat and summer morning prayer in the garden.
Lay readers, altar guild, lectors, ushers, and choristers provide incredible and reliable support for all of our worship services.
Our vestry runs by consensus and votes only where expenditure of funds or canon law requires a recorded vote.
The addition of a Deacon and Licensed Lay Preacher to our preaching rotation has significantly deepened our opportunities to understand the Bible.
Our Vestry does a commendable job staying on budget and planning ahead for the needs of our parish.
Six parishioners from St. John’s participate regularly in Diocesan events and ministries.
We support financially and in prayer several members of parish families who serve as missionaries around the world.
We give regularly to many missions and agencies at home and abroad.
Our office volunteers bring a sense of professionalism and efficiency to our parish operations.
Four members of our parish are actively considering some type of Christian Vocation.
We are one of the few churches in central and southeastern Ohio who worship in the English choral tradition.
We continue to maintain St. John’s building and grounds in a way which shows forth the glory of God and respects the historic nature of Square Thirteen.
We strive to reach out to our community through our website and the rector’s blog.
We remind all who come here of our commitment to Christian unity by welcoming all of the baptized, regardless of denomination, to Holy Communion.
Our parish participates regularly in Deanery and ecumenical activities.
Our youth group meets regularly and has consistent attendance.
You enable me to continue my professional development through annual attendance at “Mere Anglicanism” in Charleston, membership in the Society of St. Alban and St. Sergius, membership in the Communion Partner Rectors, and through regular retreats at the Community of the Transfiguration, an Episcopal Convent in Cincinnati.                                 
We pay all Diocesan asessments in full and on time.
It is my prayer that in the year to come, we might continue to build on this heritage of worship and service, to the glory of God, and to the extension of his kingdom. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Respectfully Submitted,

Bill+

Spiritual Classics of Anglicanism

The Compass Rose of Anglicanism

I was attracted to Anglicanism by many things.  But perhaps its eminent practicality and pastoral realism were for me the greatest draw.  If the writers of the old British situation comedy "Yes, Prime Minister" are right in season one episode seven (The Bishop's Gambit), and theology in the modern church is merely an exercise for justifying not believing in God, then eminent practicality and pastoral realism, growing out of a warm faith in Jesus, based in apostolic orthodoxy, constitute a welcome respite from what often surrounds us.  In any event, I sometimes get tired of arguing with hard headed zealots (both Whigs and pharisees) on the one hand, and pinheads who employ intellectual methodology to redefine the faith on the other.  Perhaps it is better to believe that which I have received from eyewitnesses- that which is contained in Creed and Canon of Scripture.  Perhaps it is better to acquiesce to the faith received than to argue modern notions of piety or interpretation.  Perhaps it is better to live the religion I have known and experienced by faith than to agonize over that which I am not smart enough to understand or industrious enough to discover through honest scholarship.

With these things in mind, I have been considering two books which I have long thought to be among Anglicanism's greatest classics: Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, and The Compleat Angler, by Izaak Walton.  Neither book is particularly religious, and the former was written by a neo-pagan, but both describe admirably the nature of Christian life and community within that aphorus ideal which is called "the ethos of Anglicanism."

A Story of Living Together

Wind in the Willows chronicles the everyday adventures of forest dwellers who are very different, and at times even at odds, but who are forced to co-exist by virtue of their geographic proximity to each other.  In simple ways, that proximity over the years allows them to develop a common set of basic values which ultimately transcends their diversity.  Perhaps this lesson of the animals is an idealized reflection of what ought to be in a land where all the King's subjects are in a sense the responsibility of the King's Church, whether they realize it or not.  As weasels and stoats, badgers, rats, moles, rabbits, and otters live together in and around the wild wood and the river bank; so all those who name Christ as Lord, and beyond that all those for whom he died, are called to realize that we share one world, bestowed upon us by a loving Heavenly Father for our own benefit and pleasure.  It behooves us to get along and to care for one another, for God desires our reconciliation to himself and to each other.

The Izaak Walton Window
From Winchester Cathederal's South East Transcept

The Compleat Angler grows out of one of Mater Anglicaina's most difficult experiences, that of the interregnum under Cromwell and parliamentary rule.  What is a good man to do in impossible times?  To follow the example of Christ's apostles and "go a fishing" is perhaps the best thing.  But fishing is more than merely the pursuit of meat for the frying pan.  It consists of true conviviality, of sharing fellowship, wisdom, and material goods with friends and strangers alike.  It is a matter of appreciating the blessings and beauty around us, and sharing them generously with all people in the name of simple civility and grace.

In these uncertain times, when so many things that seemed so sure are vanishing with each ensuing day, I cling to the faith I have received from the Anglican Divines, the Church Fathers, the Apostles of our Lord, and so many other good and godly people.  I suppose I have stopped looking for a perfect church, or state, or institution of any type.  I must be content to live where I find myself, trusting in God, coming to terms with those people, good and not so good, among whom I live, and doing all the good I can in all the ways I can.  Others may be called to other ways, or to other visions of how the faith ought to be lived, but for me, at my age and in my place, the graces and beauties of classic Anglicanism, with all of her lovability and all of her warts, will have to do. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  AMEN.