The Patriarch’s Letter on the Feast of the Ascension

Shrine of the Martyrs

One of the highlights of my ministry was a visit to Midland, Ontario, Canada, and the Shrine of the Martyrs.  This Roman Catholic Church was built to honor the lives and deaths of Fathers Jean de Brebeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Antony Daniel, Charles Garnier, Isaac Jogues, Oblates Rene Goupil, and John de Lalande.  These men were part of the Jesuits who came to the new world to bring the Gospel to Canada’s aboriginal or indigenous people.  This particular group was sent from Quebec to minister to the Huron Tribe in Ontario, Canada.

They built a compound on the banks of the Wye River, which flows into the beautiful Georgian Bay.  Ultimately it included not only a residence, but a Chapel, a school, a medical facility, and farmland and storage for food.  Their story is an incredible story of sacrificial love for the Huron people.  Eventually, they were martyred at the hands of the Iroquois tribe, who blamed the Jesuits for the outbreak of smallpox.

Shrine of the Martyrs

Beside the beautiful Church of the Martyrs in Midland, (Shrine of the Martyrs) is the national historic site Sante-Marie Among the Hurons Mission.  It is located under the site of the reconstructed 17th-century Jesuit mission.  The current site presents reconstructed European-style mission buildings, including barracks and workshops, Iroquoian-type longhouses, and a chapel situated within a wooden palisade fortification.

If my memory is correct, we had three clergy retreats at the National Historic Site.  The Jesuit Priest, who was responsible for the site and served at the Church of the Martyrs (Shrine of the Martyrs), permitted us, on each occasion, to celebrate the Holy Eucharist at the Chapel.  Each time, those present could sense an incredible anointing as we united ourselves with Christ, but also with the lives of the martyrs.  I hope to return someday.

I learned a great deal about the mission work of the 17th century in Canada.  As part of our visit, we were given a “special” tour of the facility.  It was led by a trained guide who was also a devote catholic and historian.  He spoke eloquently about the cultural and language differences between the Huron and the Jesuits (who were from France).  Everything emphasized their differences from clothing, food, religious practices, framing methods, and especially language.  The Jesuits attempted to live among the Huron, trying to learn their language and culture, while at the same time, after winning their trust, to bring the message of salvation found in Christ Jesus.

Imagine the faith of these men who left the comforts of Europe to come to the wilderness of Canada with the sole purpose of bringing souls to Christ.  They went with the French military and entrepreneurs who wanted to colonize Canada and gain wealth and resources for themselves and their homeland. They went along to establish the Church in the French Settlements along the St. Laurence River, particularly Quebec City, and minister to the French population.  But this group of eight left not only the comfort of Paris, France, but even the comfort of Quebec to go among the very rural and rustic areas of the Huron people. They were compelled to bring the love of God.

I could write a great deal more about these men, particularly Jean de Brebeuf.

Over the last few months, there have been many ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia.  Most of these ordinations are young men who will shepherd the CEC into the next generation.  Their success with be in their love for God and His people and their faithfulness to the mission God has given to them under their Bishop.

Some will be called to go where there are very limited resources.  Some will be called to places where there is famine and civil war.  Others will be called to minister to the Asian immigrant community in Europe.  Others will go to areas of poverty and lack of education to bring the message of the Gospel as well as the hope of education for the children.  Others will find themselves either in or on the borders of poverty where the majority of the children are fatherless, and the mothers are prisoners to the tyranny of the welfare state.

Whatever the circumstances, there is great work to be accomplished by the people of the CEC.  God will bless us.  Our success will be in “going” outside of the Church building and being, like those martyrs, light.

We are not allowed the luxury of discouragement, particularly if we are going to find our identity beyond the walls of the local church and beyond the space and time limitations.  We are part of the universal church throughout the ages who know that the glory of God is found in Christ crucified and risen.  And our marketing and branding are living our Crucifixion and Resurrection in our day-to-day lives.

Do not be afraid.  Do not be discouraged.  Put your hope in the Lord.  As we await the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, let us pray for the renewal of the Church.  Let us pray for that renewal by asking the Lord Holy Spirit to renew in us the faith of the Martyrs of North America.

Under His mercy,

+Craig, Patriarch

 

Memorial Service for Kathleen Thomson

A memorial service for Kathleen Thomson will be held Friday, May 13th, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.  Kathleen was the wife of Fr. Robert Thomson and a member of Church of the Messiah going all the way back to the days of St. David’s.  The memorial service will be held at Eternity Funeral (click HERE for a map).  Fr. Scott Looker with officiate the service with Bishop Charles Travis (Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches) preaching the homily.  Please continue to pray for Fr. Robert and the extended Thomson family during this time of mourning and loss.

Rest eternal grant to Kathleen, O Lord;
And let light perpetual shine upon her.

May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
Through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

 

Blessing the Stout Snug

On Saturday, May 14th, the clergy and people of Church of the Messiah will travel to the Murray Hill neighborhood of Jacksonville and join with staff and patrons to bless the Stout Snug Pub & Restaurant.  The Stout Snug one of Jacksonville’s newest Irish pubs, only having opened within the last five years, but in its short time the Stout Snug has established a reputation for wonderful food, incredible live music, and a surprisingly family-friendly atmosphere.  The owner Russ Disparti describes the pub as a safe place where everyone can go tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Avondale and Riverside.  He recently added the The Stout Snug Creamery, a full service ice cream parlor, to the property adjacent to the pub in order to help satisfy his children’s craving for ice cream!  All of this has helped The Stout Snug win JaxBest Best Irish Pub in Jacksonville for the last two years in a row!

On Saturday, May 14th, Fr. Scott Looker and others from Church of the Messiah will bless the Stout Snug in a service that begins at 11:30.  Although blessings of pubs, restaurants, and other places and events are not very common in Jacksonville, they are far more frequent in the Northeast where The Stout Snug’s owner Russ Disparti’s family originates.   The service is open to the public and everyone is invited to attend.  Invite your friends for the blessing and then stay for lunch at best Irish pub in Jacksonville.

Noonday Eucharist Begins this Friday

Starting this Friday, April 29th, Church of the Messiah will begin celebrating the Holy Eucharist at noon every Friday.  The Noonday Eucharist will conclude the normally scheduled Intercessors’ Prayer Meeting which has occurred on Fridays for many years.  This new service will be open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend.  The service should last approximately 45 minutes and be an excellent opportunity for worship during the week.  Join with us, every Friday at noon, and celebrate the goodness of God.

The Patriarch’s Message for Easter

Dear Brothers,

It is hard to believe that Holy Week and the Paschal Feast are here. The ancient liturgical events from Palm Sunday through Holy Week and culminating on Easter morning are so rich. I know each of you will be preparing sermons, and that is good. But the liturgy will do a great deal of the preaching by itself. The message is simply the victory of Jesus over Satan, sin, and death. It is the glory of Jesus!

In the 1960s and 70s, spearheaded by Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swiss Psychiatrist, we saw the beginning of the field of Thanatology. Thanatology, or the study of death, led to the Hospice Care movement, which stood absolutely opposed to any idea of euthanasia, like that advocated by Jack Kevorkian. Dr. Kubler-Ross and Hospice suggested that there was much “human work” to be done when we are dying and in death itself. She did massive studies of near-death experiences. And she was most famous for developing the five stages of death and dying.

Out of this movement, which continues today in the Hospice Program and Palliative Care Units in Hospitals, came a revolution in medicine and psychology, social work, and Pastoral Care. Many of our CEC clergy work in or are associated with the Hospice Program. It was a revolution that built on the obvious that we are all dying. The significance was not the fact of death, but the significance of the movement was the acceptance of the reality of death and the care and spiritual direction that can be given not only to the dying but to all of us. Something that has been sorely lacking in a culture that sterilizes death. I am thankful for all the CEC clergy who do Hospice and Palliative Care work.

I had the opportunity to sit next to the (retired) Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Donald Coggan. We were participating in a “break out” session on leadership during Renewal Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Archbishop was the plenary speaker. And he was awesome.

We did some chit-chat prior to the session’s leader giving an introductory talk on leadership in the Charismatic Renewal. At one point, he said, “we need to teach people how to live a good life.” Archbishop Coggan turned towards me and whispered, “Young Man, don’t you dare do that, or you will not preach the Gospel. Prepare people to die a good death.” Wow!

Any good life will be a life that was lived out in the reality of death and the hope of the resurrection. Any good life will be a life lived “participating in the suffering and death of Christ, in order to know and share in the power of His Resurrection.” Any discipleship program must begin and end with a deep understanding of Luke 9.23, “And He said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” Discipleship is having the image of Christ Jesus formed in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I love the Proper Preface for funerals (Mass of the Resurrection) in our, soon to be, new Sacramentary.

“Father all Powerful and ever-living God, we do well, always, and everywhere, to give You thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord who rose victorious from the dead and comforts us with the blessed hope of everlasting life. For to Your faithful people, O Lord, life is changed, not ended, and when our mortal body lies in death, there is prepared for us an eternal dwelling place in the heavens.”

How appropriate that the liturgical renewal changed the liturgical colors for “funerals” or “Burial of the Dead” from Purple/Black to White. Now we celebrate the life of the person and their resurrection in Jesus. Death recalls our own mortality and the hope of the new day now in our present life and the life to come. Even in the darkest moments of pain and despair, there will be, because of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ Jesus, an unending hope of salvation, healing, restoration, reconciliation, and new birth.

Right now, the Charismatic Episcopal Church in North America has been thrust into a season of hope and new birth.

There is a great deal of talk in the Church, not just our communion, about “three streams” or “convergence.” In the 1980s, there were only a few who talked about the “convergence” of the Catholic/sacramental/liturgical “stream,” the evangelical “stream,” and the charismatic “stream.” But like the birth of the Pentecostal movement, the Revival movements of the 1940s and 50s, and the Charismatic Movement of the 60s and 70s, there was a small group of, dare I say, prophetic Pentecostal and Evangelical men and women who saw these three streams as coming together. In fact, what they were saying, and I am going out on a big limb, is that the worship of the ancient Church was “convergence” in nature. And that the Church today should embrace all three streams.

But it is really important, I believe, that we understand that it is not about the “streams” as if one could pick and choose which “stream” they wanted to be a part of. It was about the “streams” coming together as a mighty river. Though the “streams” indeed are the source of the river, it is the river that gives life.

I could, at this point, go on and on about the streams of Israel that flow from the area around Caesarea Philippi. They are beautiful. Particularly beautiful are the Dan Stream and the walk-through Tel Dan National Park. The sound of the rushing streams is very soothing and peaceful, like a great classic composition, but it is nature’s music. These streams will flow into the Sea of Galilee, around which was the majority of the life and ministry of Jesus. The streams gave life to the people then and today. But Galilee is not the end as the Lake gives its life to the Jordan River. The Jordan River, where the people of God crossed into the Promised Land to a new beginning. They were no longer slaves but inheritors of the Promises of God. The Jordan River where John the Baptist called those same people to repentance and an awakening to the Lamb of God. And finally, the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized by John and received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It is the river where we are transformed.

The CEC, I believe, is called to be a River Church, not three streams. It is a Church called to reach out to the least among us and find ourselves ministering to Jesus. It is a Church called to find the lost and bring them to the Good Shepherd. It is a Church that is called to go to the lonely and embrace them and incorporate them into the household of God. Or, as the Celebrant and People proclaim at Baptism, “we receive you into the household of God.”

It is a time to renew our commitment to go into all the world. Around us, no matter where you are located, are suffering people. There are single mothers; there are fatherless children, there are grieving people, there are those suffering from addictions, there are women who have been raped or abused, there are women who have had abortions, there are adults who suffered from child/sexual abuse, there are those who have been abused even by the Church. I could go on and on, but all of us must be reaching out to become a place of worship. But a place of worship will become a place of healing and spiritual warfare.

It is a day of “baptism in the Jordan” for the CEC. It is a “changed” day. It is a resurrection day!

I want to encourage all of you. I know that Holy Week will be special for each of you, and it will be special for your people. God is going to send you visitors and family members. See God’s hand at work in them. See in their faces the very image of God.

Under His mercy,

+Craig, Patriarch

Easter and Holy Week at Church of the Messiah

Join with Church of the Messiah as we celebrate the greatest event in all of eternity: the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ and His triumph of death and the grave!  The entire week leading up to Easter is full of unique and powerful services that help lead us in worship and celebrate the last moments of the Life of Christ prior to His glorious resurrection.  We invite you to join us for all of these incredible occasions.

Our celebration of Holy Week begins Sunday, April 10th, at 10 o’clock with our Palm Sunday Service.  Palm Sunday commemorates both Our Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and His glorious Passion later that week.  You will definitely not want to be late for this service as we will begin outside in the courtyard of the church with the Blessing of the Palm and process into the church together in memory of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into the Holy City.  In addition, we will have a special dramatic reading of the Passion Gospel from member of the congregation.  Palm Sunday is a powerful service and an amazing way to begin Holy Week.

On Thursday, April 14th, beginning at 7 pm, we will celebrate Holy Thursday.  Holy Thursday remembers the night Jesus ate the Last Supper with His apostles, washed their feet, instituted the Holy Eucharist, and commanded them to “do this in remembrance of me.”  It was also the night on which Jesus was betrayed into the hands of those who would murder Him.  We commemorate all of these events in an incredible evening that really must be experienced.

On Friday, April 15th, from noon until 3 o’clock, we commemorate Our Lord’s Passion and Death on the Holy Cross at our Good Friday service.  This service includes the reading of the Passion Gospel of St. John, intercessions and prayers, seven meditations on the death of Our Lord from different anointed speakers interspersed with reflective worship pieces from Church of the Messiah’s talented musicians and dancers. Although this service lasts a full three hours, it is structured in such a way that allows one to enter and exit easily without causing a distraction.  If you cannot come for the whole service, but are able to come for a few minutes on your lunch break, please do so.  We promise you will be blessed.

On Saturday morning, April 16th, we will observe Holy Saturday by praying the Liturgy for the Pre-Born outside A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville (click HERE for a map).  The Liturgy begins at 9 o’clock and is a combination of Last Rites for those children who will die through abortion as well as a series of prayer to end abortion in America and the world.  On a day when Our Lord’s body was in the tomb and his disciples believed Him to be dead, it is appropriate that we remember all those innocent children who are doomed to die.

Finally, we celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord and His Triumph over death and the grave on Easter Sunday morning!  Join with Church of the Messiah and invite your friends and family as we celebrate the most important victory in the history of creation.  We will have special events for our children, incredible praise and worship, Holy Communion, an Easter Egg Hunt after the service, and even a few special surprises.  Be sure to join us for our Easter celebration beginning at 10 o’clock on Sunday morning, April 17th.

With all of our services, we will live stream the services for those who are unable to attend on Church of the Messiah’s Facebook page.  Childcare is provided for those younger than sixth grade at all services except the Holy Saturday Liturgy for the Pre-Born.  We cannot wait for you to join us in celebrating all of the events of Holy Week and, most especially, the Resurrection of Our Lord on Easter Sunday.

The Patriarch’s Lenten Message

I grew up in a liturgical church, and every year we dealt with Lent.  We didn’t do the distribution of Ashes on Ash Wednesday until I was older, and then it was optional.  Some people in the Church saw the distribution of Ashes as “Roman Catholic” and hence suspect, so my Pastor had to introduce it slowly.  But we did do fasting, or what I knew as a youngster as “giving something up for Lent.”  We also refrained from eating meat on Fridays, which we did every Friday during the year.

abpbates_lent

Friday was Pizza Day – we had it for lunch at school and then again when we came home for dinner.  (Meatless pizza).  I didn’t understand it as fasting to help us recall the crucifixion of Jesus and his love for us.  It was just Pizza night and not very sacrificial because I loved pizza, especially the thin-crust style of pizza made in the Philadelphia area.  During Lent, Wednesday became another “meatless day,” and my mother served “Mrs. Paul’s Fish Sticks.”  This is a meal that turned an entire generation against eating fish.  On top of Pizza Day and Fish Stick Wednesday, I was taught that “you had to give something up for Lent.” The rules were it had to be something “you liked,” and then you had to give it up for 40 days (not including Sunday, which was a “break”).  The reason we did it?  It is because we were Christians, and Christians fast during Lent.

Some other things happened during Lent.  The big one was covering all the crosses (we didn’t have statues – again “catholic”) with what looked like the same material out of which wedding veils were made.  For most of Lent, the processional cross and the cross on the altar were covered with a purple veil through which you could see the cross.  I am not sure how it served the intent of “covering.”  Then on Palm Sunday, the veil was red and remained during Holy Week.  After that, the veil was black on Good Friday.  Finally, on Easter, the veil was removed.  All of it was great symbolism.  I am not sure what the symbolism was, but it pointed out that Lent was a special season.

What was missing in all of it was any understanding of what Lent was all about, so I lacked an explanation of why we would want to do it in the world.  To be fair, I am sure the Pastor told us the reason.  I am sure I was not listening.  But when I finally understood the reasons for Lent and the invitation “in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word,” the season of 40 days became one of the highlights of my journey into Christ.  Lent increased in so many ways the depth of my relationship with Christ Jesus and the reality of His death and resurrection not only then but now in my life and the world.   It awakened in me that to be a follower of Christ was to participate in His life so that I would arrive at the point of being crucified with Him to share in His resurrection.

The recommendations for a Lenten discipline are disciplines that every Christian should practice every day of every year.  Yet, it remains a good thing that we take a season to intensify these disciplines that we may grow spiritually and in our awareness of the forgiveness, mercy, and love of God that we find at the cross.

This season is not about “works” or “spiritual manipulation.”  It is about responding to the desire of God to be in a relationship with us.  I believe it is the Holy Spirit, speaking through the Church, that is calling us to His love because it is only when we know the height and depth of His love for us that we will be able to walk in what it means to be human and hence to love one another.  It is only when we know how much we have been forgiven and the incredible grace of God that we will be able to forgive and do the ministry of reconciliation.  We live in a very dark world of confusion, fear, anger, frustration, depression, chaos, hatred, and violence.  Lent is a time to open ourselves to the light of Christ so that we can be that light.  And, when we become light in the darkness, the darkness can no longer be dark.  Healing will come.  Reconciliation will come.  Healing will come.  Salvation will come.  All in the Name of Jesus.

It all begins and ends in Christ Jesus and that He is in us, and we are in Him.

I call the ICCEC to a holy Lent.  There is no promise of revival at the end of Lent.  There is no guarantee of answered prayer.  What is guaranteed is that we will have spent 40 days with the Holy Spirit leading us into the truth of Him, who is the One we can trust.  That alone is worth everything.

God bless you on your Lenten Journey.

Under His mercy,

+Craig, Patriarch

 

This message was originally published in Sursum Corda, #1, 2022.

Join Us for Ash Wednesday at Church of the Messiah

On Wednesday, March 2nd, Church of the Messiah will start off the season of Lent with our observance of Ash Wednesday.  Lent is forty days prior to Easter and commemorates the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying before beginning His public ministry (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13).  To prepare our own hearts to celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, the Church also observes this time as a time of prayer, fasting, and charity (Matthew 6:1-18).  The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, the special, once-a-year service where we prepare ourselves to begin this time together.  The central element of the service is the unique Imposition of Ashes where worshippers are marked on their foreheads with ashes and called to “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”  Ash Wednesday is an incredibly powerful service that begins a moving season of the Church year.  Be sure to join with Church of the Messiah on Wednesday night, March 2nd, starting at 7 o’clock.  For those unable to worship with us in person, our service will be live streamed on Church of the Messiah’s Facebook page.

Fr. Terry Gensemer to Visit Church of the Messiah

Fr. Terry Gensemer will be visiting Church of the Messiah during the last weekend in March.  Fr. Gensemer is the International Director of CEC for Life, the Pro-Life outreach ministry of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, and a long-time friend of Church of the Messiah.  In addition to leading CEC for Life, Fr. Gensemer has a long list of credentials including serving as the Pastoral Director for the Society of Centurions, an organization which hosts healing retreats for those who have left the abortion industry, years of parish ministry, and even, most recently, starring in a Pro-Life film.  Fr. Terry and his wife Patti have been married for over 50 years and together have two daughters and seven grandchildren!

Fr. Gensemer’s visit to Church of the Messiah begins on Saturday morning, February 26th, at 9 o’clock, when he will lead us in praying the Liturgy for the Pre-Born in front of A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville (Click HERE for a map).   Fr. Gensemer originally compiled the Liturgy for the Pre-Born as a combination of Last Rites for those children who would be dying in abortion and prayers to end abortion in America and the world.  Then, on Sunday morning, Fr. Gensemer will be preaching and celebrating the Holy Eucharist beginning at 10 o’clock.  Both the Liturgy for the Pre-Born and our Sunday morning service will be streamed on Church of the Messiah’s Facebook page.  It is going to be an incredible weekend with an anointed Man of God.  Be sure to make plans to attend and to invite your friends to join us.

Church of the Messiah at the March for Life St. Augustine

Click image for details.

This Saturday morning, January 15th, Church of the Messiah will join churches from across Florida and Georgia as we take a stand for Life together in participate in the March for Life St. Augustine.  The March for Life St. Augustine began in 2007 as an alternative for those who were unable to travel to Washington, DC, for the March for Life located there, and has grown from 700 attendees at its first event to over 3,000 in 2019.  Pro-Life advocates from as far south as Miami and as far north as Savannah gather in the Oldest City to take a stand for life and make their voices hear each year.  This year, Fr. Scott Looker has been invited to give the closing prayer and blessing at the March.

For a full schedule of events, either click the image on the left or visit the March for Life St. Augustine website.  We invite everyone to join us at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche this Saturday morning and join us as we take a stand for Life and the Pre-Born.  Also remember that this Sunday, January 16, is the Feast of the Lord the Giver of Life.  To read the Patriarch’s message about this important upcoming feast, you can click HERE.  We invite everyone to join us this weekend, as we loudly proclaim that All Life Is Sacred.