Why Do We Celebrate All Saints Day?
“Saints are not saints because they are inherently particularly holy—saints are saints because God has made them holy… It is actually the action of the sanctifying power of God within us that makes us holy, so to acknowledge the saints at all is to acknowledge the saving power of Jesus Christ in the life of an individual.”
What is All Saints Day and why do we commemorate saints? Bishop Alex explains the two-fold importance of this day in our church calendar.
The Anatomy of Forgiveness
“We are living in a culture that feels to me like it doesn’t forgive sins. As soon as somebody makes a misstep, there’s a lot of writing people off and saying, effectively, ‘you are dead to me.’ That’s never a Christian option. There is a real need for us to believe not only that my sins can be forgiven, but that the sins of others are also forgivable.”
Bishop Alex reflects on the statement in the Apostles’ Creed that we “believe in the forgiveness of sins,” and unpacks the anatomy of forgiveness, from conviction to confession to repentance.
What Is Anglicanism? Our Governance
“One of the things that is true about Anglicans is that we have retained those orders of clergy that we see written in the New Testament: bishops, priests, and deacons… the church as a whole is led by the clergy, but governed by the councils of the church. This is true on every level. On the local level, we are led by a priest, but governed by a vestry or parish council, which is the voice of the lay people in the organization of the church. On a diocesan level, the collection of churches or parishes together, it is led by a bishop and overseen by a convention or synod, a gathering together of the clergy and the laity.”
In the last installment of our “What Is Anglicanism?” series, Bishop Alex explains the structure of church, diocesan, and provincial governance that we adhere to as Anglicans.
What Is Anglicanism? Our Practice
“This is part of the genius that Archbishop Cranmer had when he put together the original Book of Common Prayer. If you go to an Anglican service anywhere, you’re getting a Book of Common Prayer service. You’re getting something that is recognizable and familiar—and that’s true to this day. If you go to an Anglican service in Kenya or South Africa or somewhere in the Midwest, it is recognizably Anglican. It is recognizable and understandable and comfortable.”
In this third video of his “What Is Anglicanism?” series, Bishop Alex discusses what makes us Anglican in terms of how we worship and practice our faith. He explains the beauty of the Book of Common Prayer, the importance of our liturgy that engages us in worship, and our annual observance of the events of Jesus’ life throughout the church calendar.
What Is Anglicanism? Our Beliefs
“That English Protestant Reformation movement that we call Anglicanism was coming out of a medieval church that had moved to a very works righteousness way of thinking, and the Anglican movement was a recovery of the truth of the gospel… It is a gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. It is not a gospel of works or self improvement or what we might call Self Help today. We are not saved by those things—we are saved by grace.”
Bishop Alex continues his series, “What Is Anglicanism?” by explaining the first of three categories of Anglican distinctives: our beliefs. He summarizes the elements that separate us from other Christian denominations, from the Reformation to the Jerusalem Declaration in 2008.
What Is Anglicanism? Part 1: Introduction
“I think sometimes we think Anglicanism means that you use the Book of Common Prayer to worship, but it actually means quite a bit more than that. Anglicanism is fundamentally about making disciples of all nations. It’s a discipleship reality. It’s not just what you do or how you worship on Sunday.”
Bishop Alex introduces our video series on what it means to be Anglican. Stay tuned as he discusses the differentiators of Anglican beliefs, practice, and governance in the coming weeks.
Diocesan Youth Initiative
“The reality is that, if we’re not actually thinking about how we’re outreaching, how we’re supporting, how we’re discipling and encouraging young people, we’re really not being good stewards of the resources in front of us.”
In this last video of his three-part series on upcoming diocesan priorities, Bishop Alex underscores the importance of youth ministry in our diocese for creating a community of Christian believers and for building a pipeline for future lay and ordained church leaders. Watch to learn more about his plans to create a new diocesan youth camp!
Bringing Order to the Church
“The model that we have coming out of the scriptures is God bringing order to our common life together… As we deal with things like misconduct, which unfortunately does happen in the life of the church, we want to do it well. We want to do it efficiently, thoroughly, as quickly as is possible, and in a way that is fair and equitable for everybody involved.”
In this second video of a three-part series, Bishop Alex addresses another priority he’s undertaking this fall. As he discusses two of the primary issues that our Constitution and Canons committee is rethinking, he urges us to consider our local church governance afresh, and explains the foundational importance of this effort to the mission of the gospel.
Church Planting Initiative
“There is something about a church plant that tends to be better at seeking out and incorporating new people, partially because that’s all they’re about initially… There is a real focus and energy around integrating people. Existing congregations need to do that as well, but there is something about church plants that tend to do it better.”
In this first video of a three-part series, Bishop Alex lets us behind the scenes on three priorities that he’s working on this fall. The first is a church planting working group that has been monitoring our existing and past planting efforts and looking for new opportunities in the coming year. Watch as Bishop Alex answers questions about our church planting efforts and tells us some of his plans.
New Beginnings Require Endings
“I think it’s true for many of us that we don’t like ends. We don’t like saying goodbye. We don’t like good things to be over and we struggle often with the reality of transitions in our lives.”
Bishop Alex reflects on our natural aversion to endings, and as a number of our churches are preparing for big changes this fall, he assures us that endings and goodbyes are important, because in them there is a promise that Jesus will make all things new again.