APA Deanery of Appalachia Confirmations and Receptions

At Saint Matthew's Church, Weaverville, North Carolina on Saturday 4th May with 

the Very Reverend John Lathrop, Rector.

The Holy Ghost and You

In May this year, we celebrate the great festival commonly described as the Birthday of the Church, the Feast of Pentecost or Whitsunday, fifty days after Our Lord’s glorious Resurrection from the dead. Although the Church, the Body and Bride of Christ, was truly conceived and born by Our Lord on the Cross of Calvary, when the water signifying Holy Baptism and the blood signifying the Holy Eucharist gushed forth from His wounded side (Saint John 19.34), the New and Second Eve vivified by the Dominical Sacraments of the Gospel, the Church, taken from the side of the New and Second Adam, the New Creation Himself (Genesis 2.20-25, I Corinthians 15.47), that Church was filled with the power, grace, life, light and divinity of God the Holy Ghost, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, on Pentecost, when the Comforter descended on the Apostles, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the other holy men and women gathered in the Upper Room awaiting ‘the promise of the Father.’ (Acts of the Apostles 1 and 2).

But when does the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter Whom the Father sends in the Name of the Son (Saint John 14.26), descend upon us and fill our souls with His power and presence? Do we receive Him in the same way as did the Primitive Church, with tongues of fire and a rushing mighty wind? Or do we receive Him personally, corporately, individually in another less dramatic but equally powerful way?

The answer is: we receive the fullness of the Holy Ghost, the operation and presence of theHoly Ghost in a unique way, in the Sacrament of Confirmation. Some people know much about this Sacrament, but others, especially those outside the Churches of the Apostolic Succession, may know nothing about it all. Many Anglicans may not realise or recognise the import of this Sacrament. Like all of the Seven Sacraments, Confirmation has two parts; the part one can see and the part one cannot see. One can see the Bishop placing his hands on the head of a person who has already been baptised, and one can hear him praying. This is the outward part of the Sacrament. Perhaps one has seen a Bishop confirming; if one has, one will remember how in a short service the children, and perhaps some adults as well, went and knelt before him. One may even remember the prayer the Bishop said:

Defend, O Lord, this thy child with thy heavenly grace; that he may continue thine forever; and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit more and more, until he come unto thy everlasting kingdom. Amen.

In different branches of the Church Catholic the words are different; but the important element is the laying-on-of-hands by a Successor of the Holy Apostles. The part which none can see is what God does in the souls of those who come to be confirmed. When the Bishop lays on his hands, God sends the Holy Ghost to make their souls strong. This is the inward part of the Sacrament. Our Lord Jesus Christ calls the Holy Ghost the Comforter, παράκλητος  – the Paraclete, literally, ‘He who is called along side,’  ‘He who strengthens, who makes strong’ - Advocate, Guide, Helper, Encourager, Consoler, Intercessor, Refresher, Summoner, Liberator, Supporter (Saint John 14.16, 15.26, 16.7).  The Holy Ghost comes to our souls to make us strong to keep the promises that we made when we were baptised into Christ.

We cannot see the Holy Ghost coming – just as we cannot see the wind, only its effect. Therefore, we should be able to see the result of the Holy Ghost in our souls, although we cannot see His descent: the result of the Holy Ghost’s indwelling should be a good and holy life. When we have been confirmed, we belong to God even more than before. The Holy Ghost seals us as His own – as we would seal a letter we want to send to our friend. The Holy Ghost seals and marks our souls as His own, to make especially sure we get to Heaven. ‘And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption’ (Ephesians 4.30). As the Bishop may say at Confirmation when he administers the chrism: The seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost. In Confirmation, Christ chrismates Christians with the chrism of the Holy Spirit. The Anointed One anoints the anointed ones with the One who is the Unction from above. Confirmation is our personal Pentecost, for each and everyone one of us (Acts of the Apostles 8.14-23, I9.1-7).

The Holy Ghost remains in our souls always, and we should always remember that we possess this special Strengthening Gift. When we were baptised, we became God’s Children by adoption and grace. When we are confirmed, we become God’s Soldiers in a new and special way. When we were baptised, we were given the gift of spiritual Regeneration and New Life in Christ by the Holy Ghost. When we are confirmed, we are given the gift of strength to make perfect the life of grace.

We more fully understand what a wonderful mystery and Sacrament Confirmation truly is when we recall Who the Holy Ghost is. The Third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost, proceeded forth and fell upon the Church on the first Whitsunday. He filled the Church with His strength so that she could go and do wonderful works for God. When we are confirmed, the Holy Ghost fills us with strength so that we too can go and accomplish wonderful achievements for God.

We can only be baptised once, and we can only be confirmed once. In fact, it is very much like being born and then growing up. The new-born child (the baptised) needs strength to grow into adulthood and maturity (the confirmed).

If we have not yet been confirmed, we should look forward to the day we shall be. If we have been confirmed, we should consider how we are using that marvellous Gift of God the Holy Ghost that we have within us.

God bless you and keep you in this holy Whitsuntide!

+Chad

The Episcopal Consecration of James Randall Hiles

The Right Reverend James Randall Hiles was consecrated Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of the Northeast  of the Anglican Church in America on Saturday, April 27th 2013 at Saint Paul's Church, Brockton, Massachusetts. 

The Most Reverend Brian R. Marsh, Presiding Bishop of the ACA and Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Northeast, was Chief Consecrator.

The seven Co-Consecrators were:

The Right Reverend Stephen D. Strawn, Bishop Ordinary, Diocese of the Missouri Valley, ACA
The Most Reverend Walter H. Grundorf, Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of America, and Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Eastern United States, APA
The Right Reverend John Vaughan, Bishop Ordinary, Diocese of the Eastern United States, ACA
The Right Reverend Michael Gill, Bishop Ordinary, Diocese of Pretoria, Anglican Church of Southern Africa
The Right Reverend Edward H. Macburney, retired Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of Quincy, The Episcopal Church 
The Right Reverend Juan Garcia, Bishop Ordinary, Diocese of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, ACA
The Right Reverend George D. Langberg, retired Bishop Ordinary, Diocese of the Northeast, ACA

The Episcopal Consecration of Owen Rhys Williams

The Consecration of the Very Reverend Owen Rhys Williams to Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of the Northeast in the Anglican Church of America took place on the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist, Thursday, April 25th 2013 at Trinity Anglican Church Pro-Cathedral, Rochester, New Hampshire.

Father Williams is in the centre kneeling before the Most Reverend Brian R. Marsh, Chief Consecrator and Presiding Bishop, Anglican Church in America. Standing in the foreground (left to right) are the Right Reverend George D. Langberg, Retired Bishop Ordinary, Diocese of the Northeast, ACA and the Right Reverend Juan Garcia, Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, ACA. In the background (left to right) the Very Reverend Samuel Logan, Rector, Saint Paul's Church, Portland, Maine; the Right Reverend Shane B. Janzen, Metropolitan and Bishop Ordinary, Anglican Catholic Church of Canada, Victoria, British Columbia, Deacon Ian Dunn, Saint Thomas Church, Ellsworth, Maine; the Right Reverend Michael Gill, Bishop Ordinary, Diocese of Pretoria, Anglican Church of Southern Africa; the Right Reverend John Vaughan, Bishop Ordinary, Diocese of the Eastern United States, ACA (hidden behind Bishop Marsh); the Right Reverend Stephen D. Strawn, Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley, ACA; the Most Reverend Walter H. Grundorf, Presiding Bishop of Anglican Province of America and Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Eastern United States, APA; and the Right Reverend Craig Botterill, Suffragan Bishop and Chancellor, Anglican Catholic Church of Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Men's Retreat at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, Georgia - Saturday 20th April

Prayers for Boston

Let us pray for the victims and their families, and the people of Boston:

O GOD, merciful and compassionate, who art ever ready to hear the prayers of those who put their trust in thee; Graciously hearken to us who call upon thee, and grant us thy help in this our need; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jesus mercy. Mary pray.

Alleluia!

Q: How should Christians use the word 'Alleluia'?

A: The word Alleluia is a Latin form of the Hebrew word Hallelujah, literally meaning 'you all praise Yah (YHWH),' 'you all praise Yahweh,' or as is commonly translated, 'praise the Lord.' It is a proclamation and exclamation of triumph, victory, joy, exultation, and praise and worship of the One True God of Israel, the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is used 28 times in both the Old and New Testaments and is one of the most ancient prayers of praise in the worship of old covenant Israel and in the Christian Church. It addresses God by His sacred Name as revealed to Moses in Exodus chapter 3, Yahweh or Yah, 'I AM.' From the first century AD, it has been used in Christian liturgy and worship, particularly in announcing the reading of the Holy Gospel during the services of the Church or in proclaiming the glory of Christ's Resurrection. It is found in the earliest extant liturgies of Christendom, and has been used consistently by all Christians for two-thousand years.

By custom, the word Alleluia is not said or sung by Christians during Lent, because the word designates the Resurrection and is thus 'buried' during our Lenten discipline to be raised with Christ in His joyful Resurrection on Easter Day, symbolic of Christ's death and our participation in it. On Easter we celebrate by singing Alleluia once again after forty days - for Lent has ended and Our Lord has died and is risen again. 

So, it is certainly not a sin to say it prayerfully and reverently - but one could say quite the opposite. It would be a failure of gratitude and adoration of God not to say it, if one wishes to express seriously one's devotion. However, to say Alleluia in jest or joking or mocking or irreverently or as a casual turn of phrase without intending to affirm what it actually says would be a violation of the Third Commandment, that is, in such instances one would be taking the Lord's Name in vain. To say 'Alleluia' flippantly would be the same as to say 'O my G-d' flippantly - it is the same principle because both phrases invoke the Name of God. The question certainly reminds Christians that we are to be careful and reverent in our speech and are always to honour God in the language we use...