March 2010

 

As we journey through the wilderness together, I thought that it would be helpful and informative to catch you up on a number of things that affect our common life. St. Patrick prayed for Christ to be before him and behind him, and you will see by the many wonderful things that are happening, that Christ is with us in all of our doings.

Building Update- If you have worshipped with us at Lancaster Christian Academy and seen the drawings along the hallway, you know that the Building Committee has completed the first step of developing a Master Plan. Now that we know where all of the future buildings will be placed on the property, we are in the process of planning phase one. We have met with AEI, the architectural firm that did our Master Plan and Dow Smith, a local contractor, and Trinity Design out of Murfreesboro and are narrowing it down. The direction we are taking is to have phase one be a small simple chapel that will serve our current congregation, get us on our property and have potential for expansion. Initial estimates of this phase are between $4oo, ooo and $500,000. A truism of construction is that it always costs more and takes longer than estimated but we are committed to keeping costs down and doing this in a timely fashion. To proceed with this plan we will need to raise a down payment of about 20% or $80,000. Obviously this money needs to be raised apart from our annual budget. The bottom line is that we all want a building but we will only be able to acquire it with some significant sacrifice. Each of us needs to accept the challenge to say our prayers and ask God to use us as vehicles of His provision.

New Diocese- A new diocese, called the Anglican Diocese of the South (ADOS), is being formed with the see city being Atlanta. Churches within a 3-4 hour drive of Atlanta are invited to join. An inaugural synod will be held in Loganville, Georgia on April 30,2010. Constitutions and Canons will be ratified and application will be made to the new province, Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) led by Archbishop Robert Duncan. Names for a Diocesan Bishop will be submitted to the College of Bishops of ACNA and they will choose a Bishop for ADOS. I attended the founding meeting and we are listed as a parish of this forming diocese but nothing formal has been determined as yet. It will take a vote of the Vestry and a written application to make us an official part of the new diocese, if that is the way that we choose to go. I have a wedding during the days of the inaugural synod so Fr. Palmer will attend and report back to us. We are under no pressure to make a decision about joining ADOS but if nothing else it is exciting to be a part of these historic events. It puts us in mind of the things that transpired after the 1776 American Revolutionary War when Anglicans had to break with England and form a new province. Hopefully we won't have to do this again for another 234 years.

Church of ENGLAND -The Church of England passed a resolution at its recent synod to acknowledge the Anglican Church in North America. This is an important step in gaining full communion with the worldwide Anglican Communion, which historically takes a number of years to complete. ACNA has also been declared to be in full communion by a number of Archbishops around the world, so the process of being a recognized province is well under way.  http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100210/church-of-england-recognizes-breakaway-anglicans-in-u-s/index.html

Website- If you have not been on our website in awhile then you are in for a very pleasant surprise. The Vestry had it redesigned and Kelli Grisez is doing a fabulous job keeping it updated and adding links. You can pray Morning and Evening Prayer using the links provided. Under the Devotional section you can even hear a Podcast of the Scriptures of the Day. Our website has become a rich resource that we hope will be a blessing to many. www.stpatrickssmyrna.org

News From Egypt- Ms Schori of The Episcopal Church (TEC) is not only continuing her law suits around the country but she has interjected herself into the affairs of a number of Episcopal Dioceses. St. Andrew's in Nashville is in a legal battle with the Diocese of Tennessee to keep the property deeded to them by Bishop Vander Horst in the 1960's. Those involved in the lawsuit are aware that the National Church is fully involved behind the scenes and the local Bishop is dancing to Ms. Schori's tune. In South Carolina, TEC Bishop Mark Lawrence employed a rarely used canon to postpone their annual convention upon discovering that Ms Schori was securing lawyers in South Carolina to interfere with the affairs of that Diocese. I readily recall how Bishop Herlong told us time and again that the National Church has no authority over the local Diocese. The Bishops she has deposed, the Dioceses with which she has interfered, and the parishes that she has sued prove otherwise. Thanks be to God that we got out when the gettin was good. (You can read Bp Lawrence's letter at http://www.diosc.com/sys/images/documents/02_09_10_bishop_m_lawrence_letter.pdf)

Bishop Ackerman- Speaking of deposed Bishops, many of you were blessed to witness Bishop Ackerman in action several months ago when he led us in a Choral Evensong on Saturday and officiated a Confirmation for St. Andrew's and St. Patrick's the next day. Because of a close affinity with Bishop Ackerman through the Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) and shared goals of maintaining the catholic traditions of Anglicanism, Fr. Ray has approached Bishop Ackerman about being our link to the new province, while Bishop Martin remains our link to Nigeria and to the world wide Anglican Communion. Bishop Ackerman has agreed so he will be the face of ACNA for St. Patrick's as we also continue to honor CANA for being our lifeboat. (Given that we seem to stay in trouble, we can't have too many Bishops to care for us.)

Karen Ministry- Two more Karen (Burmese) families have joined us in Smyrna. Under the leadership of Greg Peck, a number of our members have formed a non-profit called Charter Group and secured a grant from HUD to care for the homeless and disabled. Since many of the Karen fall into those categories we are able to provide them with housing for up to a year while they find work and get on their feet. Pepper, Laurie and many others have worked extremely hard to set up two duplexes at Wherry Housing. Donations came from across the parish to provide for their basic needs. There have been many challenges in working cross culturally but it cannot be denied that this is God's work of which we are blessed to be a part.

College Outreach - Fr. BE continues to be a witness on the MTSU campus as he teaches in the Philosophy Department and serves as chaplain to the Women's Basketball team. Now he and Beth have taken on another venture and that is to invite students to their home on Sunday evenings for small group discussions. God alone knows where this will lead but they continue to serve as examples of being faithful to do the next right thing. Please keep Fr. BE, Beth and the students in your prayers.

Christian Education - Wayne Wilson has led a standing room only class on the Revelation to St. John since Advent 2009. After dispelling common myths and misconceptions about the book, we now find ourselves treading on some very holy ground. Wayne also created a class list for us to pray for each other so that God's Word will transform each our lives. It is an exciting class and at the current pace there is a better chance of Jesus coming back than our finishing the Apocalypse....and we wouldn't have it any other way! The message of this book demands a careful, thoughtful and prayerful study.

Music- Prayers and input would very much be appreciated as we search for a new Organist/Choirmaster. The choir plays a key role in a liturgical church and it takes a special person to be able to lead and grow a choir as well as to inspire a congregation in worship. Rufus Long, a lifelong musician and music teacher, has stepped forward to prepare the choir for Holy Week and Easter.

Conclusion - While I am sure that I have failed to mention many other wonderful and challenging things that are going on at St. Patrick's, this should give you a sense that we are well on our way to the place that God has called us. The greatest joy for me in this whole wilderness experience has been the faithful folks who understand that we are a parish family and that we are in this together. To see the same faces at set up week after week, to hear the kids running down the school hallways after Christian Education, to be greeted on Sunday morning by saints of God who have sacrificed much to be there; these are the things that make the wilderness not just tolerable but a privilege.  As St. Minnie Pearl would say, "I'm mighty proud to be here."