Bishop Eric Menees
O Almighty God, who hast built thy Church upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief
cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their
doctrine, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable unto thee; through the
same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This week I am deeply honored to be with my brother bishops
of the Anglican Church in North America at the Monastery of St. Vincent
Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The College of Bishops met for two and half
days of prayer and conversation seeking to discern God's will for us as a
church and to determine whom He would have as our next Archbishop. We are a diverse
group of 51 members, with both active and retired bishops present. We come from
the four corners of the Anglican Communion and the four corners of North
America. We speak different languages and have different skin colors. How
precious it is, then, that we are so united in our faith and our goals. This is
not to say that we do not have differences of thought and opinion that are very
important. However, we are united as a body because we share the same
foundation as a church - the teaching of Jesus Christ, his apostles, and the
prophets.
Because we share a common understanding of, and submission
to, who Jesus Christ is - namely, the Only Begotten Son of God who, "...was
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and
was buried. On the third day he rose again, He ascended into heaven and is
seated at the right hand of the father. He will come again to judge the living
and the dead….," - we are united as a Church and Province.
This year with the rolling out of the new catechism, To
Be A Christian, we have demonstrated our belief and understanding that it
is not enough to be united under a common liturgy or worship practice on Sunday
Morning. We are not united on a common experience alone, but a common
understanding of what that experience means in our lives.
I pray that this collect will resonate with each member of
the Diocese of San Joaquin. I pray that we will seek God's grace and strength
to open ourselves up to studying the doctrines of Holy Scriptures and the
doctrines of the Church. I pray that each member of the diocese will seriously
undertake a study of the catechism alone and with friends and then, most
importantly, teach it to others.
It is when we are actively making disciples that we are most
authentically the church and are fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus
Christ: "Go into all the world making disciples and baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…."
(Matthew 28:19-20a)
Note: This is a note to the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin from Bishop Menees and is posted here with his permission for a broader readership. Dale+
1 comment:
So wonderful that build up our a house to best ground in of Christ to keep us in storms time whole and be not fall downs in destrution and so much tears and hopeless if our a house will not stand up,thanks and bless and pray,keijo sweden
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