The Church of the Messiah

This Sunday, July 4th, at our 10 o’clock service, Church of the Messiah will return to our home sanctuary for the first time on a Sunday morning since the beginning of the Pandemic!  In March of 2020, when the pandemic began, Church of the Messiah adapted and streamed our services while providing Holy Communion to those who joined us in the parking lot of our church.  Beginning in July of 2020, however, we were blessed to be able to worship in the sanctuary of Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church.  Pastor David Imhoff and the leadership of FCPC were gracious and allowed us to use their sanctuary while they began to worship in their parking lot.  Now, after a wonderfully blessed year, we are happy to be returning to our own home sanctuary in our building.   We have been preparing for this change for quite a while and getting everything ready all week long.  Be sure to join us this Sunday morning to see what has changed and what still remains the same.  You can join us in person or you can still join us on-line as we stream on our Facebook page via Facebook Live.

We are so grateful to The Lord and Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church for the providence and hospitality that has allowed us to worship together over the last year.  We are also thankful and excited for the opportunity to worship together in our own home sanctuary once again.  Join us this Sunday and we can worship The Lord and give thanks together!

This Saturday, June 26th, Archbishop Craig Bates and Canon Terry Gensemer will lead the Liturgy for the Pre-Born in front of A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville.  Abp. Bates is the Patriarch of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (ICCEC) and an ardent pro-life advocate who has prayed on the front lines of the culture wars for  decades.  Canon Terry Gensemer is the founder and director of CEC for Life, the pro-life advocacy arm of the Charismatic Epicopal Church, which this year will celebrate its 20th anniversary.  Both men are tremendous advocates for the pre-born and we are blessed to have them lead the Liturgy for the Pre-Born in Jacksonville.  The Liturgy for the Pre-Born is a prayer service that is a combination of last rites for those who are condemned to die in abortion, prayers for repentance, and prayers for the end of the abortion holocaust throughout America and the world.

We invite you to join with Abp. Bates, Cn. Gensemer and Church of the Messiah this Saturday morning beginning at 9 o’clock.  Through the graciousness of Family for Life  we are able to pray directly across from A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville (click HERE for a map).  For those who are unable to attend in person, Church of the Messiah will live stream the event on their Facebook page via Facebook Live.  Please join Church of the Messiah and these mighty men of God as we pray for the day that abortion becomes not only illegal but unthinkable!

The challenge to the Church in every age is both evangelism, assimilation, and leaving a legacy.  The Bishops are actively seeking the Lord, even during this pandemic, and listening to His voice regarding all these areas of mission and ministry.  And, on all levels, things are happening to give glory to God.  There is not a Church in the CEC that isn’t about doing all we can to lead people to the phenomenal, awesome, and glorious savior named Jesus.

I want to address legacy for a moment.  This June, we once again have what is called “Foundation Day.”  On this day, each Church in the CEC is to take up a special offering.  It is suggested that each person give ten dollars.  When collected, the money will go to a fund where 1/3 will be given out in loans, 1/3 will be given out in grants, and 1/3 will be invested for the future.  For what purpose?  To build the Church through the building, purchasing, or repairing of Church facilities.  It will also be used for programs that can advance the growth of the Church.   It is building a legacy.

My children grew up in convergence worship and the Charismatic Episcopal Church.   They now have children (my grandchildren and inheritance from the Lord).  It is possible, in my case, that in the not so far away future the children of my children could have children.  (Not the near future as they are still young, but time goes by fast).  We will be a fourth-generation CEC family.  (Some have already reached that point in their families and their church families.)

I would encourage you to give generously to the foundation offering.  We are still under the mandate to build places of prayer, worship, and unity.  We are called to be part of the three streams of evangelical, charismatic, and sacramental/liturgical worship that makes visible the ancient and historic faith in Jesus.  We are small, but our call is not about size but faithfulness to the mission.  We are called to be faithful to build a legacy for the next generation to continue this very holy and worthy mission.

The pandemic is coming to an end, and we can now get together face to face.  We soon can return to receiving communion in both kinds from a common cup.  We can once again greet one another with a sign of God’s peace that might involve a hug.  It is a good day that is in front of us.  Let us rejoice and be glad.

Under His mercy,

Craig W. Bates,

Patriarch

To give to the Foundation Day offering through Church of the Messiah, click HERE.  For more information on Foundation Day, including the history of the offering and financial accountability, click HERE to visit the Foundation Day page on the web-site of the Charismatic Episcopal Church of North America.  

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!  The Lord is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  While we have already celebrated Easter Sunday, the Season of Easter continues until Our Lord sends the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost.  Because of this, Church of the Messiah will be celebrating the Easter Season and the Resurrection of Our Lord every Sunday morning, starting at 10 o’clock, until May 16th.  During the season, our praise & worship, our Biblical readings, and our sermons will all focus on the Resurrection of Our Lord and His triumphant victory over death and the grave.  Even our Nursery and Kids’ Church lessons (for those 1 year old through 5th grade) will focus on Our Lord’s Resurrection and the Gospel stories following the Resurrection.

Throughout this season, Church of the Messiah will meet in the sanctuary of Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church (click HERE for a map.) where we have ample room for social distancing.  For more information about the precautions we are taking during this time, visit our COVID-19 Precautions Page.  We live stream all of our services on Church of the Messiah’s Facebook Page for those who are unable to attend.

Thanks be to God, Easter changed the world forever and we do not just celebrate it for one day!  Easter is a season; not just a day.  We invite you to join with Church of the Messiah and celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord throughout this Easter season with us every Sunday morning beginning at 10 o’clock.  Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!  The Lord is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Starting Sunday, April 28th, Church of the Messiah invites you to join us as we celebrate the holiest week of the entire year!  Holy Week commemorates the final week of Jesus Christ’s life on earth before His betrayal, death, and glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday.  We will be marking the incredible events with special, once-a-year church services that will help you grow closer to The Lord and experience Easter like never before!

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday.  Our service begins at 10 o’clock on Sunday morning, April 28th.  Palm Sunday commemorates the Triumphal Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem when the people of the city waved palm branches and cried out “Hosanna” as Jesus entered the city.  Our services will begin outside the sanctuary where we will bless palm branches and then process into the sanctuary together in memory of Our Lord’ Triumphal Entry.  We will also have a special reading of the Passion Gospel and other surprises to commemorate this historic day.

Holy Week continues on April 1st with our observance of Maundy Thursday.  “Maundy” is derived from the Latin word “Mandatum” and refers to Our Lord’s command to “do this in remembrance of Me” when He instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper.  The service will begin at 7 o’clock in the evening and contains two unique and powerfully stirring moments.  The first is where the priests volunteer to wash the feet of those who choose to participate in memory of Our Lord washing the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper.  The second is the Stripping of the Altar as a sacramental sign and symbol of Christ’s betrayal and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.  You will not want to miss this moving and powerful service.

We remember Our Lord’s Passion and Death on Good Friday, April 2nd.  This service begins at noon and lasts until 3 o’clock in memory of the three hours Our Lord was on the Holy Cross.  During these three hours, we hear the Passion Gospel, meditations from different speakers on the seven last words of Our Lord, moving worship presentations, and participate in the Veneration of the Cross.  Many people say that the Good Friday service is their favorite service of the entire year!  This year we are blessed to have the Patriarch of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, Archbishop Craig Bates, deliver one of our meditations.

We will be observing Holy Saturday this year by praying the Liturgy for the Pre-Born outside A Woman’s Choice (click HERE for a map), one of our local abortion clinics.  The Liturgy for the Pre-Born is a set of prayers that combine prayers to end abortion throughout the world with the traditional Last Rites prayed when someone is near the moment of death.  On a day that we remember Christ laying in the tomb, we will be praying for those innocent children who will be killed in this holy season.  We will be praying for them, for the repentance and conversion of all involved in their deaths, and for an end to abortion in American and throughout the world.  This is the only service of Holy Week that will not be held at Church of the Messiah.  The Liturgy will begin at 8 o’clock on Saturday morning, April 3rd.

Finally, on April 4th, we celebrate Easter Sunday at 10 o’clock with the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord!  All of Holy Week has been building to this celebration and we pull out all the stops as we rejoice in Jesus’ victory over death and the grave.  We invite you to join us as we have special presentations for our youth and children, fabulous worship time, and incredible fellowship at the Table of the Lord.  After the service, all of the children are invited to participate in an Easter Egg Hunt as well!

All of our services will be held in the sanctuary of Fort Caroline Presbyterian Church (click HERE for a map) where we have ample room for social distancing.  For more information on our pandemic precautions, visit our COVID-19 Precautions Page. All of our services will be live streamed on Church of the Messiah’s Facebook page for those who are unable to attend in person.  We invite everyone to join with us as we relive these powerful moments in the final week of Christ’s life before His death and Glorious Resurrection.

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely
more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from
generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus
for ever and ever. Amen.     Ephesians 3:20,21

Every Wednesday night throughout the season of Lent, Fr. Scott Looker will be leading an on-line Bible Study on the topic of discipleship.  Almost as exciting as the opportunity to develop a stronger relationship with The Lord is the new format we will be using for the study.  We will still be live streaming to Facebook Live to our Facebook page, be we will also be opening the study up to participation via Zoom.

Every Wednesday night in Lent, starting on February 24th and ending March 24th, you can join the Bible Study by visiting zoom.us and using the Meeting ID and Password in the picture to the left.  Alternatively, you can still participate as we stream the Zoom meeting to Facebook.  The Zoom meeting will open at 6:45 and we will stream to Facebook beginning at 7:00.

We hope that, as we journey together through the Season of Lent, you will join us in this Lenten Bible Study and grow deeper in your walk with The Lord.

Church of the Messiah invites you to join us on February 17th, starting at 7 pm, for our annual Ash Wednesday Service.  Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Holy Season of Lent which recalls Our Lord’s forty days in the wilderness following His baptism in the River Jordan.  The season of Lent is time of prayer, fasting, and charitable giving as well as deliberately focusing on strengthening our walk with The Lord.  The Ash Wednesday Service is wonderful way to begin the season of Lent.  The service includes a time of praise & worship, readings and a homily from Holy Scriptures, the special once-a-year Imposition of Ashes and Litany of Penitence, as well as the Holy Eucharist.

That evening we will hold our service in the sanctuary of Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church to allow us to be seated with social distancing.  We ask that, while up and moving around the sanctuary, people wear masks for the sake of charity and in accordance with local ordinances.  For those who are unable to attend our service that evening, we will live stream the Ash Wednesday service on our Facebook page.  For more information on our COVID precautions, click HERE.

We invite everyone to join us Wednesday, February 17th, whether in person or on-line, beginning at 7 o’clock, as we observe Ash Wednesday and begin a Holy Lent.

Last March, I was in San Clemente, California, with the Primates Council members and their wives.  We had a great gathering, and the Lord spoke to us in so many ways.  At the time, we were hearing about this “Coronavirus” that apparently was in China and Europe and perhaps spreading to the United States.  Little did we know at the time what that “danger” and “spreading” was all about. When we returned home, suddenly, there was talk about a “lockdown” and the shutting down of entire countries in Europe, and we in the United States were soon to follow.  That shutdown happened.  We were told the shutdown would be 15 days to flatten the curve so that hospitals could handle the overwhelming numbers of people admitted.

We also heard about “essential services” and “non-essential services.”  Grocery stores were essential, and guidelines were given for those who needed to shop.  Elderly people even had special times to shop.  Of course, healthcare workers, police officers, emergency personnel, sanitation workers, pharmacists, and others were considered essential, and indeed they were.

Then there were the lists of non-essentials that ranged from “gyms” to restaurants and bars. Most small retail shops or barbershops and hair salons were non-essential.  Churches were considered non-essential, and still, in many states, churches face restrictions on the number of people who can occupy their buildings.  For sacramental churches, like the CEC, that meant there were no Eucharists, no baptisms, no weddings, no funerals, no last rites at the hospitals (clergy were even forbidden to visit dying parishioners), or any other sacramental rite available to the people of God.  Thank the Lord for the internet, as the churches could go virtual and minister to the people.  The Church established an online presence. But, while churches were considered non-essential abortion, clinics were deemed essential.  While medical procedures and other medical services were put on hold as non-essential, abortion was a procedure that was deemed to be essential.

The pandemic put life and death before us.  As the numbers of hospitalized patients and those dying from COVID increased, we faced a new pandemic of “fear.”  On the positive side, we became deeply concerned about the vulnerable among us in nursing homes, long-term living facilities, assisted living centers, and senior living facilities.  Thousands died in these facilities, and the medical community told us outright that the elderly were most at risk and most likely not to survive the virus.  The elderly who lived at home were advised to avoid contact with their children and grandchildren.  Contact with an asymptomatic child could result in being infected and death.  Those who are isolated from the community’s daily life were now even more isolated to be protected from this virus of death.

It is good that soon a vaccine will be available. Healthcare workers and these seniors in facilities will be the first to receive the vaccine, followed by senior citizens who have underlying health issues.  Soon those with other diseases will receive treatment.  And perhaps our hearts will be changed in our appreciation for the elderly among us.  Hopefully, the Church will be awakened to the concerns of our elderly.

Throughout it all, abortion clinics, however, remained open.  Abortion clinics were an “essential service.”  While society rightfully cared for the elderly, they ignored the preborn — innocent little children who rely totally on others for their protection and life.  These babies were still disposable.  While politicians ran for office on the handling or mishandling of the Coronavirus, there was little concern or even awareness that some of the candidates ran on a platform that advocated the right to abort a baby up to the moment of birth, and, even in some cases, to allow a baby to die after birth.

The Church is always called to be present during human suffering with the message of life.  Our faith is based on a God who suffered among us.  It is right and a good thing that many churches ministered to those suffering from COVID.  It is also right and good that the Church advocates for the poor, the widow, the fatherless, the single mothers, the disenfranchised, the homeless, the hungry, those in prison, immigrants, and those seeking freedom from tyranny.  These are pro-life concerns.  The Church needs to proclaim life into these situations, or as some say, we have a ministry of life from the womb to the tomb.

During the pandemic, we continue to have concern for everyone who is at risk, who has the disease, and especially those who mourn the death of a loved one because of the disease.  We mourn the loss of almost 300,000 who have died from COVID and pray the new vaccine will end this horror.  We continue to preach life and not give in to a fear of death.

Yet, we must also continue to cry out with a loud voice for the preborn babies’ right to life.   As of this year, almost 40,000,000 abortions were performed worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.  That is 125,000 babies a day.  In the United States, roughly 3,000 preborn babies die every day at the hands of abortionists.  We are told that 22% of all pregnancies in American end in abortion.  There are more babies aborted in parts of New York City than brought to a full-term pregnancy and birth.  We cannot get quality of life if we continue to destroy life.  Death cannot be a solution to injustice or oppression.  That is not good news.

A great deal of progress has been made over the past few years in bringing about change and saving babies’ lives.  Abortion clinics continue to close, and some states could soon become “abortion free” states.  The courts are now more “friendly” to pro-life cases and rule in favor of the right to life and the protection of the preborn.  We could face some setbacks in the next few years, but we will continue to fight to be a voice for the voiceless.  (Thank you to all who continue to pray at the abortion mills regularly.  Persevere and do not give up.)

A lot still needs to be done on all different levels if we are to win and find a day when abortion will not only be illegal, but unthinkable.  We must continue to work towards the day when the truth that God loves the unborn child, and that God loves the mother who has tragically presented herself for abortion, is understood.  Our churches should be centers of life and healing for all the little children, for families in crisis, for single mothers, the fatherless, and the widows.

Churches should be a voice for the poor and a place where mercy and justice meet at the cross.  We must work towards the day when death is not considered a solution; rather, choices of life for both mother and baby are more obvious and more available.

This is going to take a change of heart.  The Pro-life movement is a Gospel movement.  We need to support our clergy in preaching and teaching the Gospel of life from womb to tomb.  We need to raise a generation that continues in the fight until the right to life is a reality for all.  We need to raise a generation that has the heart of God.  This is what CEC for Life is all about. Though the end of abortion is a primary concern of CEC for Life, it does not mean the leadership of CEC for Life is not concerned about all life.  The battle cry is “All Life is Sacred.”

The Charismatic Episcopal Church was birthed in the Pro-Life movement and the “cultural wars” of the past few decades.  As a people, God spoke to us and drew us into the life of the ancient and historic Church. We saw and continue to see that through liturgy and sacraments, along with preaching the Good News and the transformation of the heart, and empowerment by the Holy Spirit (the Lord and giver of Life), we join in a cultural war that has been raging since the beginning of time.

The cross of Christ is a cultural war, and victory was won on that cross in the wounds of Christ Jesus and the shedding of His blood. We found out that, as we participate in His life, and particularly His death, we find that ultimate gift of life, the resurrection and defeat of death.  This truth is lived out every day in our people, but particularly in the praise and thanksgiving of the Eucharist Feast.

On January 17th, the third Sunday of the Christmas season, the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church celebrates a feast in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord and Giver of Life.  During the Eucharist, an offering is to be taken where we ask every participant and member of the ICCEC to give generously to the pro-life work of our communion.  We also ask every clergy, along with every parish, to partner with CEC for Life by submitting their membership request for the year.

I can only ask you to give generously, which most of you do.

What more will we do? We will persevere with the Gospel, knowing that in due season we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  We will continue to pray at abortion clinics.  We will continue to work with other Pro-Life groups.  We will continue to raise up a generation around the world who are Gospel activists.  We will continue to equip the Church with the message of life.

Please once again join us.  Be a part of a godly solution and a warrior for life.

Under His mercy,

The Most Rev. Craig W. Bates

Patriarch, ICCEC

This letter was originally published on CEC for Life’s web-site.

Now that all of the presents have been opened, don’t forget that the Season of Christmas is twelve days and begins on Christmas Day!  At Church of the Messiah we will continue celebrating the Christmas Season throughout the entire Twelve Days of Christmas.  This means that we will still celebrate Christmas during our Sunday morning services on December 27th and January 3rd.

The season of Christmas will come to a close on Wednesday evening, January 6th, when Church of the Messiah celebrates the Epiphany.  The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, also known as the Epiphany, celebrates the arrival of the wise men from the East who travelled to worship Our Lord and concludes the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Our service that evening will begin at 7 o’clock.

We will be holding all of our services in the sanctuary of Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church which allows us to be seated with adequate social distancing.  For more information on our COVID19 precautions, visit our COVID Precautions Page.  For those who cannot join us in person, all of our services will be live streamed via Facebook Live on the church’s Facebook page.  Childcare for those between one year old and 5th grade is provided during each of our services.

We invite you to join us during the Twelve Days of Christmas, whether you join us in person or on-line, as we continue to celebrate the glorious truth the “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (St. John 1:14)

The Christmas Season is almost upon us!  On Thursday night, December 24th, we will celebrate Christmas Eve with our traditional Family Service.  This service includes a special presentation from the children and youth of the church, a reading of the Nativity Gospel, the singing of traditional Christmas Carols by candlelight, and other special surprises.  Please note that this year our Christmas Eve Family Service will begin at the special time of 7:30 pm.

On Christmas Day, we will celebrate the Incarnation of Our Lord with our Christmas Day Service.  This service is a brief Said Mass and usually lasts about forty-five minutes.  Our Christmas Day Service will begin at 10 o’clock and is our only service of the holiday season that will be held in Church of the Messiah’s sanctuary (where we met before the pandemic began).

Our Christmas Eve service will be held in the sanctuary of Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church which allows us to be seated with adequate social distancing.  For more information on our COVID19 precautions, visit our COVID Precautions Page.  For those who cannot join us in person, all of our services will be live streamed via Facebook Live on the church’s Facebook page.

During this season of holidays, we invite everyone to join us, whether in person or virtually, for any or all of our Advent and Christmas service.   “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13