The Church of the Messiah

Archbishop Craig Bates, the Patriarch of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church published this pastoral letter this week.

In a few days, the Bishops and Priests of the Charismatic Episcopal Church will call us to a Holy Lent. They will exhort us to self-examination, prayer, confession, fasting, and the study of and meditation upon Holy Scripture. This is not only a season in preparation for our celebration of the Great Paschal Mystery but also a time in and of itself where we become more intensely aware of the awesome grace and mercy of God. We enter into the season aware not only of our sin but also the loving kindness of God.

The journey of Lent is a time to further press in to the love of God. This journey always begins with the recognition of our own mortality – from dust we come and to dust we shall return. This recognition draws us to remember that the God of all creation took on this mortal flesh. And, through obedience and suffering conquered sin, the world and the devil – those forces that war against us in our journey towards His love. And, He is restoring in us the human dignity that was always intended by the Creator.

Around us are constant reminders of man’s inhumanity. We enter the season with reports of a possible genocide in Libya. But this is just one example of the reality of hatred and evil. We think of the number of abortions that were committed last year. There are civil wars that are being waged in so many countries with the accompanying murders and rapes. We are aware of the increasing sex trade industry particularly as that industry impacts minors. We are aware of the vast poverty around the world that brings with it hunger, disease, and crime. And, so often poverty is a result not of lack of resources but greed, corruption, and the un-just distribution of resources.

We are called, as the season of Epiphany taught us, to be “salt and light” in this sinful and fractured world. We were also reminded that the call upon our lives is a life of vulnerability through rejecting violence, embracing love even of our enemies, of absolute truthfulness, and by finding our security not in worldly pursuit and pleasures but in the faithfulness of God – the rock on which we can build our foundation.

Lent then calls us to examine our foundation. We can build our foundation on money, prestige, self-indulgence, or even preaching, healing or wonder-working in Christ’s name. These are not a foundation for life let alone the Kingdom of God. Our foundation must be built on the faithfulness of the Father’s love given to us daily.

The disciplines of Lent are not to toughen us up spiritually. Prayer, Mediation on Scripture, and fasting draw us from the “stuff” of mortality and remind us of our immortality in Christ. They call us for a season to re-examine ourselves and determine if our perspective on life is one of eternity. We may fool others, but God cannot be deceived. He sees the heart as it truly is – with its motives, intentions, desires, and choices.

And, so I call each of us in the CEC to a Holy Lent. Because of the leading of the Holy Spirit we will all come to its conclusion ready to live out the Paschal Mystery in a deeper realization of His love.

Under His mercy,

+Craig, Patriarch

This year’s Southeastern Province Convocation for both clergy and laity is being held June 15-17. The convocation will be held at the Ramada Plaza Beach Resort in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Details of the convocation are forthcoming. However, this is a perfect time to go ahead and reserve your room for the event.

According to Archdeacon Brent Keith of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, a block of 70 rooms have been reserved for the convocation. Prices per night is as follows:

Beachfront Two Doubles: $159.00
Poolside Two Doubles: $151.00
Courtyard Two Doubles: $135.00
Parking Lot Two Doubles: $127.00

These rates are also available for three nights before or after the convocation making it possible to turn this event into a wonderful vacation for the family. You may book the event using the following information below. Be sure to tell them you will be attending to Southeast Province Convocation to be sure to get the reduced room rates.

Ramada Plaza Beach Resort
1500 Miracle Strip Parkway SE
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548
Toll Free 800-472-1790
Hotel Operator 850-243-9161 x 7561
Fax 850-244-5763

The March edition of Church of the Messiah’s monthly newsletter is available here.

March Church of the Messiah E-News

This Sunday, March 6, for the first time ever on a Sunday morning, we will explain why we do all the things that we do on a Sunday morning service.  We will skip the sermon and in stead the service will pause at various points in the service while one of our priests takes a moments and explains the in’s and out’s and up’s and down’s of what is going on.

This is a fantastic opportunity to bring friends to Church, especially if they have come before and had questions that you could not answer.  There will be a special annotated bulletin with additional explanations, room to take notes, and even a glossary. 

Contact the Church office for further information.

The Single Moms’ Bible Study that had been planned for March 5 has been postponed until March 12 in order to accomodate to Inner City Mission Trip.  The meeting will begin at the usual time and will return to the first Saturday of the month in April.  For more information contact Lizz Looker.

On Sunday, Father David announced that he wanted to see Church of the Messiah have 100% participation in our Inner City Mission Trip this coming weekend, March 4th-5th.  The response was wonderful!  We have four trays of food donated, three people volunteered to go along (including our much needed female chaperon!), and we received at least four scholarships already (and the count is not finished yet)!  There are still opportunities available.

• We still need volunteers–we have eleven volunteers and we would like to have twenty people helping.  You can come Friday night and stay through the whole time or you can come for any part of the event.
• We still need food–we need to feed around 70 people and we have food for forty right now.  Make a caserole, buy a frozen lasagna, make a run to Sam’s, BJ’s, or Costco’s and pick up some treats for the kids.
• We still need money–We’ve already received four scholarships, but it is $39 per participant, not just per child.  If we are taking twenty people, we need $780!

You can still participate.  Click here to see how and view testimonies.   Call Fr. Scott or Lizz Looker for more info. 

Remember: Our Goal is 100% Participation!

Father David announced that he wants 100% of the congregation participating in the upcoming Late Night at His Warehouse event.  Friday and Saturday, March 4 – 5, our Youth Group will be ministering in downtown Jacksonville in some of the poor neighborhoods in the city.  The Youth Group needs your help.  There are three ways you can participate:

1. You can give money–the cost is $39 per participants and we would love to scholarship students;
2. You can send food–we need to bring enough food to feed between 50 and 70 people Friday night;
3. You can come along–We would love to have twenty people attending and ministering this weekend.  Our Youth Group has eight students; we need your help.  We particularly need female chaperons.  

100% participation means that we need YOU to do SOMETHING! 

Contact Fr. Scott or Lizz Looker to volunteer!

On Sunday, February 20, Fr. David announced the resignation of Brian and Amy Sewell and the youth pastors of Church of the Messiah.  He also announced that Fr. Scott and Lizz Looker would be the interim youth pastors until further notice.   Fr. Scott stated that all of the planned activities, including the steak sale deliveries from Longhorn Steakhouse and the Late Nights @ His Warehouse, would be continuing as planned.  The Youth Group will be meeting Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 at the Looker home.  One of Fr. Scott’s first actions was creating a youth group web-site.  That site may be found by clicking here.  It will also be in the links sidebar from now on.   On Sunday evening,  Lizz wrote on Facebook, “We are so excited to be named as the interim youth pastors. We have so many great plans!”

Did you ever wonder why some people kneel at times during our service?  Do you want to know when you are supposed to make the Sign of the Cross or, more importantly, why we make the Sign of the Cross at all?  What’s the deal with the incense?  Most importantly, what does any of our worship have to do with the Bible?

Sunday, March 6, Church of the Messiah will be having an Instructed Eucharist.  This means that we will “skip” the sermon that day and in stead we will have someone “narrate” all of the actions taken during the service.  We will explain why we do what we do, what it has to do with the Bible, and answer all of the above questions and more! There will be a special bulletin that will include narrated comments.

This will be a great service to bring a friend and an excellent outreach opportunity.  If you’ve ever brought a friend and they had questions you could not answer, invite them back and tell them they’ll get their answers on March 6!

There is a whole lot going on this weekend at Church of the Messiah!

This Saturday, from 12:30-3:30, we have our annual Fish Fry at the Arlington Senior Citizens’ Center (see below for a map and directions).  Bring a side dish or a dessert and the church will provide the dinner-ware, fish, and, a new addition by special request HUSH-PUPPIES!  There will also be hotdogs for the kids and land-lubbers.  Bring your friends to this wonderful event!

Then, Sunday, immediately after Church, we will be having our Annual Congregational Meeting.  We will be reviewing last year’s budget, presenting the 2011 budget and discussing future plans for Church of the Messiah.  The meeting should be over in less than an hour. 

We’ll see you this weekend!