Fr. Dwight Longenecker: Disturbed by the Presidential Election?

Every once in awhile Fr. Longenecker gets it right. If you are a Christian, remember that Jesus is Lord. See what you think.

So I not only want to vote local, I want to live local and love local. If there are social problems, I want to get involved at the parish level. If there are economic problems I want to see what we can do in our own parish to help the poor, the unemployed, the needy and the immigrants. If there are family problems I want to get involved in helping to solve them at the local, parish level.

I advise you to do the same. Do not fret about the national elections. Do not fret about whatever corrupt, ignoramus gets elected to the White House.

Live local. Love local. Worship local.

This is where life is real. This is what matters. This is where you can roll up your sleeves and make a difference.

Get involved in loving God and loving your neighbor here and now where you live and where you are.

Leave the corrupt politicians to their devices, hope for the best, expect the worst.

Pray and don’t worry.

Read it all.

Regis Nicoll: Wilberforce for Good

For those of you who do not know William Wilberforce, he was an 18th century Anglican who, along with the Clapham Sect (a group of Christians), almost single-handedly brought about the abolition of slavery in England, a remarkable accomplishment. I agree with the author’s thesis. As Christ’s body, we’ve got a lot of work to do on a lot of fronts, starting with our own house. See what you think.

When the behaviors and beliefs of Christians mirror those of their unbelieving neighbors, it is evidence that the Church is a product of the culture it is called to transform, and that instead of producing disciples, it has been turning out “belonging nonbelievers,” if not “functional atheists.”

So, if you want find fault for the recent Court ruling, look no further than the doorstep of the Church and a decades-long ethos of non-discipleship Christianity. The thing is, the solution to our national condition starts at the same threshold.

No one knew that better than the British abolitionist William Wilberforce.

In the eighteenth century, Great Britain was the great world power, as is the United States today. But it was also a country marred by rampant alcoholism, prostitution, political corruption, and the social injustices of hazardous factories, sixteen-hour workdays, and child labor. Crime, vice, and corruption were so bad in London that the city earned the epithet, “the devil’s drawing room.” On top of that, Britain was the world leader in the slave trade, a moral failing that Wilberforce sought to correct.

As a young parliamentarian, Wilberforce realized that while politicians and their policies bore responsibility for the execrable conditions of the day, they were not the cause of those conditions. The cause was the moral decline of society, which was owed, in large part, to the failure of the Church.

At the time, the Church of England was in full retreat from historical Christianity. Pew and pulpit were marked by nominal-to-heterodox beliefs. Lay non-attendance was widespread, as was clerical neglect of congregational care.

Read it all.

Bishop Roger Ames: The God Who Makes Himself Known

Sermon delivered on Easter 6C, Sunday, May 1, 2016, at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Westerville, OH.

Bishop Roger Ames is our guest preacher today. There is no written text for today’s sermon. Click here to listen to the audio podcast of Bishop Ames’ sermon. It’ll be worth your while.

Lectionary texts: Acts 16.6-15; Psalm 67.1-7; Revelation 21.10, 21.22-22.5; John 14.23-29.