Northern Plains Anglicans seeks to connect treasure hunters. Back in the late 1800s, William Hobart Hare travelled about by horse and buggy sharing the treasure of Anglican Christianity:
- God's good news in Jesus Christ, carried in the Holy Bible and ancient forms of Christian worship and ministry
- Faith that does not reject reason, but blesses and completes it
- God's love for all "races, tribes, languages and nations"
- The Book of Common Prayer as a great spiritual resource, helping people gather in prayer with or without clergy
For a long time, The Episcopal Church was the steward of this treasure. Missionary clergy and people, both white and Lakota/Dakota, worked together in witness to Jesus Christ.
Sadly, over time, The Episcopal Church lost the treasure. The good news of Jesus in the Bible was replaced by passing political fads. Faith and reason gave way to emotionalism and junk science. Traditions of strong local leadership gave way to "one size fits all" models from New York.
The Episcopal Diocese exists largely on paper today. Churches are closing. A proud cadre of Lakota/Dakota clergy are dying off, without new leaders being lifted up from their communities. Trendy causes from coastal urban centers are talked up while real Plains issues are ignored.
Northern Plains Anglicans has no illusion about fixing The Episcopal Church. But Anglicanism is a worldwide Christian movement, not just a tiny, eccentric American sect. Tens of millions of people are finding spiritual treasure all over the world via Anglican Christianity.
So, here we are. Let's bring back this lost treasure and share it with people all over the Plains. Welcome!
2 comments:
As the 'newest Anglican priest', and not only just the newest in the state of South Dakota, ordained 13 May 2007, in Casper, let me say that I am here 'to serve and protect', if many police departments across the country will allow me the use of their signage.
To serve the risen Lord of Glory and His people; and to protect the faith once delivered to the saints...Oh, I know, that's what bishops are supposed to do, but when they abrogate their responsibilities, it falls to the next down the line to pick up the standard and carry on.
I am here, I am ready, I will do my best!
Amen!
Post a Comment