If I’m perfectly honest, the General Confession is possibly the single greatest reason that I prefer the 1928 Book to the 1979 Book. And I will get into why that is a little further on. In his Rule, St. Benedict lists twelve steps on the topsy-turvy ladder of humility (chapter seven). The first of these…
So, a while back I embarked on a project to talk through the Eucharistic Liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer, but I quickly abandoned it. I’m not even going to link to it. I was trying to go through systematically, with some theological and historical rigor. What I realized is that projects like that…
After giving his talk, the venerable old Dominican friar came and sat near me, sipped his beer, and began to ask me questions about myself. Before long, it became clear to him that I was not Catholic but Anglican. As seems almost inevitable among intelligent Catholics, the discovery that I am an intelligent Protestant with…
Most everyone fears a lack of manpower in the ministry of the Church – by which people usually mean insufficient manpower for their houses of worship to run their programs. The Christian’s priority, however, must be the furtherance of the gospel and training in righteousness in its many aspects. Not the success or even the survival of…
Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” – I Cor. 12:3 We must consider two venues when we think of this basic confession of Christian Faith (Jesus is…
I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.” When I was in college I went to Daytona Beach over Spring Break with Campus Crusade for Christ. The goal was to do beach evangelism, and they trained us how to…
Second language learners of English are often struck by the arcana of pronunciation (such as the legion of ways that the cluster “ough” can be vocalized), the subtleties of vocabulary connotation, and the vestigial remains of the Indo-European case and conjugation system. Behind much of the difficulty of acquiring a native facility with English lies…
Since I was a child, the psalms have been a part of my devotional life. My mother read us a psalm and chapter of Proverbs every day before school. When I was old enough to do my devotions privately, I continued the practice. In my sophomore year of high school, I wrote a pop/rock setting…
A communiqué from this week’s primatial gathering in Canterbury addressed the status of the Anglican Church in North America thus: The consideration of the required application for admission to membership of the Communion of the Anglican Church of North America was recognised as properly belonging to the Anglican Consultative Council. The Primates recognise that such…
TO-DAY every thing preaches, in Heaven and in earth; And all preach the same thing; “Come and worship.” The Shepherds preach; For they have not done telling of Christmas night. Bethlehem preaches; For it shows Him born of a Virgin, And born where the Prophet said He should be. The Angels preach, By the memory…