R.J. Rushdoony's book, Messianic Character of American Education, is discussed in this February 2019 book club meeting. Buy the Book: here. Rushdoony's study tells us an important part of American history: exactly what has public education been trying to accomplish? Before the 1830s and Horace Mann, no...
It has always been the practice for priest, servers, and congregation to face Liturgical East for the worship service. Why the insistence on an Eastward-facing position for both priest and congregation? From early on, Christians adopted the Jewish practice of praying toward Eden, in the East (Gen. 2:8), the direction from which Ezekiel saw...
Last week I met with Andrea Schwartz and Dr. Shawn Mitchell on Chalcedon's Out Of This World Podcast to discuss, "How Can I Effectively Share My Faith with Unbelievers?" We discuss what Dr. Mitchell describes as the "Four Questions" every Christian should be able to answer. Listen to the podcast on Chalcedon's website here: https://chalcedon.edu/resources/audio/how-can-i-effectively-share-my-faith-with-unbelievers Very few churches teach and equip their members on...
As I prepare to offer Holy Communion at St. Paul's for Thanksgiving Day, I have prepared a few PDFs of my favorite Thanksgiving hymns to share. In the Early Church, the Lord’s Supper came to be known as the Eucharist. This is based on the giving of thanks (in the Greek, eucharisteo) by our Lord at the time of its...
Traditional Anglican Prayerbook Service Music - 1928/1940 Usage This is the chant tune used by St. Paul's Anglican Church in response to the Ten Commandments as they are read in the 1928 Holy Communion Service. The Rubrics begin with: Then shall the Priest, turning to the People, rehearse distinctly The Ten Commandments; and the People, still kneeling, shall, after every Commandment, ask...
In our tradition, we call individuals up for various occasional blessings during the Holy Communion service. In our parish, it happens during the period between the recitation of the Nicene Creed and the sermon - right after I announce the special intentions for that day's service. As an ordained priest, I offer a blessing as a "sacramental" that prepares the...
The most solemn prayer in the Divine service is the Prayer of Consecration, (p. 80-81 of the 1928 BCP), in which our Lord Jesus uses the lips and hands of his priest to bless and break the bread, and bless the cup of wine, and we hear our Lord’s own words of institution. Here we must offer ourselves to God,...
According to Barna, less than 8% of millennials 'don't attend church' because it is "out of date." Therefore, 9 out of 10 Millennials are not interested in how relevant or contemporary your church is. This is from the Barna Group's 125 page report : "Making Space for Millennials" produced in partnership with Cornerstone Knowledge Network. Commenting on this data, Brady Shearer of...
A step-by-step guide on how to use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer to pray the Daily Office of Morning Prayer. Buy a 1928 BCP: https://amzn.to/2GPNKAw Printable PDF of the Morning Prayer: 1928_bcp_morning_prayer Printable PDF of the Lectionary: Lectionary.pdf I mentioned using the Collect for the "21st Sunday After Trinity" (pg. 218) in the place of the Declaration of Absolution: "GRANT, we beseech thee, merciful...
In the 53rd chapter, the prophet Isaiah writes: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." This sentiment is echoed by St. John: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." This...
