Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ!
Thank you so much for offering your time in prayer for the Cathedral of Saint James during the Easter season. I am amazed and encouraged by the number of people who agreed to spend time each day in prayer for the mission of our Church and in discernment with the disciples asking, “What now?”
As I said in Sunday’s sermon, the answer now is the answer then: Jesus himself coming to us, breathing the Holy Spirit upon us and saying, “If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” The Church throughout the ages has interpreted this, along with the Great Commission in Matthew 28, as a call to carry on God’s work of reconciliation in our congregations, communities, and throughout the world. The Book of Common Prayer clearly defines our mission as “restoring all people to unity with God and one another in Christ” and identifies prayer, worship, proclaiming the Gospel, and promoting justice, peace, and love as actions in pursuit of our mission.
In the same vein, I also mentioned the Five Marks of Christian Mission held up by the Anglican Communion:
· To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
· To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
· To respond to human need by loving service
· To seek to transform unjust structures of society
· To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
Taken with the catechism on mission in the Book of Common Prayer (p. 855), these marks of mission provide a very firm foundation for our prayers and discernment in asking “What now?” We are a community of faith rooted in downtown South Bend, living and working throughout Michiana. What now? What is our witness? What is our work? To what ends are we investing in making our building open and accessible in this location? How can we make our mark in Christian mission in this generation?
Let’s begin there, by placing our questions, our curiosity, and our willingness before God each day on behalf of the Cathedral of Saint James. The task is to carry this on through Pentecost, which falls this year on May 27. In the meantime, feel free to post thoughts, reflections and insights online and to have conversations within (and beyond!) our community of faith. I’ll try to put at least one get-together on the calendar so we can meet face-to-face for prayer and conversation. And I’ll be in touch with you again next Tuesday!
Grace & Peace be with you!
Fr. Brian
