The story of St. Patrick begins with a young man named, Maewyn Succat, born not in Ireland, but in Northern Britain. When Maewyn was 16 years old, his home was invaded by Irish marauders, and he was captured, taken across the Irish Sea, and sold into slavery to a Druid chieftain. For six years, Maewyn remained in bondage to his Druid master. ...Keep Reading
If you’re like me, you participated in a Pastorate during the Fall, enjoying great fellowship and sharing Christ in meaningful ways with your fellow group members. Then suddenly, it seemed to end just as we were beginning to discover something profound. You left with a feeling of “not being done yet” (spoiler alert: you weren’t)....Keep Reading
For our fifteenth year as a church, 2019 was a big one! Much of our energy this year was given toward our Mission Abbey vision. As we dream about the church God would have us become, especially lived out on the 10 acres at 212 McClellan Road, we continue to be guided by our desire to be a people who share in the life of God for the life of the world. Developing a “Mission Abbey” is an outgrowth of that desire. ...Keep Reading
Over the past year, Celeste and I have experienced the blessing of travel, some from obligation and some for enjoyment. Since moving to Jackson eight years ago, we have noticed two major changes in our travel experiences. First, it’s no fun flying anymore, although now I have an appreciation for how the animals on the Ark felt. The other, more positive change is we no longer have a problem finding an Anglican Church to attend on Sundays. There are now over 1,000 parishes in the ACNA...Keep Reading
As we work and meet with various key players in the development of our property, we notice them inevitably making innocent comments like, “Remember that the ultimate goal in all this is to build a building,” or “At the end of the day, our goal is to build a building.” They mean no harm, of course, but we, as the church, have a responsibility to voice our reply: “With all due respect, building a building is not our ultimate goal; it’s to build the church, a people who share in the life of God for the life of the world.” Or at least we have a responsibility to remind ourselves of this in the midst of all the details and logistics entailed in such a project. A physical building is a means to an end. Let us never forget! ...Keep Reading
In conjunction with our stewardship series, All Saints is participating in a coat drive from 220 low-income students of Washington Douglas Head Start program. Please bring new or gently-used children's coats sizes infant to 8 to All Saints throughout November....Keep Reading
Did you know that diamonds aren’t rare? Last year, MIT produced a report estimating that there are about one quadrillion tons of diamonds hidden in the planet’s crust. That’s enough for every person currently alive to have over 130,000 tons of diamonds. Of course, it’s not in the interest of diamond mining companies to make diamonds so common because diamond companies operate according the same principle as the rest of the world, which is that scarcity increases value. ...Keep Reading
All of life is bittersweet. I write to you all with a balance of sadness and hopefulness for the future. Over the last month, I received a call to the care of souls and to serve as the Rector of Church of the Holy Trinity in North Augusta, SC. The sad part is leaving All Saints. We are a parish of people marked by peace, stability, good leadership, financial stability, and most of all, love for one another and those outside of our community. It’s hard to leave such a people....Keep Reading
For the last few years, our bishop would make his annual episcopal visit to our church for confirmations around All Saints’ Day, and so we would include among our Fall Pastorates an Inquirers’ Pastorate for those interested in preparing for confirmation. But over the last couple of years, your clergy has realized that we need to “bulk up” our confirmation process by including more time for catechesis. So after speaking with our bishop, we have decided to change our confirmation process. ...Keep Reading
We are not building a Mission Abbey so that we can become something we have not already been, but so we can grow into more of what God has already created us to be. To say we hope to build a Mission Abbey is to say that our intention is to develop our property as an outgrowth of the mission we currently live out: “to share in the life of God for the life of the world.”...Keep Reading