Ecclesia Anglicana. 10 August 2014 FEATURE PARISH OUR HERATAGE. St James Anglican Church - Gloucester Virginia. The Venerable Bede

Transcription

1 Ecclesia Anglicana 10 August 2014 OUR HERATAGE The Venerable Bede FEATURE PARISH St James Anglican Church - Gloucester Virginia ( ) The homely monk from Jarrow a small town in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, is considered to have been the best known and perhaps most influential writer in Western Europe from the 8 th to the 12 th centuries. His prolific writing and breadth of knowledge provided the lone beacon for future historians of the dark ages. His most valuable work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, is one of the world s greatest historical works, a rich tapestry of information woven together from myriad sources. He also took the trouble, unusual for his day, of differentiating between fact and hearsay. He compiled the first martyrology of Saints lives and expounded on other on unrelated subjects, such as science and grammar. Although most of his works were penned in Latin, he was the first known writer of English pose. Wide though his compass of scholarship was, in his lifetime be probably never ventured beyond Northumbria. In the monk s own words I have devoted my energies to the study of the Scriptures, observing monastic discipline, and singing the daily services in church; study, teaching and writing have always been my delight. From the early age of seven he was educated at local monasteries. At Jarrow he became a monk and priest before spending the rest of his life there. Bede wrote the Ecclesiastical History at a time when Christianity was still a relatively new faith to the mixed Anglo-Saxons of Britain, and he protrays it as a unifying force. He is conscious of the debt owed to the Irish monks, such as Columba and Aidan, who imported their Celtic brand of the faith, and he fondly contrasts their holiness with the slothfulness of his compatriots. Bede s personal qualities of humility and precision are apparent in his work, so too are his prejudices since: he clearly preferred Orthodox Roman liturgy to any tradition of the Celtic church. His history is were the first known to use Anno Domini A.D. in dating. The title Venerable, was given to be different by a ninth century Synod After the Revolution, legislation was passed that removed Virginia s church property from the Church of England. In 1802 the Abingdon Glebe was taken by Gloucester County and kept for use by the Peasley Free School. It was sold after 1870 with the proceeds going to the school system of Gloucester County. The Glebe house itself was allegedly operated as an ordinary by the county. The house was later acquired by the Robins family. In 1902 it was bought by the Lamberth s who largely restored the property and in 1950 added the current outbuildings. In 1970 the Abingdon Glebe house was placed on the register of Virginia Historic Landmarks. In the late 1980 s the Glebe was bought by the late William M. Ridick III, who continued restoration of the house and farm. In 2006, the Abingdon Glebe had gone full circle. Upon his death, Mr. Riddick bequeathed the historic Glebe and land to St. James Anglican Church. The 65 acre property is still a working farm. Priest in Charge Father Kevin Sweeney Fr. Kevin was ordained to the priesthood in November 2006 and to the diaconate in September 2005 after completing his theo- 1

2 -logical Institute. He has an undergraduate degree in business from Washington and Lee University. Most recently Fr Kevin served as curate at All Saints Anglican Church in Charlottesville and as vicar of St. Andrews Appomattox Anglican Church in Appomattox. During his time in Appomattox, Fr. Kevin did chaplaincy work at the Blue Ridge Christian Home St Albans Cathedral - Oviedo, Florida Father Ralph Waterhouse - Dean Under the direction of Michael Miller St Albans has introduced a music program designed to enable greater participation through the presentation of more user friendly musical scores. Any and all who wish to benefit from this program are encouraged to contact the Cathedral at (401) for more information. St Peters - Waynsville, North Carolina Father Michael Bolt PARISH NEWS Father Michael and his Warden Janette Miller, are the Anglican representatives in the inter faith Project Growing a Community. On any communal property that can be accessed the project plants, cares for, and this fall will harvest food for the needy in Maggie Valley North Carolina. Along with their vegetable and potato gardens this fall the group will plant Apple and Cherry trees. St Barnabas Anglican Church - Dunwoody, Georgia Bishop Chad Jones / Father Mat Harlow July 27 th saw our 3 rd annual Hymn Sing. The Hymn Sing was attended by parishioners from around the deanery and through special outreach by residents at the assisted living center adjacent to St. Barnabas. On August 1 st, the Youth Group held their first lock-in at the church. It was a time of fun and fellowship but also of worship. The Youth participated in the offices of Evening Prayer and then before packing up to leave they said Morning Prayer. Board Games, Video Games, and Movies were played and watched throughout the night St Michael the Archangel, Charlotte, NC. Father Rich Bakley Bishop Grundorf presented a Logos House Certificate of Completion to Arthur Walker of St Michael the Archangel, Charlotte, NC. Arthur has been approved for Ordination to the Sacred Order of Deacons to be held August 23rd at 11:00am. All are invited. St Georges - Ocala, Florida Bishop Arthur Rushlow Saint George Anglican Church, Ocala, Florida became a ministry partner with Stephen Ministries in the fall of 2013, and is now preparing to set aside their first Care Givers. The relationship with Stephen Ministries began when three individuals attended an introduction meeting in Tavares, Florida in October, The introduction consisted of four hours of presentations by various individuals at various levels within the Stephen Ministry program. Stephen Ministries is a world-wide program which trains Parish members to provide one-to-one Christian care to hurting people in and around the Parish. Originating in 1975, the Stephen Series is a complete system for training and organizing laypeople. Stephen caregivers receive 50 hours of training in Christian caregiving. The first class of nine Stephen caregivers was commissioned on Sunday, August 3, Caregivers initially commit to two years of service, but after those years many recommit to serve additional years. The Saint George Parish family is looking forward to having this additional ministry. St Philips - Pinellas Park, Florida Fr. John Poole November 2013 saw the formation of the Tampa Bay Chapter of Forward in Faith, with Father John serving as its Coordinator. Sixty-seven people were in attendance at this first meeting - 2 Bishops - 9 Priests - 56 Laity. The next meeting is scheduled for Fall. 2

3 ACCORDING TO A RECENT GALLUP POLL Mississippi is the most religious state in America, according to a new Gallup Poll, with 61% of its population falling into the category of "very religious". According to Gallup, people are "very religious" if they attend religious services either every week, or almost every week and with identifying religion as being an important part of their daily lives. At the bottom of the table is Vermont, where only 22% of the population fall into the "very religious" bracket. Across the USA, 41.4% of the population fall into the "very religious" grouping, while 29.2% are considered "nonreligious", seldom attending religious services and listing religion as unimportant to their daily lives. Vermont tops the listings for the "nonreligious" group (56%), with New Hampshire and Maine following close behind with 51% and 45% "nonreligious" respectively. The remaining 29.4% fall into the "moderately religious" bracket. They either attend weekly services but don't list religion as important to their daily life, or they do consider religion important to their daily life, but they don't attend weekly services. The state with the largest "moderately religious" block in the US is West Virginia with 34% fitting into that category. Delaware and South Dakota come second with 33% each. In the five years between 2008 and 2013, religiosity in the US has remained fairly constant at around 40% being "very religious", with 2013 showing a slight increase of 1.3% when compared to There was a more noticeable 1.7% drop in the number of non-religious Americans in 2013 compared to 2012, bringing that number to below 30% for the first time since The data was gathered through more than 174,000 interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking in More than 500 interviews were conducted in each state and 442 in the District of Columbia. Vermont is also tracked in Gallup's 'State of the States' polling data as the most liberal state in the US, with 32.4% of the population describing their political beliefs as liberal. Only the District of Columbia comes in higher, with 38.1% calling themselves liberal. By contrast, Mississippi is both the second most conservative and the least moderate state in the US, with 47.9% of the population identifying as conservative, and only 31.6% declaring themselves to be political moderates. Wyoming is the only state more right wing than Mississippi, with 51.4% declaring themselves to be conservative. The findings echo those of the American Bible Society's survey of the most 'Bible-minded' cities in the US, which found that the most religious states tended to be in the south, while the north east and the west were home to some of the least religious. However it was the Tennessee city of Chattanooga, rather than any city in Mississippi, that claimed the top spot for religiosity in their listing. The highest ranking Mississippi city was Jackson, coming in ninth place. Bottom place for religiosity in their survey was tied between Providence, Rhode Island and New Bedford, Massachusetts. Vermont's lowest ranked cities were at 92 nd place, Burlington and Plattsburgh. Gallup has suggested many possible causes for the breakdown of religiosity across the various region. It points out that the southern US is marked by high numbers of Protestants, and surveys have shown that Protestants are generally more religious in ways that can be marked in statistically studies. It also notes that Utah's large and highly religious Mormon population makes it an anomaly in the western states, with none of its neighbouring states coming close to its 60% of "very religious". The top ten most religious states in the US are: Mississippi - 61% Utah - 60% Alabama - 57% Louisiana - 56% South Carolina - 54% Tennessee - 54% Georgia - 52% Arkansas 51% North Carolina 50% Oklahoma - 49% The ten least religious: New York 34% Hawaii 32% Connecticut 32% 3

4 Washington 32% Nevada 32% Oregon 31% Massachusetts 28% Maine 27% New Hampshire 24% Vermont 22% All Souls Church Celebrates 25 Years All Souls Church, Asheboro, North Carolina, celebrated its 25 th anniversary on Sunday, July 13 th with a special Mass and a birthday party. All Souls which is located on Purgatory Mountain some five miles south of Asheboro began with services at St. Joseph s Catholic Church. About three months later they moved to a motel, followed by a period of time at a historical building, then to a rented building before moving the rented building to the present location some twenty years ago. The present church building was completed late in 2011 and dedicated by Bishop Grundorf in April, The first Masses were celebrated by a supply priest from Chapel Hill in North Carolina. Father Glenn Spencer was the first priest in charge followed by Joseph s are still members today, Gilbert Brim, Melinda Brown and Col. Guy Troy. Over half of the current membership has been members for more than twenty years. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Brewer with Father Bakley giving the sermon and Father Emerson reading the Gospel. Following the Mass we all enjoyed a great feast and a good time. Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred - let me sow love; where there is injury - pardon; where there is doubt - faith; where there is despair - hope; where there is darkness - light; and where there is sadness - joy. O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled - as to console; To be understood - as to understand; To be loved - as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; Home delivery coupon and, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying - that we are born to eternal life If you would like a copy of Ecclesia Anglicana delivered to your home please complete the following coupon, and mail a check in to of $10.00 Ecclesia Anglicana 4409 Sawyer Rd, Sarasota, Florida, Name Tel No: Street number Street City\town State ZIP 4

5 5