I returned from Jerusalem last Saturday and continue to reflect on (and recover from) the trip.
The ten day tour was incredible. We were blessed to have as our guide the Rector of Christ Church, Jerusalem–The Rev. Dr. David Peleggi, a man steeped in the geography, history, culture and languages of the Holy Land–all of which impact our understanding of Scripture and theology. I trust that the blessing of the tour will be reflected in my subsequent teaching and preaching. A remarkable and blessed time.
Then it was onto GAFCON (the Global Anglican Future Conference), where nearly 2000 Anglicans from over 50 countries gathered to worship, pray, study, and network together on the theme, “Proclaiming Christ Faithfully to the Nations’. Gafcon is a renewal movement within our communion representing the vast majority of Anglicans throughout the world. It has a deep love of our church and of the Gospel and is -in my opinion- a means of grace in the hands of God for our communion at this crucial moment in history. I commend to you the ‘Statement’ that was crafted by the conference, which you can see by clicking here. Praise God for the gathering and pray for the leadership (and especially the nine new networks formed at the conference) as we seek God’s direction for the future.
We turn now towards the summer (Can you believe Sunday is July 1!). I ask your prayers for David Watts, our new Assistant to the Rector, as he prepares to take on his responsibilities by August 1. David will be in town next week to seek appropriate housing.Ppray that we will lead him well in this search.
If you (and your family) are preparing for some vacation time, I wish you well. Remember this, the christian life consists of a rhythm of worship-work-and-rest. When the constraints of ‘work’ are lessened, we have the opportunity to deepen our roots in ‘worship’ and ‘rest’. Plan now to build into your vacation some time to be still in God’s presence.
Looking forward to worshiping with you all on Sunday.
