Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

If you were with us on Ash Wednesday, you heard this said to you as Fr. Ed McNeill and I imposed ashes upon your forehead. If you missed it—sorry! You missed a powerful time of worship and encouragement.  The season of Lent begins with a stark reminder of our mortality, and therefore our cause to reflect over the manner and priorities of our lives. This theme is balanced by the theme of God’s triumphant Grace.  This season is a gift. We willingly choose to allow more time and space for the Holy Spirit in our lives. We ask Him to examine our hearts, reveal changes that should be made, express real sorrow over sin and real resolve to move forward in the changes God convinces us to employ.

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Inspiring, Fun, Strategic, Convicting, Hopeful, and Snowed-in for 3 days, wow, lots happened in Greensboro, NC during the last week of January. In many ways I am still gathering my thoughts from the conference. Here are some highlights.

One significant message I came away with came from Archbishop Kolini.  He ended his sermon during the opening worship service and also a tribute session for him hosted by the Mission, with this question, “Will you obey the Lord?” He speaks from personal experience and the personal experiences of many Rwandan and other African priests and bishops. They have been shot at, threatened and some killed in service to Christ and his Church. “Will you obey the Lord?” is no simple question. Instead, will we obey when we lose a building, see a program fail, lose members or gain others? Will we obey in the face of opposition? Will we obey as the Lord guides, for it is His church into which we are called and given roles to play?  This is what ++Emmanual Kolini asks. Will you sacrifice your finances, time, convenience, and priorities—whatever it may be—to obey the Lord?

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A new year brings new things.  I wonder what you hope for in 2010? Are you someone who likes to set goals and resolutions for the year? Or has maybe enough missed resolutions dampened your enthusiasm? A good friend of mine went through a health-scare last year, and since his recovery he has found “new resolve” to accomplish things that just sat on the back burners of his life over the years. I like that! I’m going to do the same—for me that means more exercise, more reflection time, and more planned activities with family. Read more…

Dear Friends,

At last Christmas is here! How remarkable it is that God “comes to us.” For love, Jesus was born so all the world could know God and be free from the way the bonds of sin alter our identity and purpose in life. Instead, God has love, grace, and purpose for us to experience as we follow the Lord in faith. What a better life we are offered!

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Dear Friends,

The season of Advent, the four-week period prior to Christmas, causes Christians to reflect over the coming of Jesus to the world. In readings and prayers, we are reminded not only of the Incarnation, but of Jesus coming again in the future. I wonder what it means for you to prepare your heart to receive Jesus afresh in faith?

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Please join us for our Christmas Eve Services on December 24. These will be joint evening services with St. James Anglican Church.

- 4:30 p.m. Family service with pageant at Camden Community Center
- 8:15 p.m. candlelight service at Christ the King

There will also be a Christmas Day service at Deacon Carole Anderson’s home at 10 a.m. Please contact Dn. Carole at carole@ctkanglican.com.

Dear Friends,

What a Sunday we had on Nov 15! Many thanks go to those of you, family and friends, who made the trek to Modesto. I am grateful for your encouragement and support for my ordination as a presbyter (priest) in the AMiA. I also want to express my gratitude to Bishop Sandy Greene and his wife, Gigi, as well as Canon Missioner Keith Andrews, leader of our Network, for their willingness to travel from out of state to continue to build the Anglican Mission’s presence in Northern California. What a set of anniversaries we can now celebrate– the same week in November marks my ordination as priest, the week my family joined the church, and our parish’s anniversary (15 years and counting as “Christ the King”).

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As Thanksgiving approaches, I am reminded to pause to consider all that I have to be thankful for in my life. I’m not going to list any of them in this blog! I’m going to save that for next time. Instead, in one of the shortest blog entries you’ll ever read, I want to encourage you to do the same.  Each day, think of at least two things for which are you are thankful-and then pay attention to how your perspective begins to be influenced by this simple discipline.

We will host our annual Thanksgiving service this year, and we’re inviting St. James to join us at Orchard. During our service, extended time will be given for you to share your testimonies and remembrances of Thanksgiving to God. I look forward to this service!

Foundations make sure structures stand up well, if the foundation and what was built upon it were built well. My home has a concrete slab foundation under two rooms, and the rest of the house sits on post and pier units. During the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta quake 20 years ago, there was no damage to the home, so it was built well enough (Yes, we have been in the house that long!)

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You’re receiving a special edition of the CTK Anglican eNews because our parish retreat is scheduled for this weekend, and I want you to be able to plan appropriately. In this newsletter, you’ll see a link to Redwood Christian Park. From their website you can find just about any information you need. Also included is a menu for the weekend, a link to our agenda, an address and phone for the RCP, as well as a map. Parents have already received an email with regard to the agenda for the children.

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