Anglican

The Ecclesiastical Pickle If you’ve been following along, you know that my resignation from ordained ministry in the ACNA back in November 2023 turned into something of an ecclesiastical pickle earlier this year. The short version: I had resigned from the ACNA while explicitly stating that I was not renouncing my Holy Orders. My bishop at the time, Todd Hunter, gave me a letter confirming my good standing and my request “to resign from ministerial duties while remaining in Holy Orders.” But when Bishop Todd began preparing for retirement, he reached out to clarify whether that framing was canonically correct. His successor, Bishop Jeff Bailey, had questions. ...

It’s been brought to my attention that the description of how I resigned from ordained ministry in the Anglican Church in North America in November 2023 might not be canonically accurate. ❗ Important UDPATE: As of 2026-01-09, I’ve asked that we clarify my November 2023 resignation from ministry in the ACNA by just sticking to the exact wording of the ACNA Canons. No extra “this is/isn’t different from renouncing Holy Orders” qualifications needed. The Problem: Resigning is Renouncing? In November 2023, here’s how I put it (emphasis added to highlight the parts now in question): ...

I’m pondering the “don’t stir the pot” reaction that reliably happens every time we publish something on women’s ordination—most especially anything in favor of women’s ordination—over at Anglican Compass, where I’m the Managing Editor. (Note: This post is not a subtweet of anyone in particular. It’s just me thinking out loud about a phenomenon that keeps occurring.) Almost every time we post something about women’s ordination, a controversial issue has been whether or not doing so needlessly “stirs the pot,” as in “causes trouble, unrest, dissent.” ...

I’m reading my way through the new (4th) edition of Robert Bly’s classic The Copywriter’s Handbook. On pages 33–36, Bly offers “38 Model Headlines for Your ‘Swipe File.’” Here are some headlines ideas that came to mind, all geared to an Anglican context (due to my work at AnglicanCompass.com). Why are Anglicans so angry? How do I use the Book of Common Prayer? How can I become an Anglican? What do Anglicans believe? Why “Clarity & Charity” is the best way forward for the Church in a pluralistic age Announcing an ancient way to reclaim your days and years for God Don’t become an Anglican! You can now do the Daily Office with just this booklet and a Bible The 5 Anglican books you should own NOW Using the BCP—Once difficult, now easy A feast for the senses: The richness of Anglican worship “I was about to give up on the Church when I was introduced to the Anglican tradition” FREE booklet helps you pray How to avoid the biggest mistakes you can make when visiting an Anglican church The WORST Article in the Thirty-Nine Articles. Hint: It’s NOT what you think! Anglican clergy’s best-kept secret We’re looking for people who want to leave Anglicanism better than they found it It’s never too late to start doing the Daily Office Sick of iChurch and McChurch? Give Anglicanism a try Will your church pass the Word & Sacrament test? 3 reasons why you should NOT become an Anglican Christian Why most people leave the Church—and what you can do about it Crazy as it sounds, the Daily Office could save your marriage 5 reasons why written prayers are better than extemporaneous prayers 7 questions to ask when you visit an Anglican church Now you can create a personalized discipleship plan—for FREE Where’s #27? Read the title for this piece.

The “Occasional Prayers” section of the Book of Common Prayer is a goldmine, particularly when the going gets tough. The following prayers come from the Anglican Church in North America’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer. You can view the text of the 2019 BCP here. And you can download a Word document containing all of the Occasional Prayers here. 58. FOR A PERSON IN TROUBLE OR BEREAVEMENT O merciful Father, you have taught us in your holy Word that you do not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men: Look with pity on the sorrows of your servant N. Remember him, O Lord, in mercy; nourish his soul with patience; comfort him with a sense of your goodness; lift up your countenance upon him; and give him peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ...

In the ongoing debate about women’s ordination (in the Anglican realm and beyond), I keep hearing oversimplified claims from hierarchicalists (or “complementarians,” but that’s not the most helpful term in this debate) that they have the entirety of the Bible and Church tradition on their side. Therefore, we mutualists (or “egalitarians,” but that’s not the most helpful term in this debate), it is argued, have arrived at our positions for various reasons—perhaps capitulation to liberal cultural trends and hermeneutical methods—but not because we’ve read Scripture or studied the history of the Church very carefully. ...

My Bishop, Todd Hunter, preached [an excellent, challenging sermon (“Love Your Enemies, Really?”)](https://friendsofthesavior.org/sermons/love-your-enemies-really-bishop-todd-hunter). It’s definitely worth a listen!

Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd who cares for his flock: We ask you to bestow upon your Church the gifts of the Holy Spirit in abundance, and to raise up from among us faithful and able persons called to the ministries of Deacon, Priest, and Bishop. Inspire them to spend and be spent for the sake of the Gospel, and make them holy and loving servants and shepherds of the flock for whom you shed your most precious blood. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen**.** ...

I’m getting ordained to the priesthood this Saturday, November 02. For public/posterity’s sake, I wanted to post some of the main parts of the ordination liturgy (from the ACNA’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer). The Presentation The Bishop and People sit. The Presenters, standing before the Bishop, present the Ordinand, saying Reverend Father in God, we present N.N. to be admitted to the Order of Priests. Bishop: Has he been selected in accordance with the Canons of this Church? And do you believe his manner of life to be suitable to the exercise of this ministry? ...

At this point, this is just a sketch. But I’m wondering how we Anglican Christians ought to be careful to keep our precious “via media” (“middle way”) mentality and methodology separate from what’s known as the “middle ground” fallacy. The “Via Media” According to Donald McKim in the Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, the “via media” is (Lat. “the middle way”) Term used to describe the identity of Anglicanism as a middle way between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. It was coined by John Henry Newman (1801–90) during the Oxford movement (337). ...

Over on his blog, “Non Sermoni Res,” Dr. William Witt has written several excellent essays on the topic of women’s ordination. Here’s the guide that Witt put together in order to orient readers to his essays. What I’ve done is to combine the blog posts into a single PDF, with bookmarks. Here it is: Witt_Womens-Ordination-Essays (PDF)

I became an “egalitarian” in college, before I became an Anglican in seminary. It’s taken some time for me to get used to the different contours of the women’s ordination debate within Anglicanism. Growing up, the debate was all about particular Bible verses and whether or not women could teach and preach. However, in Anglicanism, although those same questions/arguments are present, I hear much more about whether or not women can administer the sacraments as priests. ...

This sermon, on Mark 8:27-38 and James 3:1-12, was originally preached on September 16, 2018 at Christ Redeemer Anglican Church in Milwaukee, WI. Introduction Would you pray with me? O God, because without you we are not able to please you—especially in what we say!—mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts, so that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts might be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. ...

Based upon my work over at Rookie Anglican, I was asked by The Telos Collective to write a blog post about the different ways that people are coming into Anglicanism. What’s drawing them in? You can read my full post over at the Telos Collective blog, but here’s a taste: Anglican Christianity, precisely because of its weirdness, can remind us that, in the words of Brad Harper and Paul Louis Metzger in Exploring Ecclesiology, “The church is a cultural community. It is Christ’s eschatological kingdom community, itself a culture that engages other cultures from Christ’s kingdom vantage point” (p. 207). ...

Why am I an Anglican Christian? Here are 3 reasons. 1. Anglicanism as a Refuge from Fundamentalism First, for me, Anglicanism has been a refuge from fundamentalism. Now, to be sure, we do have our own fundamentalists within the Anglican Communion! But, compared to some “ingrown enclaves” I’ve experienced in my Christian upbringing, Anglicanism has been a breath of fresh air. It has been an ecclesiological space for healing as I seek to “not throw the (gospel) baby out with the (fundamentalist) bathwater.” ...