PB & J
We’ll be getting the names of the people nominated for Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church in a few hours and people have already named the demands of the task. But I have a sinking feeling that –...
View ArticleThe Barking Dog of Congregational Vitality
Congregational vitality is still on the front burner in conversations about the church. Noting that on average, 9 churches close their doors everyday, the Episcopal Church Building Fund has launched a...
View ArticleThe Real Work of Bishops
In his report from The Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops, Bishop Daniel Martins described a telling exchange: We began with another table discussion of generous length (about 30 minutes, as I...
View ArticleMethodists, The Politics of Leverage and the Future of Protestantism
Several weeks ago the bishops of the United Methodist Church concluded their deliberations on the future of the United Methodist Church. With an eye to the 2019 General Conference, the bishops have...
View ArticleShould We Even Have a National Church Convention?
Sociologist Robert Wuthnow observed some years ago that American Protestants are increasingly alienated from denominational structures. In a useful set of distinctions that may say more about the...
View ArticleSeven Reasons to Be an Episcopalian
My wife, The Reverend Natalie Van Kirk, is Rector of Saint Barnabas, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. We have been preaching a series of sermons based upon what we have called, “Questions Our Youth Are Asking.”...
View ArticleWhy worship involves more than a Rock Concert and a TED Talk
Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow...
View ArticleAn Atheist Responds to Open Communion
I am not an atheist, but as the debate in my own denomination begins to heat up around the issue of “open communion”, I have wondered what an atheist or agnostic would make of it. Here is how I...
View ArticleDoes theology really matter?
Recently my own denomination has been roiled by debate over whether we should extend Communion (or the Eucharist) to the unbaptized. There has been a surprising amount of energy around the issue,...
View Article12 Thoughts on Church Weddings
A recent Facebook post prompted a wide-ranging exchange of views on what churches should and shouldn’t do when it comes to weddings. And it revealed some serious gaps in the knowledge that even lay...
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