Archbishop Duncan Delivers State of the Church Address to Provincial Council

“The only way to explain what has happened is to speak of God’s hand and God’s favor.”

The Most Rev. Robert Duncan, Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, delivered his state of the church address to members of Provincial Council today in Ridgecrest, N.C. Archbishop Duncan reported on “remarkable developments” and cited Psalm 115:1, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy Name be the Glory…”

In speaking of Anglican 1000 and church planting as the “central work” of the Province,
Archbishop Duncan noted, “We have long ago stopped talking about where we came from and long since focused on what God has called us to do. If we are to reach America, we must plant churches.”

The Archbishop also described the Anglican Relief and Development Fund as our Church’s “global signature,” stating: “We have committed ourselves as a Province to life-change for the poorest and most underserved people of the earth, many of whom are members of the very Provinces that intervened to rescue us.”

“The only way to explain what has happened is to speak of God’s hand and God’s favor,” said Archbishop Duncan. “We have cooperated. We have been willing servants. But to God be the Glory.”

Archbishop Duncan’s full address:

ARCHBISHOP’S STATE OF THE CHURCH ADDRESS
4th Annual Provincial Council
Ridgecrest, North Carolina
6th June, A.D. 2012

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy Name be the Glory… (Psalm 115:1)

In William Shakespeare’s Henry V, the last words are the King’s:

Do we all holy rites;
Let there be sung ‘Non nobis’ and ‘Te Deum;’
The dead with charity enclosed in clay:
And then to Calais; and to England then:
Where ne’er from France arrived more happy men.
[Henry V, Act 4, Scene 8]
One of history’s great battles has been fought and miraculously won. The young king’s direction is that none “boast of this or take the praise from God which is his alone.”

Non nobis, Domine…sed nomen tuum gloriam…. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy Name be the Glory. 

We gather for our 4th Annual Provincial Council as we conclude three years of Provincial life in the Anglican Church in North America. We continue to be able to report remarkable developments. The only way to explain what has happened is to speak of God’s hand and God’s favor. We have cooperated. We have been willing servants. But to God be the Glory.

A Year of Challenge

The dis-integration of the Anglican Mission in the Americas during this past year has been a challenge for North American Anglicanism and for Global Anglicanism. What was one of our founding jurisdictions, and distanced to became a ministry partner in June 2010, has gone through a season of re-definition and loss since June 2011 that has greatly diminished the AM and that has broken the hearts of many in this Council, across this Church and around the globe, not least that of your Archbishop. What will become of the remnant “Society for Mission and Apostolic Works” we cannot know, we only know that what has emerged does not look like the Anglican Mission, the AMiA, that was once so central to who and what we became as a Church.  We continue in prayer for these now functionally separated brothers and sisters.

Two amazing things, at least, have come out of the adversity of this situation.  One is that the vision given by God to us in the Common Cause days – the vision of a biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America – is owned by more of us than ever before. The dis-integration of AMiA has produced an amazing new partner in PEARUSA (Province de L’Eglise Anglicane au Rwanda USA) whose bishops and representatives are here with us to take their place among us. 

Yesterday, the College of Bishops adopted a three-way protocol (PEAR, ACNA, and PEARUSA) that effectively gives PEARUSA participation as if it were a diocese of this Church.  Moreover, today this Council will be asked to approve a diocese in formation (called Christ the King and centered at Houston, Texas) composed of former AMiA congregations. In other parts of our two countries (Canada and the US) congregations that have been AM congregations are associating with existing dioceses of the Anglican Church in North America. Bishop Todd Hunter of Churches for the Sake of Others (C4SO) has joined us as a bishop with special mission and two of our dioceses have given “cover” to two other Anglican Mission bishops and their congregations – with a third bishop and network in conversation – as their relationships to the AM gets sorted out. 

Greater unity globally has also been achieved. The partnership of the Anglican Church in North America to the Anglican Church of Rwanda has never been closer, and it is our immense privilege to have Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje here with us as a sign of that deepened partnership. The GAFCON/FCA Primates Council has also gone far deeper in relationship because of the AMiA crisis and we are far more committed to one another personally than ever before. The Chairman of GAFCON/FCA, the Most Rev. Eliud Wabukala will be joining us later today and will preside at the Assembly’s closing Eucharist. Greatly heightened unity has emerged out of serious challenge to that unity. To God be the Glory. 

The second blessing to emerge from the AMiA crisis is a much deepened commitment to repentance and reconciliation.  PEARUSA has modeled this behavior for us all.  We owe an immense debt to Bishops Glenn and Barnum and those who have led alongside them, for breathing this into our common life in a new way. I am not faultless in the AMiA breakup. We are not faultless in the sad events of these last years. The Anglican Church in North America emerges from the challenges of this last year with repentance on our lips and a desire to restore broken relationships in our hearts. Any Church with these desires stirred up within it is a Church wonderfully blessed. To God be the glory.

We would not have asked for the relational challenges of this last year, but we emerge from these pains and confusions a much stronger, much more unified Church. It is a Romans 8:28 testimony: “God works all things together for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”

Provincial Statistics

The confusions of this last year made the gathering of provincial statistics much more difficult.  We had annual reports from all our 22 dioceses, but parochial reports came to us from only 499 congregations. That means that the Parochial Report 2011 which has been distributed to every member of Provincial Council gives hard data on only half of what we estimate to be the congregations that have been associated with this Church. Right now we cannot say, especially as it concerns the 200 or so congregations that were part of the Anglican Mission, how many congregations we are. The statistics relating to baptisms and confirmations and conversions and finances and outreach are just the statistics of the 499 reporting. So perhaps there were twice as many in actual fact. Reported ASA is 44,029. Actual ASA, including Ministry Partners, may have been twice that.

Our Ambridge team did a wonderful job of visually presenting the picture as it is and as we project it to be. Our effort in the coming year will be to help our congregations know the importance of submitting their parochial reports. Please join us in this effort. The information does matter in assessing who we are and what God is doing among us. At this point we estimate that total membership may be as great as 140,000, but this is based on much conjecture.  Whatever our numbers are: To God be the Glory. In doing better with the gathering of our numbers for the year 2012 when it has run its course:  May God and the people help us!

Anglican 1000

Church planting is now understood as the central work of our Province. If we are to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ, we will do it through the agency of the local congregation. The Constitution of the Anglican Church in North America wisely recognizes the local congregation as the fundamental mission agency of our Church. It also recognizes the people of God as the fundamental agents of that mission.

The Provincial Assembly that opens tomorrow opens under the banner of “captivating disciples, multiplying congregations and transforming communities.” That work is the work of the local congregation. The call to plant 1,000 new congregations, given three years ago at our Inaugural Assembly, has, in Canon Dave Roseberry’s words, “changed the subject in this Church.” We have long ago stopped talking about where we came from and long since focused on what God has called us to do. If we are to reach America, we must plant churches.

More than 200 new congregations have been planted.  This in itself is remarkable. We have a long way to go. Will we plant another 800 in the next two years? It is a challenge way beyond us, but not too big for our God. Anglican 1000 was launched and guided from Christ Church Plano.  For the first two and one half years Dave Roseberry was Chairman and Daniel Adkinson Executive Director.  Had it not been for them we would not be where we are today.  But it became clear to the Chairman early in this year that the next phase of Anglican 1000 needed to be centered in the Provincial office, at the Province’s heart – if the next phase of what had to be done was to be done. We launched a global search. Tomorrow, I will announce its result. We are thrilled with the outcome. To those who know him well, the Vicar for Anglican 1000 is described as the Barnabas (“Son of Encouragement”) and the catalytic leader required for the next phase of our signature initiative, for us to go quite literally from strength to strength. One thousand remains our aim and our endeavor. To God be the glory.

The Second Provincial Assembly

Our gathering here at Ridgecrest, North Carolina, represents a milestone for us. The final piece of the architecture of our Province is being realized and tested. Could there be a North American Province whose greatest gathering was a missions conference rather than a legislative meeting?  Is it possible to overcome the General Convention (General Synod/General Council) model that is the heritage of everyone here? Provincial Assembly 2012 will spend three days focused on the mission of this Church, on seeking to energize and strengthen the mission and the ministry of our congregations, our leaders, our people, and our global partners. We will spend one evening as a proportionally representative assembly whose task it is to ratify or reject constitutional and canonical changes to the governance framework under which we operate.

The experiment in moving a Western denomination from an 18th century governance model to a 21st century mission model is being tested right here and right now. I believe we will show in these days that the architecture of this Province can work and will work to change how we steward the energies we have as Christian men and women. To God be the Glory.

The architecture of this Province also imagined a much greater commitment to affirming and involving the next generation of Church leadership. Sixteen to 25-year-olds have a very significant role in the leadership of this Province and in the structure of our Assembly. The early June timing of this Assembly, necessitated by Ridgecrest availability, has cut into the numbers we might otherwise have seen. But young leaders will prove themselves as very much among us.  The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) did a special news story this past winter – “Anglican Fever: Youth Flock to New Denomination.”  Anglican Fever has broken out. Its sources are traced to the inherent attractiveness of orthodox Anglicanism to a generation looking for a faith that endures and to a Church that says, “We need you, we value you, and we embrace you.” To God be the glory.

Other Developments

Signs of God’s favor abound in so many aspects of our Church life. We have a fabulous staff team, led by Mr. Brad Root. We have an extraordinary executive committee, and I am served by a wise cabinet. Our benefactors have always been there in our need. We have a most remarkable College of Bishops. These are signs of the leadership that serves us at every level from the provincial to the local. To God be the Glory. 

Yesterday, the Catechesis Task Force reported to the College of Bishops. At the direction of the Bishops, the task force is very well along in the production of what has been described as a “classical Anglican catechism for 21st century pagans.” What is being done is stunningly accessible and totally faithful. What a tool this will be in the hands of us all! Dr. Jack Gabig, Prof. Phil Herrold and Fr. Lee Nelson are leading an extraordinary and passionate group of scholars and practitioners whose efforts are now eagerly anticipated.  To God be the Glory.

Our ecumenical relationships flourish. What began with His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah’s astonishing announcement at our Inaugural Assembly, that Orthodox–Anglican dialogue would be re-opened, has become a flood of dialogues with ecumenical counterparts. In almost every case the conversations have been initiated by others approaching us, as they have detected in us the classical Anglicanism that had gone missing off the North American scene. Bishop Ray Sutton leads a team who are stretched to the limits as ever more interest is expressed in conversations sought with us and aimed at ever-more unity in the whole Body of Christ. To God be the Glory.

I cannot be exhaustive here. The Seminary Consortium, begun by five seminaries (Gordon-Conwell, Nashotah, Regent, Reformed Episcopal, and Trinity), offers a very significant road map in its report to this meeting. The Anglican Global Mission Partners, each in their own way, are doing great things. (Visit the exhibit hall!)  The Task Force on Engagement with Islam continues to inform this Church in significant ways. I cannot possibly mention all that you will see signs of here at Ridgecrest, of all that are laboring in one way or another to reach North America – and the world – with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. I wish it were possible, but it is not. To God be the Glory. 
 
Anglican Relief and Development Fund

The last aspect of our life that I want to highlight is the Anglican Relief and Development Fund.  What began as a Pennsylvania corporation in 2004 – pre-dating our Province by five years – now has U.S., Canadian and Australian national boards with global Trustees from these three countries as well as Primate Trustees from West Africa, Congo, Sudan, Middle East, Southern Cone and South East Asia (Primates all present or represented at this Provincial Council and Provincial Assembly.) Also with us are the Primate of Myanmar/Burma, the Primate’s representative of Uganda and the Bishops of Recife.

ARDF is the most visible sign of the new global partnership that is ours in Christ Jesus. If it can be said that the Anglican Church in North America came into being because global Anglicans cared enough to intervene in our plight as embattled orthodox Anglicans, it must also be said that we in North America are committed to a long-term expression of gratitude to and of partnership with them and with all in the two-thirds world. We have committed ourselves as a Province to life-change for the poorest and most underserved people of the earth, many of whom are members of the very Provinces that intervened to rescue us. As Anglican 1000 is our domestic signature, so the Anglican Relief and Development Fund is our global signature. We are about reaching North America and about reaching the world with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

This relief and development arm of the Anglican Church in North America, which has pioneered the idea of “objective philanthropy with measurable results,” has its annual project approval meeting beginning at 11:00 a.m. today here at Ridgecrest and many of the members of the ARDF boards, both global and national, are here with us for the first hours of this Provincial Council, and then with us for Provincial Assembly. We welcome them. You enrich us beyond measure.  We are humbled by your presence and your partnership. To God be the Glory.

I end, as I began, with King Henry’s words, with the Tradition’s words and with Scripture’s words:

Let there be sung ‘Non nobis’ and ‘Te Deum.’

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name be the Glory.

Photo caption: Archbishop Duncan addresses Provincial Council. Credit: Joy Gwaltney

28th Annual Diocesan Convention

Greetings in Christ,

OK, I realize this is a little late. Here are some photos of the 2010 Diocesan convention. I had an amazing time visiting with my brother priests and the good friends I have made these past three years in the diocese of Ft Worth. It was also a great honor to finally meet Bishop William Godfrey from Peru who I have so much respect for. I had the great fortune to have lunch with him! Look forward to visiting Texas very soon!!!

Blessings and love,

Fr. John+

Sermons Online Again

We are now once again uploading the Sunday sermons from St. Gabriel's. You can find them at... http://www.sermoncloud.com/st-gabriels/ 

Enjoy!

 Blessings and love,

 Fr. John

St Matthias Anglican Church Diocese of Ft. Worth

This is a wonderful video of St Matthias Anglican Church. An amazing parish in our diocese of Ft Worth.

Blessings and love!
Fr. John

St Gabriel's Year In Review 2011

Greetings in Christ,

 Below you will find our year in review video for 2011. Enjoy!





Untitled from John Slavin on Vimeo.

Sorry I have been away so long!!

Greetings in Christ!

WOW! I have been away for a loooooong time! Actually I have been right here at St. Gabriel's keeping the faith and staying very busy! We have had an EXTREMELY busy year!

We grew in membership, and hosted some great events and fellowship. We have made many improvements to our beautiful church and grounds.

We have had guest priests and two Episcopal visits from our Bishop Jack Iker.

I should mention I will not be posting on here as much as I have in the past. We have launched a Facebook page and it is open to the public. It is the best way to keep up with the latest news and events at St. Gabriel's. You can find it here.... http://www.facebook.com/#!/StGabrielsChurch Or you can check out our Twitter account here... http://twitter.com/#!/StGabrielsAR

Below are some photos of recent events! Enjoy!

Blessings and love

John+

Great article by Bishop Iker!

Address given at Forward in Faith/NA Assembly

June 16, 2011

The Authority of the Bible in Anglican Tradition

A few years ago, I was invited to be a guest speaker in the Lenten series of a church on the theme “The Four Cornerstones of the Church.” Their chosen topics were the Holy Scriptures, the Book of Common Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and Personal Holiness – all very important, worthy subjects for a study series for Lent. As the first speaker, whose topic was the Bible, I began by pointing out that this was much more than simply one of the four cornerstones of the Church – that all three of the others came from the Holy Scriptures and were, in fact, rooted in the teachings of the Bible. The real significance of the Book of Common Prayer is that it is a thoroughly Biblical document. So much of it sounds like the Bible because it is taken from the Bible. The Ten Commandments are, of course, a central part of the Holy Scriptures, and Personal Holiness has as its source and inspiration and vision, the teachings of the Old and New Testaments. The Holy Scriptures are the foundation upon which the other three are built.

The theme of the teachings in this Annual Assembly reminds us that this is what Forward in Faith, North America, is all about. We have sometimes been criticized for being a one-issue organization, and that is true. But the one issue we are most concerned about is not so much the controversy over the ordination of women as it is the authority of the Scriptures. We are committed to the central authority of the Bible as the Word of God. It alone is the basis for all that we teach, believe, preach and practice. Ours is not a man-made religion, nor are we free to revise the doctrines revealed to us by God to be more pleasing to the modern age. Dean Inge of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London once observed, “He who marries the spirit of the age will soon find himself a widower.”

In the Anglican tradition, the Holy Bible is revered as central to God’s self-revelation to the world. It is the divinely inspired, revealed Word of God, unchanged from the time of the first Apostles. It expresses the unchanging Gospel of the Lord Jesus for ever-changing times – for, though times may change, the Truth does not. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings.” (Hebrews 13:8) Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, tells us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”(John 14:6) When certain bishops deny these words, they are no longer true guardians and defenders of the faith, unity and discipline of the Church, as held by Anglicans around the world. Those who abandon the teachings of the Bible also abandon the Anglican way. Such innovators are free to start a new church, but do not call it Anglican if it does not abide by the clear standards and teachings revealed in Holy Writ.

While being clear that the Bible is basic and fundamental to all that Forward in Faith stands for, that it is the foundation upon which everything stands, we must hasten to add that our faith is not in the Bible, but in Jesus Christ. We believe the Bible, because it is the Written Word that bears witness to the Incarnate Word. We are saved by our faith in Jesus, not the Scriptures. So while we affirm that Anglicanism rests on a firm Biblical foundation, we confess that Jesus Christ Himself is that one foundation upon which the Church of God is built. As St. Paul reminded the Church in Corinth, “No other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I Cor. 3:11) Historic, orthodox Anglicanism is built upon nothing less than the sure foundation of Jesus Christ, and everything else rests upon Him. In his Epistle to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul states it in a slightly different way: “You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:20)

Whenever we speak about the authority of the Bible in the Anglican Tradition, the conversation soon turns to references to Richard Hooker, the famous 16th-century Anglican divine, who is perhaps the most accomplished apologist that Anglicanism has ever had. As an advocate of the Elizabethan Settlement of 1559, he opposed the Puritans “who held to the literal following of the Scriptures as an absolute in the sense that whatever was not expressly commanded in Scripture was unlawful.” (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church on Richard Hooker, page 654) Most of us remember him for the famous image of a three-legged stool, in describing how Anglicans address the issue of authority in the Church, using Scripture, Tradition and Reason. The problem is that in the common misunderstanding of this concept, the three legs are all equal in importance. This is an error and is not how Hooker regarded them. First and foremost there is the authority of the Bible and the clear meaning of the Scriptures. Second there is Tradition, the Spirit-formed Apostolic Tradition of the Church – the Holy Tradition of the Church of the ages – not just the traditional way that we have always done things, but the mind of Christ as understood and applied by the catholic church. And then third, there is Reason, formed and molded by Scripture and Tradition, guided by the Holy Spirit, as we address contemporary issues from the vantage point of what we have received in the faith once delivered to the saints. But, for Hooker, Scripture is always primary. It is the Bible that establishes the norm in theology, ecclesiology, and morality in the Apostolic Tradition.

Modern day revisionists like to add a fourth leg to the stool, which, of course, is Experience. And as we all know, in this line of thinking, contemporary experience trumps everything else. It is our understanding of contemporary experience that determines what is true and right for today’s Church – the kind of thinking that says “that was then and this is now.” We simply have different interpretations of the Bible, they say, and our understanding of the Scriptures must always be open to new insights as we accommodate out of date teachings to our modern day experiences. This is the kind of world view that is rampant in the General Conventions of the Episcopal Church, as you well know. The truth of the matter is that rather than simply having different interpretations of certain key Biblical passages, revisionists reject these teachings, while orthodox believers submit to them. It is the Bible that stands in judgment of our opinions and experiences, not the other way around.

The Articles of Religion are another obvious place we must look to evaluate how classical Anglicans regard Biblical authority. Article VI, for example, states: “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.” Article XX, speaking of the Authority of the Church, declares: “The Church hath power to decree Rites or Ceremonies, and authority in Controversies of Faith: and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another.” For the Church must “be a witness and a keeper of Holy Writ.”

This same emphasis is further underscored in the provisions of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral. First adopted by the House of Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America gathered in Chicago in 1886 as a basis for what is “essential to the restoration of unity among the divided branches of Christendom,” it was later adopted by the Lambeth Conference in 1888. Above all else the Quadrilateral affirms “The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as ‘containing all things necessary to salvation,’ and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.” Note that the three additional points in the Quadrilateral are all derived from the Scriptures and are thoroughly Biblical in origin: the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, “as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith”; “the two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself”; and the Historic Episcopate, after the example of Christ and His Apostles.

It is because of this continuing emphasis on the authority of the Holy Bible that candidates for Holy Orders in our Church must solemnly affirm and then sign this Declaration before the Bishop and congregation: “I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation.” Immediately following the laying on of hands at ordinations, the Bishop gives the newly-ordained priest a Bible, as a symbol of the ordinand’s divine authorization and commissioning, saying: “Receive this Bible as a sign of the authority given you to preach the Word of God and to administer his holy Sacraments. Do not forget the trust committed to you as a priest of the Church of God.” It signifies both the ministry of the Word in preaching and teaching, as well as the sacramental ministry of the ordained clergy.

We must also note, however, that in Anglicanism the Bible is central not only to the ministry and teaching of the clergy, but indeed it is fundamental and central to the life of every baptized member of the Church. Remember that wonderful Prayer Book Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent: “Blessed Lord, who hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ.” To be rooted and grounded in the Scriptures is the calling of all Anglicans, not just the clergy.

Not only do we affirm that the Bible is our ultimate authority in Christian faith and morals, but it is meant to be our daily guide and companion in Christian living. For all Anglicans, daily Bible readings are provided in the Prayer Book lectionary. A Psalm selection, an Old Testament reading, and a new Testament reading are designated for Daily Morning Prayer and again for Daily Evening Prayer, throughout the year. We are fed by this daily diet of God’s Word. We are drawn to the Bible as our daily bread and sustained by it, as God’s Living Word directing our service and discipleship, by divine inspiration. As St. Paul reminds us in II Timothy 3:16 – “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” If we neglect daily Scripture, we do so at the peril of our spiritual health and vitality.

It is for this reason that early English reformers sought to have the Bible translated into the language of the people. It was God’s Word to all His Children, not just to the clergy and to the monastics. Efforts to translate the Scriptures into English were motivated by a desire to make the Bible available to common people for reading and study and began as early as the 14th century with the work of John Wycliffe. In 1523, William Tyndale began a translation of the books of the New Testament, and in 1534, the Canterbury Convocation of clergy petitioned King Henry VIII to have the entire Bible translated into English. Miles Coverdale successfully published one the next year, in 1535, and dedicated it to Henry VIII. It is significant to note that his Psalter remained in constant use in the Book of Common Prayer until modern day revisions of the 20th century. Though there were attempts at various other translations over the years, it must be said that the real crowning event in work on an English Bible took place in 1611 with the publication of what was called the Authorized Version, approved by King James I, and therefore known as the King James Version of the Bible (or as some of us may prefer, “The St. James Version.” How does that saying go, “If it was good enough for Jesus then its good enough for me!”) It is this Bible that became the standard, indeed the only known English Bible, for generations, and is now celebrating its 400th anniversary of continuous use. It is a lasting contribution of Anglicanism to the whole English-speaking world.

Like countless others before us, in reading the Bible we discover that it is the Book with the Presence in it, where we meet the Living God in the pages of the Old and New Testaments. God continues to speak to us still today, as He has in every age, as men and women pray and reflect on the Biblical story. It is called the Holy Bible, and it has been revered for centuries. For in these sacred pages, we encounter the Living God, who seeks to enter into relationship with us. It is a book about God, and it is a book about ourselves.

Again and again, the Bible has re-created and re-formed the Church in times of crisis. Again and again, people have heard God speak to them and been brought to faith by Scripture touching them personally. Here as nowhere else, we discover God’s will for our lives and find inspiration and guidance in our earthly pilgrimage. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to speak to us, to strengthen us, and to guide us. For as Hebrews 4:12 says: “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

In a book by Bishop Michael Marshall entitled A Change of Heart, he writes about the power of the Bible to transform and change people’s lives. In quoting Benjamin Jowett, Professor of Greek at Oxford in the 1850s, who said that the Bible should be read like any other book, Marshall says: “The extraordinary thing about the Bible is that if you ‘treat it like any other book,’ you will find that it is not like any other book. It is a living book, a charismatic book, a book of presence and power. Men and women throughout the ages have opened up on the words of this book and met the living Word in a personal encounter which changed their lives.” (p. 128)

He then recalls the famous story of the conversion of St. Antony of Egypt, who upon hearing the Gospel being read in church one day, heard Jesus speaking directly to him, saying: “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”(St. Matthew 19:21) And immediately, Antony gave away all his possessions and went out into the desert to live a strict life of asceticism.

In a similar way, St. Augustine of Hippo on a warm summer day in the year 386, heard what sounded like the voice of a child in a nearby garden saying: “tolle, lege – pick it up and read it.” So he picked up a Bible and read from the Epistle to the Romans: “Let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:13-14) Bishop Marshall writes: “Like a flash all his intellectual wrangling and moral ambivalence were behind him. The living Word of God changed his life.” (page 129) He was baptized and became a devoted Christian believer, and later a bishop, theologian, doctor of the church, and saint.

We could go on and on with countless other stories of conversion and coming to faith where the Bible played a key role. You have your story and I have mine. But what they have in common is coming to know God face to face, in the person of Jesus Christ His Son, as the Spirit of God speaks to us by the Word of God, and we are transformed by His love, power and grace. “It is not a magic book or an end in itself,” observes Marshall (page 129); “rather it is a wonderful means of grace, pointing us again and again from the words to the Word with a living word of comfort, strength, challenge and confrontation if only we have ‘ears to hear’ and ‘eyes to see.’” (Matthew 11:15)

Let us conclude with these stirring words of a great Anglican missionary hymn, that speaks to the power of God’s Word in our tradition:

Spread, o spread, thou mighty word, spread the kingdom of the Lord,
that to earth’s remotest bound all may heed the joyful sound;

word of how the Father’s will made the world, and keeps it, still;
how his only Son he gave, earth from sin and death to save;

word of how the Savior’s love, earth’s sore burden doth remove;
how forever, in its need, through his death the world is freed;

word of how the Spirit came bringing peace in Jesus’ name;
how his never failing love, guides us on to heaven above;

word of life, most pure and strong, word for which the nations long,
spread abroad, until from night, all the word awakes to light. (Hymnal 1982, Hymn 530)



The Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker
Bishop of Fort Worth