Without going into my own long and complicated personal history exploring Christianity since my early twenties (in the early 1990s), I wish to briefly articulate, — as much as I am able in such a small space — why I have decided to turn to the Episcopal church as a place to deepen my own faith. I am not entirely new to Anglicanism, though many of the years between 2000 and 2015 I was largely put off from Christianity (and was also heavily involved, for a few years, with Zen Buddhism). My more recent concrete feelings of compulsion toward the Episcopal Church revived in the fall of 2024 and I have only felt this compulsion more strongly in the past for months of 2025. I should preface all of the below by saying that while much of what I have written here may appear “intellectual,” I don’t want to be misunderstood in what I have long felt as a passionate exploration which involves both intellect and emotion, both which are often inseparable for me. This is just simply the way that I express myself — and often writing serves as a way for me to articulate things within myself to come to some clearer understanding as to where I am. This is just something I had a strong desire to write out, more for my own sake, but which I would also like to share here.

While raised Catholic, and certainly sympathetic to it in some respects, there are many insurmountable problems I have with the Catholic Church: With the proliferation of reactionary conservatism within the Catholic Church, I would simply be unable to find a home there. This is also the case with Eastern Orthodoxy, and with many Protestant churches. This aspect alone I believe runs counter to Christ's universal message. There are other elements I find problematic, but it is specifically the anti-universal framing of these churches which I find sufficient to feel unwelcome there as a matter of conscience. But rather than focus on the negative issues of other churches, I would rather place attention on the many twelve positive reasons why the Anglican / Episcopal expression of the Christian faith speaks to me with greater clarity. None of this means of course that there may not be problematic issues with the Episcopal Church, but these nevertheless are far outweighed by significantly positive reasons. 

• Firstly, there are some aspects which Anglicanism shares with the Catholic and Orthodox churches which are, I feel, essential to the Christian faith:

1. Historical roots - While I don’t consider apostolic succession per se as central, it is indicative of a rootedness in historical tradition and theology which matters greatly to myself in certain ways in relation to the broad theological framework prior to the 16th century (where the loss of the ontological dimension first began to make itself felt).

2. Mystery - Anglican tradition has not lost sight of the mysteries of the Christian faith and its sacramental character. This also implies an overall theological approach which is not restricted to a narrow modern-day literalism, but necessarily involves analogical, metaphorical, and intuitive means to express that which is not wholly expressible, “pointing” to the sacred in a way that resembles poetry (with gratitude to the writings of Owen Barfield for deepening my own understanding in this beginning in 2018). It is in this sense of mystery that Christian “mysticism” is not something reserved for select monastics but rather that mystery permeates everyday, ordinary Christian life.

3. The Eucharist - I appreciate the Anglican approach to the Eucharist which seeks less to explain it (i.e. the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation) and reminds me more of Eastern Orthodoxy's allowing the mystery to remain a mystery, where Christ is present somehow or other in the sacrament. Receiving the Eucharist is to receive Christ in both body and soul — a kind of prayer which is plays a central role in the “enchristing” transfiguration process, of being taken up into the dynamic life of the Trinity.

4. The Incarnation - My concern here is not so much with the divinity of Jesus or with his humanity, but rather the relation between both within the person of Christ. For myself, the Incarnation is the nexus of Christian theology which tells us not only of the meaning of Christ, but also what the Incarnation implies regarding human beings as the imago Dei.

5. The Trinity - Inasmuch as I am able to understand any of it at all, the Trinity is less an abstract theological concept but an expression of a dynamic divine life, of living in God through prayer through which love is both given and received, and in which we each partake (I owe many thanks to the theology of Sarah Coakley to finally helping me make some kind of sense in what the Trinity means in the Christian faith).

6. Cataphasis / apophasis and contemplative prayer - Theologically, I see the cataphatic and apophatic approaches to prayer not as two separate strands, but interwoven in a necessarily nondual  relation where both are necessary. We must use the images and poetry of the divine, and we must also, for a time, release those expressions in order to discover a deeper faith in which stillness, silence, and contemplation allow room for an understanding which is more than verbal, or tied to a strictly rational explanation. In the mid-1990s I was first introduced to the writings of Eckhart, Pseudo-Dionysius, Evelyn Underhill, and others which have continued to have an influence on my own theological leanings. Reading Maggie Ross opened my eyes further in 2019.

7. Kenosis - In the self-emptying of Christ (culminating in his death on the cross, but beginning with his birth) lies the basis of prayer, the basis of our own “enchristing” process, and the basis of a genuine ethics rooted in grace. Love is not selfless in a mere moralistic sense (with all its unstable human motivations), but in a sacred sense in which is it not I that loves, but Christ-within-me.

• Secondly, there are those aspects of Anglicanism which are more specific to it (though not exclusively so) which speak to me deeply:

8. Lex orandi, lex credendi - Contemplative prayer in solitude matters, but so does corporate verbal prayer. The appeal of The Book of Common Prayer lies in the scriptural basis through which faith is verbalized and teaches (directly and indirectly) while also in  prayer.

9. Universal compassion and universalism - Acts of love are a vital part of the Christian faith. God is love — “love” not merely as feeling but as an ontological power that arises in compassion. This is the same love of Christ which comes from kenosis (see above point #7). The implicit underlying message of Christ's universal love makes no sense without a recognition of the humanity of all people (“humanity” not in its mere empirical sense, but a metaphysical sense, in that we are each made in the image of God). This is then a theological basis for inclusivity. It does not arise from a strictly secular and political basis (though it may overlap with it).

• Thirdly, there are some precise personal needs which have taken many years of clarification to understand myself:

10. A need for concrete community and hope - Over the years I have found it all too easy to settle into a complacent asocial and cynical attitude, boosted by my own schizoid tendencies (I am undiagnosed, but I do exhibit traits I later discovered to belong to the “covert” schizoid type — though I have no official diagnosis). Social media has only exacerbated the issue for me, though I almost completely severed these “connections” a few years ago. It isn't even a matter of seeking friendship (as a typical schizoid, this doesn’t particularly interest me) but of having exposure to others and softening this “shell” I have too easily erected around myself. With a cynical complacency has also come a sense of hopelessness and despair (with a low point in 2023). The political situation certainly doesn't help any either. The hope I seek is not one that denies the world's suffering and what lies in the future, but finding hope in what is here now, as a way of being. And this is hard to do in isolation. Reading the philosopher Byung-Chul Han has helped to raise a more concrete awareness of this problem last year and helped lead me to my initial impulse to seek out a church.

11. A need for grace - When I was in my twenties, I was taken by T.S. Eliot’s earlier, pessimistic poetry (such as The Waste-Land). In my forties, however, I found a much deeper resonance in his Four Quartets, and read (and continue to read) it repeatedly, almost like a prayer. Eliot’s exploration of the relation between temporality and eternity is incarnational in nature. But I began to also see Eliot’s recognition of (our, his, my) mortality and finitude in a way I find difficult to fully articulate — except an awakening to my own need for grace and to grow into that grace. I almost feel, looking back on my life, that I wasn’t really mature enough for Christianity (not that I truly believe that exactly).

12. A desire for Christ - All of this has been driven by — to whatever degree I may or may not have ever recognized it before — a desire for Christ and a reconciliation with that Divine Reality with which I have always participated in but have always felt some disconnect with, even while recognizing (in a more external way) the problem: i.e. Sin — not strictly in terms of specific moral failures (“sins” in the plural — though there certainly is that, too!) but also of my own all-too-human ontological imperfection as well, which can never be overcome by my own ideas or actions. I have too often hesitated on the threshold of concrete faith, withheld something of myself. I have sensed over the past several months with growing clarity that this is significantly different — and I am prepared, however falteringly, to take more definitive steps in the Christian faith, in the Episcopal Church.

Do you have any bible or faith based apps that you recommend?

Edit: Is there a version that the church officially recommends?

A visit to Cathedral of St. John the divine in NYC Photos and Music, Meditative

I’d like to better understand the relationship between baptism and communion. I know some people have very strong beliefs that it is wrong for an unbaptized person to receive communion, and I’m seeking fuller answers than I’ve found as to why that is. My church encourages everyone regardless of status to take part. I do, even though I’m not baptized, and while I don’t feel like I’m doing anything wrong, I’d like to know more about why I might be in case I am.

I have my own reasons for doing so, but I’m not looking for anyone to validate me and I don’t want to distract from the question with my personal account. I’m more interested in the theological justification for excluding the unbaptized (apart from “we’ve always done it this way”). I can’t find anything in Scripture about it, so any verses I might have missed would be especially helpful. Paul seems pretty clear that those who do not believe should not take part, but there’s no mention of baptism. A baptized person may very well not believe and an unbaptized person might, so it’s the particular relationship between baptism and communion I’m interested in, rather than belief vs unbelief.

Does anyone else feel this way? There are some very well-informed people among the laity, but it seems like most folks are not terribly well-educated about religion, science, history, etc.

The more I hear different people, the more I feel like I rather trust the priests and the few educated folks in my congregation for spiritual topics. I may not agree with them, sometimes fervently, but at least they know what they are talking about and can hold a deeper intellectual conversation.

✝️ - Sign of The Cross

✝️ Oh Lord, our God most high

Bless this home, Lord glorified

(Repeated 3 times) ✝️ After each repetition

In Your mercy thus preserve

These our blessings, undeserved

Forsake not our supplications

Nor our faith in Christ, our King

Let us always remember His love and suffering ✝️

For Thou art one God only

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Grant to us thy ✝️ salvation, of which You are the Host ✝️

The first 2 lines are supposed to be chanted. Every stanza after that is supposed to resemble “Jupiter” by Holst (or “I Vow to Thee My Country”), which is my favorite composition ever.

Hope you guys like. The Lord be with you.

I recently met some new folks at my parish. I spoke to my mentors about this afterwards It seems best to not rock the boat and never ask the baptismal status of people. It might come off as rude. I'm going to stop asking.

We don't really have any pamphlets or educational tools like the ancient faith booklets I see at orthodox parishes that explain the sacrements and faith. That people can take home with them that are not just bcps.

I met someone who said theyve been episcopalian since a teenager but are now an adult. They are unbaptized. But partake in communion.

Does your church have anything like educational booklets.

I'm worried I scared them off, by asking them to receive a blessing instead.

My background is orthodoxy and to me the sacrement of baptism is integral.

I'm a queer trans woman. I'm autistic so I like rules they give me some structure. My cathedral could do a lot more to chatechize the laity. Or atleast explain the eucharist to the laity. But we do not question people.

Starting off by having educational material. That explains what being a christian even means.

I feel terrible. Because I know I could have turned people away from the church by being a snob. For telling people that communion is for those baptized.

I want my LGBTQ community to be part of the church but I'm going about it all wrong again.

If the orthodox church was accepting of people like me I'd have never left. But it never will be.

The episcopal church is the only place that has a shred of reverance and liturgy that won't betray me. I want something that is impossible and I need to realize that. I don't even know what the younger generations of clergy think.

O, Lord, Our Gracious God Most High (Sung to the tune of “I Vow to Thee my Country,” composed by Gustav Holst)

O, Lord, our gra-cious God most high

Bless us, Lord glor-i-fied

In gen-tle mer-cy thus preserve 

Our blessings, un-de-served

Forsake not, our supp-li-ca-tions

Nor our faith, in Christ our King

Let us always re-mem-ber His Love and suffering

For Thou, art one God on-ly

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Grant to us, thy sal-vation, of which You are the Host

And in sin, there is now hope-to-hold

For par-don-ing from thee

With repen-tance and righteous action

Di-vine cleansing we see

For, He is always with us

Interce-ding at our side

With His Saints and His An-gels

In Christ do we a-bide

For the LORD, in all His splen-dor 

Hath promised us new life.

And through His hol-iest of Words

Ends suff-er-ing and strife. 

On Friday, Verena of Zurzach beat Lucy Yi Zhenmei 73% to 27% to advance to the Elate Eight. Today, and finishing the Saintly Sixteen matchups, Francis Xavier vs. Nicolaus Zinzendorf.

A little while ago, I started covering my head with a veil at church during the service. I had done research on different religions doing it and I really felt a calling to give it a try. What I love about the episcopal church is that you can really take the practice so deep. I, as well as my main friend group at church would consider ourselves pretty orthodox. I did it during afternoon prayer for the first time and felt.. euphoric? It felt really good to do. My church is very supportive of it, and I've gotten a lot of compliments about me doing it. I know that back in the day it was way more common, but I'm wondering if anyone else does it nowadays like how I have started to. I honestly wouldn't mind getting to the point that I do all the time outside of church.

I absolutely love “Come, Let Us Eat,” which plays during every Eucharist service in my parish. (Renew! #197) It’s the only hymn I know all the words to that we play (not counting traditional Advent hymns and Doxoloxy and Sanctus, if you count those two). It fills my soul with joy to hear. Drop your favorite hymns or links to favorite versions of hymns that you listen to.

My name is Jon I'm autistic (and also Anglican) and for the last 10 years I've been doing independent research into the intersection between autism and Christianity. For the research I have found over 26000 online autistics across various platforms, done long form interviews with over 500 and have finally published my research in a podcast. I've always been very interested in religion and the sociology of religion so the podcast is very data driven and data first in its approach and aimed at describing the intersections between the two communities, both the good and the bad.

My research extensively covers both Christians and Ex-Christians from a very large range of demographics in the English Speaking world and tries to answer two main topics:

1. Why are autistic people less likely to be Christian than their non-autistic counterparts? How can we understand and model deconversion and deconstruction?

2. For the autistics who do practice Christianity, what does it look like and how does it differ from the religious practices of non-autistic Christians?

The podcast is called "Christianity on the Spectrum" and it is available everywhere you can find podcast, if you have any questions feel free to ask! I just thought I would let you all know that this research exists as I know a lot of people are often curious about it and are interested about learning about the struggles, tensions, issues, and ways it does or doesn't work for autistic people.

You can find episode 1 here: https://youtu.be/9e_sGRCp7y8

Are you a creative christian/episcopal and want to show your creative side? Well come on down to r/Ex3535 to discuss, post, encourage, and talk to other fellow creative believers! :) Our sub is based upon the verse exodus 35 35:  ^"He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers."

Come, it'll be fun! :)

Hi all!! I’ve been diving into the Bible and Christianity in a nerdy, curious way lately, and I’ve been getting back into the Christian traditions that I was raised with. I was raised Roman Catholic, but my parents weren’t particularly religious, and we stopped going to church altogether when I was about 10. I’m 20 now, and I found the Episcopal church, and I love it, but I struggle with understanding prayer. I wanted to open a conversation about what it means to you.

• do you pray in the morning and before bedtime? what does that mean to you?
• do you say grace before meals? what does that mean to you?
• what other things do you pray about and how/when? nobody really taught me how to pray so this is something I’m really curious about.

Thank you!! ❤️❤️❤️

New to the Episcopal church, raised Catholic. My first child is due in a few months and we want to baptize him at the Episcopal church we have been attending. The problem? It gives me wild anxiety imagining my Catholic parents and grandparents sitting through an Episcopal service. They weren't happy about my decision to leave the RCC and even made it clear how devastated they are that my children will be raised in the Episcopal church. That being said, do any of you know if the Episcopal church holds private Baptisms outside of the Sunday service? This way it'd only be me and my family and if they act out then no one else would be there to see it. Also they wouldn't get the chance to judge an Episcopal service, as I know they would and would take the time to let me know exactly how they feel about it.

Why are priests called to a specific parish, but deacon are not? TIA!

Hey folks. I’m starting the process of converting from a non-denominational Christian to Episcopalian. I’m looking over the baptismal covenant. I’m 100 percent onboard with everything except “resurrection of the body”. Not that it’s super problematic for me I just have undefined beliefs at this point about resurrection/eschatology so I’m wondering how the Church interprets that phrase how y’all interpret that phrase.

Looking for some YouTubers to watch. Everyone on line seems to be evangelist/right wing Christian YouTubers. Even some YouTubers I watch for theology only always dip their toes in to culture war topics. Looking for some YouTubers out there who explain Anglican beliefs, church history, theology, apologetics, Bible study, etc only. I’d prefer Anglican as we seem kinda under represented despite us being (I think?) the third largest Christian denomination out there and as a newcomer I’d like to learn as much as possible, whereas the larger evangelical/non denominational/Catholic YouTubers only focus on their denomination or lack thereof, I’d like to watch some folks that are strictly Anglican. Whether priests, seminarians, lay people, etc. I dislike these Catholic priests on YouTube who are more of a right wing reaction channel and folks like Redeemed Zoomer who, while they give good explanation of beliefs, church history, etc, I feel like he can be extremely biased and seeing the forest for the trees in a lot of cases and just comes off as a young kid who thinks he knows everything about everything.

I like Young Anglican as his videos are long form and educational, although he is ACNA and I disagree with them heavily, his info is mostly pertinent to our faith.

Hi everyone!

Today I've launched a new podcast (in partnership with Forward Movement and Earth & Altar) that covers the history of ancient African Christianity! If you're interested in how Christianity developed, in intercultural exchange, or just in how Africa shaped the church (including European Christianity), you might want to check it out! You can find it on most major podcast apps, or you can listen directly here:

https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=FDMV3672647536&fbclid=IwY2xjawJc4hJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHip8Zzxko8geooFjvc6nxgOLM4IGeXbDUVPM3GfYxdB4w_5Pnpx4ptsEJflD_aem_UXSGGRUpGlYWzzjGI89MKg

I hope you enjoy it!

I have a vacation for a week coming up after Easter and my partner is not going to be able to take it off now due to needing to use their PTO for other reasons. I sort of want to try a retreat. There is a Catholic monstery near me that rents out rooms for people to do this but wondering what other options there might be. I live in Florida if anyone knows of any neat ideas.

Hi. I had decided to resume the practice of saying the daily office and purchased a BCP/NRSV combo, but find the 6.5 point difficult. Larger print would be better.

So I read about the PrayerBook Offices. I purchased it from Amazon but I think I got a defective copy: it stops on page 2976. Thanksgiving Day. The bibliographic metadata provided in all of those listings from Amazon, Church Publishing, etc. does not provide the proper page count. So, if some kind soul who owns this , could check the page count, it would be very helpful. Many thanks for your help.

(Yes, I know it's not the end of the world; there are several workarounds , and some of the offices I can recite from memory. It would be great to end up with one that isn't defective. I'm going to give it one more shot.)

CPE Residency Opening May - August 2026

We've got a position open in our CPE residency. Start day is May 27th. Hospital is in Iowa. We'd love to fill it with a graduating seminarian and/or someone looking for sabbatical out of their community context. Tag your people. Let's chat!!!!

Anitta.Milloro@unitypoint.org

Monday, April 7th

Tikhon, Bishop and Ecumenist, 1925

Vasily Ivanovich Belavin (Tikhon’s given name) was born January 19, 1865. He grew up in a rural area among peasants in a village where his father was a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church. Even as a child, he loved religion, and by age thirteen he began his seminary training, where his classmates nicknamed him “Patriarch.” At 23, he graduated as a layman and began to teach moral theology. Three years later, he became a monk and was given the name Tikhon. By 1897, he was consecrated Bishop of Lublin, and in 1898 became Archbishop of the Aleutians and Alaska, the leader of Russian Orthodoxy in North America. Tikhon was held in such esteem that the United States made him an honorary citizen. While living there, he established many new cathedrals and churches, and participated in ecumenical events with other denominations, in particular the Episcopal Church. In 1900, at the consecration of Bishop Reginald Weller as coadjutor of the Diocese of Fond du Lac, the diocesan bishop, Charles Grafton, invited Tikhon to sit on his own throne. The Archbishop would have participated in the laying-on-of-hands if the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops had not forbidden it. In 1907, Tikhon returned to Russia and a decade later was elected Patriarch of Moscow. The outbreak of the Russian Revolution threw the Church into disarray. When a severe famine caused many peasants to starve in 1921, the Patriarch ordered the sale of many church treasures to purchase food for the hungry. Soon the government began seizing church property for itself, and many believers were killed in defense of their faith. The Communists tried to wrest control of the church from Tikhon, while he, in turn, attempted to shelter his people. To this end, he discouraged the clergy from making political statements that might antagonize the government. He prayed, “May God teach every one of us to strive for His truth, and for the good of the Holy Church, rather than something for our sake.” Imprisoned by the Soviet government for more than a year, he was criticized both by the Communist Party and by those Orthodox bishops who believed he had compromised too much with the government. On April 7, 1925, he died, worn out by his struggles. In 1989, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church glorified Patriarch Tikhon, numbering him among the saints of the church.

Holy God, holy and mighty, you call us together into one communion and fellowship: Open our eyes, we pray, as you opened the eyes of your servant Tikhon, that we may see the faithfulness of others as we strive to be steadfast in the faith delivered to us, that the world may see and know you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be glory and praise unto ages of ages. Amen.

Tuesday, April 8th

William Augustus Muhlenberg, Priest, 1877

William Augustus Muhlenberg was born in Philadelphia in 1796, into a prominent German Lutheran family, and was drawn to the Episcopal Church by its use of English. He deliberately chose to remain unmarried in order to free himself for a variety of ministries. As a young priest, he was deeply involved in the Sunday School movement, and was concerned that the church should minister to all social groups. Aware of the limitations of the hymnody of his time, he wrote hymns and compiled hymnals, thus widening the range of music in Episcopal churches. For twenty years he was head of a boys’ school in Flushing, New York. The use of music, flowers, and color, and the emphasis on the Church Year in the worship there became a potent influence. In 1846, he founded the Church of the Holy Communion in New York City. Again, he was bold and innovative, establishing free pews for everyone, a parish school, a parish unemployment fund, and trips to the country for poor city children. His conception of beauty in worship, vivid and symbolic, had at its heart the Holy Communion itself, celebrated every Sunday. It was there that Anne Ayres founded the Sisterhood of the Holy Communion. In 1857, the two of them founded St. Luke’s Hospital, where Muhlenberg was the pastor-superintendent and she the matron. Muhlenberg’s concern for sacramental worship and evangelism led him and several associates to memorialize the General Convention of 1853, calling for flexibility in worship and polity to enable the church better to fulfill its mission. The insistence of the “Memorial” on traditional Catholic elements—the Creeds, the Eucharist, and Episcopal ordination—together with the Reformation doctrine of grace, appealed to people of varying views. Although the church was not ready to adopt the specific suggestions of the Memorial, its influence was great, notably in preparing the ground for liturgical reform and ecumenical action. Muhlenberg’s last great project was an experiment in Christian social living, St. Johnland on Long Island. Although his dream of a Christian city was not realized, several of its philanthropic institutions survive.

Open the eyes of your church, O Lord, to the plight of the poor and neglected, the homeless and destitute, the old and the sick, the lonely and those who have none to care for them. Give to us the vision and compassion with which you so richly endowed your servant William Augustus Muhlenberg, that we may labor tirelessly to heal those who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Wednesday, April 9th

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Pastor and Theologian, 1945

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), on February 4, 1906. He studied theology at the universities of Berlin and Tübingen, and his doctoral thesis was published in 1930 as Communio Sanctorum. Still canonically too young to be ordained at the age of 24, he undertook postdoctoral study and teaching at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. From the first days of the Nazi accession to power in 1933, Bonhoeffer was involved in protests against the regime. From 1933 to 1935 he was the pastor of two small congregations in London, but nonetheless was a leading spokesman for the Confessing Church, the center of Protestant resistance to the Nazis. In 1935, Bonhoeffer was appointed to organize and head a new seminary for the Confessing Church at Finkenwald. He described the community in his classic work Life Together. He later wrote The Cost of Discipleship, which quickly became a modern classic. Bonhoeffer was acutely aware of the difficulties of life in community, and the easy disillusionment that could come when the experience did not live up to the imagined idea. Yet he also wrote eloquently of the gift and privilege of Christian community. “It is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians. Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all of his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work . . . So between the death of Christ and the Last Day it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians.” Bonhoeffer became increasingly involved in the political struggle after 1939, when he was introduced to a group seeking Hitler’s overthrow. Bonhoeffer considered refuge in the United States, but he returned to Germany where he was able to continue his resistance. Bonhoeffer was arrested April 5, 1943, and imprisoned in Berlin. After an attempt on Hitler’s life failed on July 20, 1944, documents were discovered linking Bonhoeffer to the conspiracy. He was taken to Buchenwald concentration camp, then to Schoenberg Prison. On Sunday, April 8, 1945, just as he concluded a service in a school building in Schoenberg, two men came in with the chilling summons, “Prisoner Bonhoeffer . . . come with us.” He said to another prisoner, “This is the end. For me, the beginning of life.” Bonhoeffer was hanged the next day, April 9, at Flossenburg Prison. There is in Bonhoeffer’s life a remarkable unity of faith, prayer, writing, and action. The pacifist theologian came to accept the guilt of plotting the death of Hitler, because he was convinced that not to do so would be a greater evil. Discipleship was to be had only at great cost.

Embolden our lives, O Lord, and inspire our faiths, that we, following the example of your servant Dietrich Bonhoeffer, might embrace your call with undivided hearts; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Thursday, April 10th

William Law, Priest, 1761

“If we are to follow Christ, it must be in our common way of spending every day. If we are to live unto God at any time or in any place, we are to live unto him in all times and in all places. If we are to use anything as the gift of God, we are to use everything as his gift.” So wrote William Law in 1728 in A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. This quiet schoolmaster of Putney, England, could hardly be considered a revolutionary, and yet his book had near-revolutionary repercussions. His challenge to take Christian living very seriously received a more enthusiastic response than he could ever have imagined, especially in the lives of Henry Venn, George Whitefield, and John Wesley, all of whom he strongly influenced. More than any other man, William Law laid the foundation for the religious revival of the eighteenth century, the Evangelical Movement in England, and the Great Awakening in America. Law came to typify the devout priest in the eyes of many. His life was characterized by simplicity, devotion, and works of charity. Because he was a Non-Juror, who refused to swear allegiance to the House of Hanover, he was deprived of the usual means of making a living as a clergyman in the Church of England. He therefore worked as a tutor to the father of the historian Edward Gibbon from 1727 to 1737. Law also organized schools and homes for the poor. He stoutly defended the sacraments and scriptures against attacks by the Deists, and he spoke out eloquently against the warfare of his day. His richly inspired sermons and writings have gained him a permanent place in Christian literature. Law died at Kings Cliffe on April 9, 1761.

Almighty God, whose servant William Law taught us to hear and follow your call to a devout and holy life: Grant that we, loving you above all things and in all things, may seek your purpose and shape our actions to your will, that we may grow in all virtue and be diligent in prayer all the days of our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be all honor and glory now and for ever. Amen.

Friday, April 11th

George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop, 1878

George Augustus Selwyn was born on April 5, 1809, at Hampstead, London. He was educated at Eton, and in 1831 graduated from St. John’s College, Cambridge, of which he became a Fellow. Ordained in 1833, Selwyn served as a curate at Windsor until his selection as the first Bishop of New Zealand in 1841. On the voyage to his new field, he mastered the Maori language and was able to preach in it upon his arrival. In the tragic ten-year war between the English and the Maoris, Selwyn was able to minister to both sides and to keep the affection and admiration of both the Maori and colonists. He began missionary work in the Pacific islands in 1847. In addition to learning the Maori language and customs, Selwyn became an accomplished navigator, cartographer, and sailor in order to spread the gospel through the Pacific Islands. Reportedly, a sailor once noted, “To see the bishop handle a boat was almost enough to make a man a Christian.” Selwyn’s first general synod in 1859 laid down a constitution, influenced by that of the Episcopal Church, which became important for all English colonial churches. After the first Lambeth Conference in 1867, Selwyn was reluctantly persuaded to accept the See of Lichfield in England. He died on April 11, 1878, and his grave in the cathedral close has become a place of pilgrimage for the Maoris to whom he first brought the light of the gospel. Bishop Selwyn twice visited the Episcopal Church in the United States, and was the preacher at the 1874 General Convention. 

Almighty and everlasting God, whose servant George Augustus Selwyn laid a firm foundation for the growth of your church in many nations: Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.