February 2012 Belfry is now available

The Belfry Christ Episcopal Church
February 2012
The Very Rev’d Canon Patrick P. Augustine, D. Min., Rector

From the Rector’s Desk

The Practicing Congregation It is a title I borrow from Diana Butler Bass’s book. The first model of a practicing congregation we learn from the book of Acts. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42). At Christ Church we weave together Christian practices to study, joyful fellowship, hospitality and care and prayer for each other. It comes from a long Christian tradition—into a pattern of church that forms an intentional way of life in our community. We as a faith community come to worship on the Lord’s Day and opportunities for worship during the week. We also encourage you to say Morning and Evening Prayers at church or at home. Every three months we provide you a daily devotional book “Day by Day.” The new copy for February-April is now available for you.

During the Lenten season we will have every Wednesday after Eucharist a simple dinner and study of the Holy Scripture. This year, particularly, we focus on deepening our relationship with Jesus. I will be sending you more information that we will adopt a program based on the book, The Essential Jesus Challenge. It guides participants through the list of short Bible passages following the storyline of Jesus Christ—25 from the Old Testament and 75 from the New Testament—over a 20-week period. I would like our whole congregation to sign up for this study for twenty weeks. Imagine the impact of having our entire congregation reading and discussing the Bible's greatest story. Many churches have found The Essen-tial Jesus Challenge an effective Bible engagement experience. Presently on Sunday mornings we are studying N T Wright’s book Simply Jesus. I have copies of Simply Jesus in my office. Please pick up a copy for your personal study and join us for study and reflection.

Opportunities for mission and outreach in our own community and in the global Anglican Communion deepen our faith—to be the eyes, hands and feet of Jesus. Our parishioners last year adopted several orphan children in Haiti to sup-port their education. We are being invited again to be sponsors to these children who otherwise have no opportunity to re-ceive an education. Please let me know if you would like to join our parish to give a gift of education to children in Haiti. It is a mark of practicing emerging missional congregation.

To follow Jesus is a costly discipleship. When I was in college I was given a book Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoef-fer. In this book Bonhoeffer calls the Church to reject “cheap grace” and embrace a way of costly discipleship to become a vibrant and vital professing Christian community. He writes:

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without a confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is a grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

When our congregation is intentional to follow the costly discipleship way we experience an increased sense of commitment to worship, fellowship, study and mission. Do you see what others see when they visit us: that Christ Church is a living, loving vibrant faith community. This is what a practicing community looks like. We have not graduated from it yet. Keep up the good work and keep your eyes and hearts Simply on Jesus.

It is a joy and honor for me to serve you as your Rector.

Patrick P. Augustine+