Yesterday was the Second Sunday in Lent and a wonderful day at church. My sermon was on discipleship, and I can say that Holy Cross Anglican Church is a church of serious disciples. Parish leaders take the concept of servant leadership seriously, and parishioners actively participate in the priesthood of the faithful.
We already have many important ministries at Holy Cross, including parish Women's and Men's Groups, our work with the Anglican Relief and Development Fund, support for the Open Door Mission, Pro Life ministry, Prayer Chain, Christian Education classes, Lay Readers and Acolytes, Ushers, Greeters, Internet Outreach and more, but there is even more that we need to be doing to build up the Body of Christ and advance the Work of the Great Commission, - and the faithful of Holy Cross are answering the call!
Just last week a family in the parish purchased The North American Anglican. The North American Anglican is a 200 to 300 page quarterly orthodox Anglican theological journal, and it will now be headquartered right here in Omaha, Nebraska, with a Holy Cross parishioner as editor. I will be serving as theological advisor. I also learned that our new Media Site will soon be going up on the Internet. Holy Cross Media will compliment our parish website and will focus on video and audio, including podcasts.
In my sermon yesterday I spoke of the need for ministries to college students, the elderly, and more, and after Services parishioners were already beginning to step forward. Our own Fr. Smith, who is a Vietnam veteran, told me of his vision for a ministry to veterans. With the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq winding down, and Omaha being a community with a large military presence and a VA hospital, such a ministry would be important for returning military personnel and their families. Later in the parish hall two of our college students spoke to me about starting a ministry to college students on the UNL campus. Both of the men are mature Christians who serve with me at the altar of God, and are returning to college for further education. When I left church yesterday afternoon to go home these two men were still talking in the parish hall, formulating their plans. Finally, Sunday evening, our parish Websexton told me of her plans to improve our already popular and informative parish website, and to build and administer effective websites for other Anglican parishes across the country. Before speaking with me she even purchased state of the art website design software.
I am overwhelmed by the response to my sermon, and I know that there are even more ministries that are in the "praying about" or planning stages. Our parish Women's and Men's Groups will be meeting on Wednesday, March 7th, at 6:30 PM. The Women's Group will meet in the parish hall while the Men's Group meets in the sacristy. The meetings will last about an hour. These two organizations are active, effective and vital parish ministries, and I would like to invite all of my readers within driving distance of Omaha to participate. These meetings are open to the members and friends of Holy Cross Anglican Church. I hope to see you there!
