T h e
G o o d N e w s
A r c h i v e s
May 2001
The
Diocese of Western Louisiana
Enters A Time of Change & Transition
As I was driving back this past Tuesday from an Executive Meeting at Camp Hardtner, my mind was spinning with the news that had been given to us earlier that morning. Bishop Hargrove informed the Executive Committee that he was calling for the election of a Bishop Coadjutor. Our bishop went on to state that the election of a new bishop would coincide with his intention to retire from the episcopacy in seventeen months. Thus we are now a diocese that is moving into seldom traveled waters.
The election of a new bishop in any diocese is a lengthy and involved
process. However, the first step is one
in which we all can take part. The very first step for any Episcopal election should begin with
prayer. We will continue to pray and
support Bishop Hargrove in his episcopal ministry. He is our bishop and he will continue to remain our bishop until he
hands over his crosier to the next bishop.
Bishop Hargrove has made it
very clear that he has no intention of becoming a lame-duck bishop.
In our church, the bishop is always the primary shepherd for the diocese.
We would do well to remember that while the shepherd’s crook is a
symbol of the episcopal office, historically
it has also been used to deliver a firm but gentle thumping on the heads of
those stray sheep who fail to pay proper attention to matters at hand.
So if you don’t want to receive a thumping, then don’t let this time
of transition be an excuse to slack off from the mission of the Church.
In addition, pray for the priests and deacons of Western Louisiana. Pray that this time of transition will be one of new discovery in their ministries. Pray for all the faithful lay members of the parishes and missions of Western Louisiana. Ask that each church in this diocese will continue to press forward the mission of the Church. Ask that the Good News will be proclaimed to all people continuing in the work of the Apostles who were commissioned by Jesus some two thousand years ago. The Episcopal Church in Western Louisiana traces its mission and ministry from the original Apostles through succeeding bishops throughout history until it was given to Bishop Hargrove in 1989. In the near future, the same historic mission of the Christian Church will be carried forward by the third Bishop of Western Louisiana.
For now, each of the five convocations in our diocese will be asked to forward the names of two lay people and two clergy to be put into a pool from which the Election Committee will be chosen. This step will be completed before May 15. Then there will be a one-day special convention probably at St. James in Alexandria, on Saturday, July 7, to finalize the time line and election procedures for this process. As more details are revealed, I will let you know what is happening.
God's Peace,
Mark+
He
Ascended Into Heaven and is
Seated at the Right Hand of the Father
We say the above words every Sunday when we recite the Nicene Creed. But I wonder, how often do we think about the words we speak during the liturgy? What meaning do they have for our lives? Are these ancient spoken words as relative to our modern lives as they were for the faithful men and women of the early Church?
One of the seven principal feasts
of the Church’s calendar year is the Feast of the Ascension. It happens to be
a movable feast because it directly depends upon Easter. The Feast of the
Ascension always falls forty days after Easter which also happens to be ten days
before Pentecost. This means that Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday
during the season of Easter.
As a young boy I was somewhat
puzzled by the idea of the Ascension. I could understand the crucifixion and
Christ’s dying on the cross. I could embrace with my faith the joy of the
resurrection of Christ’s body from the dead. I could even envision many
appearances of Christ to his faithful followers after the resurrection. But what
really left me confused was this: “Whatever happened to Christ after he rose
from the dead?” The ever inquisitive mind of a child always wants to know,
“What happened next?”
The Feast of the Ascension is the
answer to what happened next to Christ. According to John Donne, “The
ascension is considered the essential link between the Jesus of history and the
Christ of faith.” In Holy Scripture several references are made to the
Ascension. All of them point to a sense of completeness to a relationship with
God the Father. Christ is withdrawn from the world in order to sit at the right
hand of the Father.
I suspect there are a good number
of reasons why interest in the Ascension has decreased in our modern culture.
For one, it’s difficult for people to get off from work to attend a midweek
church service. Also, an increase of secularism within our culture has
contributed to its decline. Nonetheless, it is our tradition at Good Shepherd to
observe all the major feasts of the Christian year. That being said, we will
hold an Ascension Day service at noon, on Thursday, May 24th, in the Chapel of
the Resurrection. If we don’t continue to honor and teach our Christian
beliefs and traditions, then they are destined to be forever lost to the pages
of history.
Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost are tied together in one continuous theological theme just as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter are as well. So come and join us as we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. Give thanks that Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. Give thanks to God for a new life in Christ. The Ascension, along with Pentecost Day, forms the basis of our Trinitarian belief that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one. This is a day that’s too important to simply be forgotten.
God's Peace,
Mark+
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