In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Accounting

Last Monday being Tax Day, no doubt, you felt relief. Relief because you had already filed your tax return, because you mailed it off that day, or because you requested an extension for time to file. On the other hand, if you owed taxes with your return, perhaps you weren’t feeling relief so much as exasperation.

April 15^th, or thereabouts, is the day we’ve learned to dread every year. We either dread it because our bookkeeping is behind and we know it will be a monumental task to get it all together; or we dread it because we’re afraid to see the last number on the return: will it be positive or negative?

We all know that this settling of accounts is coming around each year. The wise consider how their actions throughout the year will affect their tax liability. The foolish live in the moment, oblivious to how what they do now will impact their future.

My work in accounting has shown me that the field is aptly named. Sometimes, there is a daily accounting of the financial situation; at other times, there is a monthly or quarterly accounting, and there is always the annual accounting that follows the close of the fiscal year. In working with a lot of small businesses, I’ve learned that the number one reason businesses fail is because of a lack of capital. I’ve also learned that businesses fail for another reason, closely related: a lack of accounting. That is, the business fails because the owner goes along thinking all is well when he really has no clue; he hasn’t examined the books well enough to know whether he’s actually turning a profit. This man is often found driving a Mercedes while living with his wife and children in his mother’s basement.

How shall we live?

In the reading from St. Peter’s epistle appointed for today, we see the apostle admonishing the followers of Christ. He describes how Christians should walk uprightly, bringing honor to the Lord. He exhorts believers to embrace the disciplines of the Christian faith. He does so by expounding the virtues of the Christian life, the demands of the Christian life, the necessary behavior of the man committed to the cause of Christ.

We must abandon the works of evil. Those who are committed to the cause of Christ must forsake all that is of this world, all that is fleeting and ephemeral, all that is selfish and self-righteous, all this is opposed to the holiness of our Lord. Instead, we must embrace those things of Christ’s kingdom, that which is lasting and eternal, that which is selfless, and that which brings humility before the majesty of God.

We do this by following the apostle’s direction found in this passage. We do that by obeying the Lord’s commandments. Instead of walking as the ungodly, who are vain, ignorant, and blind—who have no compassion because they have been dulled by greed and lust and immorality—let us be like Christ. We have heard the truth from him through nature, the Scriptures, and the witness of the Holy Spirit. Let us not join with those of reprobate character when they seek to fulfill the works of the flesh. Instead, let us forsake the corrupt conversations and lusts, and let us be made new in the likeness of God according to his righteousness.

Having so received the Lord’s forgiveness, how do we uphold his commandments in the world? St. Peter tells us: be honest; obey the civil magistrate; honor everyone; show love to fellow believers; fear God; and honor the king. The reprobate has become callous to the things of God, but the Christian remains sensitive to the Lord’s will. The Christian, being driven by the Spirit, will be motivated to good deeds by the desire to honor the Lord. The man who recognizes God’s holiness will be desirous of good works because he wants to please the heavenly Father.

Soon comes an accounting. Soon comes the reckoning. After the short balance of our lives is done, we see judgement.

I think of the Babylonians, partying, oblivious to the consequences of their behavior before God. Though not invited, the Lord broke in on the party and wrote, with his hand, a message upon the wall. The idolater Belshazzar was called to give an account of his life. He was weighed in the balance and found wanting. That night, he was killed.

Unlike Tax Day, which comes at a fixed time each year, we are sometimes called to account at odd times. Whether our reckonings in this life occur with regularity or infrequency, we shall all be weighed in the balance. The evil man, the man who brings a reproach to his Creator, will be found wanting. But let us, as followers of Christ, be found worthy of our calling. Let us be found honoring his name.

We are not able to do so except by submission to his will and his Spirit. Our animation in good deeds comes from him. He has saved us by his grace and called us to good works, all for his glory.

Headlines and Hope

• 5 snowboarders killed in Colorado avalanche, sheriff says
• China earthquake toll hits 180, thousands injured
• Man hijacked Texas bus before killing himself, police say
• Indian girl, 5, in serious condition after being raped, tortured for 2 days, officials say
• West, Texas recovers after plant blast kills 14, injures 200
• Boy Scouts to consider lifting ban on openly gay youths
• Suburb becomes war zone in days after bombings
• Assad Warns West About Terror Blowback As U.S. Sends More Troops to Jordan
• Gosnell Trial Witness: Baby Abortion Survivor Was ‘Swimming’ in Toilet ‘Trying to Get Out’
• American Pastor Faces Worsening Conditions in Iranian Prison

These are all top news headlines from the past few days. I thought of reading excerpts from a few of the articles, but the headlines are sufficiently descriptive of the content.

This is a vastly evil world in which we live. Man’s sin has touched all the world. Those who put their trust in things of the world are filled with anxiety. Sometimes, the attitude of others can be infectious. If we soak up the dread of others, we too may become filled with feelings of hopelessness.

Jesus knew that’s how his disciples would feel after he died. Thus he spoke those words we heard today from St. John’s Gospel. He told them that he’d soon go away, but that they would see him again. They didn’t understand his words. It must have been a bit like picking up a book in a foreign language for the first time: none of it makes sense. “A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me.” Is this a riddle of some sort?

Christ’s death left his disciples in despair. They all forsook him at his trial and crucifixion. They denied they even knew him. The One on whom all their hopes depended had been killed. He, knowing all things, knew that they would do this, and he warned them about it. But he also knew that they would come back to him, that, in the end, they would be faithful. In the moment of his death, they were overwhelmed with anxiety. In the moment of his resurrection, they were overwhelmed with his glory.

Reading the headlines, we may feel a bit like the disciples when Jesus died. We are troubled by the things going on around the world, the things going on in Washington and Austin, the things going on in our neighborhoods. And we are often troubled by the things going on in our own homes. There is much to be concerned about, understandably. We are to discern the times and assess how we should live.

Some have given up hope. They have determined that evil shall triumph in this world, that the future is certainly filled with the extermination of mankind, with endless calamity, with pain and misery that only ceases upon the death of all. They despair of this world. They have resigned themselves to simply biding their time here, treading water until the earth is destroyed.

We are “strangers and pilgrims,” as Peter calls us. We are temporary visitors to this time and place. Yes, we eagerly await the Second Coming of Christ in glory and the consummation of all things. That yet more glorious day shall come.

In the meantime, however, we are not men of misery. We are not proceeding to the scaffold. We do not lurch about as men having no hope. Even in the face of boundless uncertainty in the world today, we do not despair. We know the promise of the Lord and we know the ends of his mercy. We are not to sit idly on the platform, tickets in hand, waiting for appearance of the train that will take us to heavenly places.

The work God has given us is to be done here. And we shall not please him if we are not engaged in his work. We may weep and lament while the world rejoices, but our sorrow shall be turned into joy.

It is this message that we hear constantly from the Scriptures. Certainly we should be sober-minded, filled with an understanding of the world’s sinfulness and our own. But we do not despair. We are not filled with dismay at the misery of the world, at the injustice of the world, at the pain and agony inflicted by evil men.

Do not look for a way out: our Lord has placed you here. He has placed you here to reflect his glory, even amidst the cesspool of wickedness of those around you. He has placed you here as a beacon to wayward ships, tossed about on the seas of skepticism, immorality, abuse, and faithlessness. He has placed you here as a witness of his gospel—that all men might return to their created purpose, that they might worship, that they should not fear his judgement.

This was the promise of Christ to his disciples before his crucifixion, and it is the promise to all who follow him. He has not left us comfortless. We are not without hope. We are not defeated. The church is not in despair.

Conclusion

As Christians, we are not yet perfect. We must maintain humility before the Lord and continually plead for his forgiveness. We must daily repent of our wrongs, and we must daily seek to do and to promote the will of God.

Let us remember that, one day, we shall all stand before the Lord in judgement. On that day, he shall require an account of all we have done. Will we be found faithful to his cause or will we be found as practitioners and enablers of unrighteousness? We must care for the things of God and care not for the spite or the ridicule of the world or our own flesh. If, in this finite and temporary world, we stand without compromise, we shall find comfort in the eternal things of God. It is only by being faithful to our Lord that we shall find true satisfaction.

“A little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.” We shall go to the Father also, and there shall we see him. For a while, in the church militant, we resist the world, the flesh, and the devil; in a little while, we shall join the church triumphant, having our robes washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.

When the pain of delivery is over, a woman with child rejoices. She no longer remembers that pain, but she is delighted to hold the baby to her breast. So, too, shall our joy be in due season if we faint not. We endure here for a season; let us do so with diligence in the Lord’s work. We shall not please him in the glorious day of his appearing if we do not please him now.

Ascription

And now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, both now and for ever. Amen.

Lots of folks believe the Church is broken these days. Some of the words they use to describe it: messy, a failure, irrelevant, archaic, and more along this line. And those descriptions come from people who identify themselves as Christians.

I don’t know what church they’re talking about, but it’s certainly not the Church founded by Christ. After all, he speaks of his Church as a spotless bride, a pure virgin waiting for her beloved to take her to the wedding feast.

Sure, men are flawed. Men have failed. Men have used God’s gifts in perverted and sinful ways. But the Lord’s Church is unbroken because it is founded upon Christ. The Church doesn’t rise and fall with sinners. It triumphs because of Christ. The Church isn’t made by men and can’t be destroyed by men. The Church is animated by Christ.

Those who think the Church is broken have truly only discovered their own brokenness. They are broken by the sin of pride and selfishness, the sins that beset all men. Quite easily, they project their own sins upon the Church, claiming that there’s no right way to worship, no perfect way to follow God, no way to overcome the brokenness. And in the latter, they are right: there is no way that men can overcome their brokenness. Instead, they must be overcome by God.

The Spirit of the Lord still leads his Church. Christ said quite plainly that the gates of Hell would not prevail against his bride. The Church isn’t broken, men are.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Introduction

Perhaps you’ve heard the old saw that goes like this. A man turned to his friend and said, “Do you know that the two greatest problems in our country today are ignorance and apathy?” To this his friend replied, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”

That is, perhaps, a most fitting assessment—and especially on this day. This day marks, among all others, the sins and failures of mankind. In this regard, it is not unlike other days. But this day marks a great darkness, a great evil, a great forwardness, a rebellion of the hearts of men against their Creator. This day marks what is most assuredly the darkest day of all in our American history.

Forty long years were God’s people in the wilderness after Moses led them out of Egypt. In fits and starts they followed him and obeyed his commandments. Sometimes, they honored him; sometimes, they complained against him, accusing him of injustice. At least once, they turned to worship a false God.

Likewise, for forty long years, the Church in America has largely ignored the darkness of the murder of innocents in our land. Too many Christians sit comfortably in their churches without regard to the blood of the unborn being shed around them every day. In fits and starts has the Church, too, honored the Lord’s commandments. At times, Christians have spoken plainly of God’s truth and honored him in deeds. At other times, and in critical times, we have preferred our own convenience.

blatch / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Those of you who are older than I may remember the political struggle over abortion in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The argument was that abortion was a medical necessity. A handful of states began to legalize abortion. In 1973, the Supreme Court declared it to be legally acceptable to murder children in the womb. Since that time, the argument for medical necessity has virtually disappeared, while we kill children in the womb for the sake of our convenience.

For 40 years, the courts have declared acceptable that which God has condemned. Since 1973, more than 50 million children have been murdered in the womb. Our chief executive, before he took office, stated that he was in favor of killing children after they were born.[1] This is the state of our nation after 40 years. We have embraced a culture of death.

The culture of death brings about disrespect for human life across the breadth of our society. You may remember the death of Terri Schiavo in 2005. She was physically and mentally disabled, and her husband sought to have her put to death because she was an inconvenience to him. A state court ordered that food and water be withheld from her. After fourteen days without food or water, Terri died of dehydration. This is the culture of death we have in this country.

Every day, the disabled and elderly are neglected because they are inconvenient. I think of the nursing home where I lead service each month, of how many of the elderly are dumped there by their families. They are abandoned because they are inconvenient. Children shuttle off their parents to a place where they can die because it’s inconvenient to deal with them. This is the culture of death.

Murder Condemned, Life Affirmed

Abortion is an old sin that has been with us since the early days of mankind. It was spoken of in the Old Testament. References to it have been found in ancient texts.

Elsewhere in the book of Genesis, the Lord said unto Noah, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”[2] Here the Lord made plain to Noah that the life of every man is sacred. It is sacred because man bears God’s image.

From the time of the early church, abortion was condemned as murder. In the Didache, the oldest known catechetical document of the Church, written sometime around 100 A.D and intended as a summary of the Apostles’ teaching, are these words: “You shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill one who has been born.”[3] We see that this sin has been around for a long time, and it is practiced with impunity in our own time. The Church has always looked upon this act as an offense against both God and man.

Tertullian, in about 210 A.D., wrote this, “Life begins with conception, for we contend that the soul also begins from conception. Life takes its commencement at the same place and time that the soul does.”[4] That is to say, at the moment when God causes two cells to combine—in that moment when he creates the body—he also animates the body with his own breath. Into a man fashioned from clay, the Father breathed life. Therefore, we honor life, not only because it came from that first receiving of God’s breath, but also because it is that continued receiving from God, that continued imprint of his image upon men.

Christ affirmed the value of mankind throughout his ministry. He did so when he declared them to be made whole by speaking words of healing or laying his hands on them. He did so when he called them to repentance so that they might be saved from destruction. He did so when he said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”[5]

Likewise, when he said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly,”[6] he was affirming the value of life. He was affirming the value of human life in his eyes, both the life of that first breath and the new life that comes through the saving work of Christ our Savior. This is everlasting life given to those who repent of their wickedness and follow after Christ.

Instead of taking life, Jesus gave his life, saying, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”[7] He showed the value of men in God’s eyes: not that men are worthy, but God has made them worthy through his first Creation and his New Creation.

Made in God’s Image

What does it mean to be made in God’s image? That has been an important question throughout human history, and it is no less important to us now. The answer to this question have tremendous implications for our understanding of God, of man, of how God has revealed himself to man, and, especially, our understanding of Jesus, the incarnate God, God in human flesh.

Sailing “Footprints: Real to Reel” (Ronn ashore) / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

In seeking to explain this impression of the image of God upon the soul of man, we use a variety of terms. We speak of being made in God’s likeness, made in his image. We talk of the sacredness of human life, the dignity of men. The American Founders spoke of it in the Declaration of Independence in those words that are familiar to most of us: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We speak of the inalienable nature of the right to life. This means that the right to life is inherent to our identity as humans. God made us such that this right is essential to our being. This right can neither be taken from us nor can it be given up; it is inalienable—we cannot be separated from it. This is the value that God gives mankind. We have value because he has deigned to leave his fingerprints in the clay with which he made man and woman.

What might we learn from the passage we read in Genesis 1? Firstly, that God has given man dominion. He gave mankind authority over every creature, every creeping, flying, or swimming thing. He gave man authority over the trees and other plants.

Insofar as this authority of dominion is practiced by man with uprightness, he reflects the image of God. Just as the Lord rightly exercises his authority over all things, so man rightly exercises his authority over those things placed under his control. Man may use the things of Creation for good purposes, just as the Lord has made them all for his good purpose. As God has exercised his creative power, man may exercise the power of creativity bestowed upon him by the Creator.

Secondly, we bear the image of God in our moral nature. That is, we are formed according to his character. The Lord has endowed each man with conscience, with some ability to discern right and wrong, to seek goodness. Certainly this desire for goodness, this ability to discern what is pleasing to God, has been marred by sin. We see with dimmed eyes; we stumble in the darkness because we have shut out the light. Our consciences are seared by sinfulness such that our minds are faulty and our wills given to that which is evil. Certainly, our natural tendency is toward sin and all that is displeasing toward the Lord.

Yet, however dimly we may see, and however vainly we may grasp at goodness without the illumination of God’s Holy Spirit, mankind is not entirely divorced from the goodness of God. Because of the mercy of the Lord, it is this indelible likeness of the Father upon us that gives us any inclination to do that which is good. It was of this impression of the Father’s character on us that Christ spoke when he said to his disciples, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”[8]

Take Up the Tools at Your Hand

How do we address this sin of the devaluing of human life? How do we act in such ways as to affirm life?

Some years ago, I was seeking work through a temporary staffing agency. Reviewing the agency’s advertisements for jobs, I discovered one that was a bit cryptic. As I carefully read over the words, it became apparent that the temp agency was seeking a nurse to work in the abortion clinic in town. I spoke with the local manager of the service, who referred me to the corporate office. I spoke with the president of the company, who dismissed my concerns about the murder of the innocent, stating that they were supporting a business engaged in legal activity.

I called friends in the area and asked them to pray and to participate in an effort to stop the supply of nurses to the abortion clinic. After several days of standing on the sidewalk in front of the employment agency, greeting the folks who came in and out of that business and explaining to them what sort of services it supplied, we were able to impact the abortion industry in our town. People who sought help in finding a job through this agency were shocked to learn that it was working for the abortion industry in this way. Some learned for the first time that an abortion clinic even existed in the area.

Eventually, we were able to have an impact on the staffing of the clinic, and its hours were reduced after the prayers and faithful witness of many in the pro-life movement. Its sister clinic in another city was shut down by the state.

I think also of my friend who heads a ministry dedicated to teaching Ukrainian orphans about Christ and showing them compassion. He and his wife help coordinate the adoption of scores of children each year. These are children who would be abandoned; those who make it to adulthood often turn to prostitution and other crime to support themselves. Now, instead, they have the love of adopted parents. They have the love of Christ shown to them through the acts of men and women who understand the value of human life.

These are only some of the things that we can do when we take up the tools that are at hand. Perhaps the most important and the most expedient thing you can do to honor the sanctity of life is to teach it to your children. We so often spend time seeking magic solutions that we neglect the work before us. We do not live in a fairy land; there are no magic beans. Let us teach our children about the sanctity of human life.

Men who are not taught love as children will seldom love when full grown. We must speak the message of truth in our homes and in our churches. We must teach children about the dignity of all men. We should teach them how we are fearfully and wonderfully made—by God, in his image. We should teach them how to love others, that humiliation and ridicule do not show our appreciation of human worth. We should teach them that children are a gift from the Lord, not an inconvenience to be avoided or disposed of. We should teach them that God will hold us accountable for all our deeds, both good and bad. We should teach them that, in honoring the value of men, we honor the Lord.

Let us not forget prayer, that most important discipline of Christian life. Pray for the safety of children in the womb. Pray for the hearts of men in authority, that they will respect the value of life. Pray for doctors and nurses, that they will seek to preserve life, not to destroy it. Pray for all who suffer from abortion, the childless mothers and fathers who need the forgiveness of the Father. Pray for those in the nursing homes, the elderly and the disabled, that they will be comforted by the Holy Spirit in their moments of loneliness and distress.

NaturaLite’s “snap decisions” / Senior Photos / CC BY-NC-ND

Take up the tools that are at your hand and work in the Lord’s kingdom. Work to affirm the sacredness of human life. Work to glorify God by honoring his Creation.

Conclusion

In exercising dominion, we do not seek dominion over others. We do not seek to control them, to limit their freedom, to make them slaves. All of these things attack their dignity and show that we have no value for them. We do not dominate or subjugate others or murder them. We are to exercise dominion in goodness, in all that pleases the Lord. When we offend the dignity of men, we offend the majesty of God.

We may embrace the fullness of life by following after Christ. We show this by speaking and acting in accord with his word. We show this by affirming human life in all its forms, in all its locations, in all its conditions. We show our reverence for God by our respect for men—men who are created in the image of deity.

May we honor all men and so honor God.

Ascription

And now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, both now and for ever. Amen.

Pat Robertson Says Divorce Okay if Spouse has Alzheimer’s | Liveblog | Christianity Todayhttp://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2011/09/pat_robertson_s.htmlCo-host Terry Meeuwsen asked Pat, “But isn’t that the vow that we take when we marry someone? That it’s For better or for worse. For richer or poorer?”Robertson said that the viewer’s friend could obey this vow of “death till you part” because the disease was a “kind of death.” Robertson said he would understand if someone started another relationship out of a need for companionship.

Mr. Robertson’s own co-host didn’t seem comfortable with his remarks.

This is a sad commentary about the state of Western Christianity in our postmodern culture. The church is increasingly being shaped by the relative morality of the world around us.

Mr. Robertson has essentially declared that figurative death releases husband and wife from the bonds of marriage. Following his line of reasoning, one could easily justify homosexual “marriage” on the grounds that one partner is figuratively a husband and the other is figuratively a wife. And there could be many other examples of such figurative interpretations of Bible passages that are clearly prohibitive of divorce or that require lifelong committed marriage.

We see in Ephesians 5 that marriage is to reflect the love that Christ has for his church (particularly in Ephesians 5:25, which says, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it”). Christ sacrificed his own body for the sake of his bride the church. He condescended from his heavenly throne to become a man of low estate so that he might win his bride. He sacrificed himself so that the church might know his love. The Scriptures admonish husbands to love their wives in the same way so that they may exhibit to the world an example of Christ’s love for his church.

If a man divorces his wife because she contracts a disease, what example is he giving the world about Christ’s love? Sadly, he is suggesting to the world that Christ will forsake us in our moment of need, of vulnerability, of impotence. This is contrary to all that the Scriptures tell us about the love of Christ. The Lord is faithful and will never forsake us. Christ sacrificed himself for us even when he knew we were diseased with sin and incapable of healing ourselves, when we didn’t realize his identity as Savior and Lord of the universe.

Thanks be to God that he did not forsake us when we were incapable of knowing who he is, when we were incapable of providing companionship to him, when we were incapacitated by the wickedness of our hearts.

While in Afghanistan, the 2nd Engineer Battalion Bible studies proved to be a relief to Soldiers during their tour, and now the battalion is bringing those studies back home.

Chaplain Daniel Sparks started the battalion Bible studies before Soldiers deployed for Afghanistan in December 2008.

Read more at http://www.missileranger.com/artman/publish/article_5631.shtml

The Diocese of Mid-America, being a part of the Reformed Episcopal Church, which is a member of the Anglican Church in North America, in seeking to uphold and remain faithful to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Reformed Episcopal Church, hereby reaffirms the following articles of the Reformed Episcopal Church Constitution as our understanding of the doctrinal standards, which are binding on all REC clergy and parishes and missions.

ARTICLE III

Doctrinal Position

This Church holds the Faith as once delivered to the saints, and as transmitted through the Church of England, especially as articulated in her Reformation heritage, the range of her Anglican divines, and as deposited in the founding principles of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Furthermore, this Church affirms Holy Scripture as the Word of God, the three ancient creeds, commonly known as the Nicene, Apostles’ and Creed of Athanasius, and the dogmatic definitions of the first four ecumenical councils of the undivided church. It also holds the following unalterable historical documents to be a part of the received Body of its Doctrine:

(1) The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion in their 1801 form.

(2) The Declaration of Principles of 1873, as adopted by the first General Council of this Church.

(3) The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1886-1888.

These documents, and short summaries of the ecumenical councils, shall be appended at the end of the Constitution and Canons.

ARTICLE IV

Of Erroneous or Strange Teaching

Section 1 Nothing calculated to teach that in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the elements of the bread and wine are changed into the natural Flesh and Blood of Christ, shall ever be allowed in the worship or teaching of this Church. Nor shall any practice that teaches or promotes doctrines or practices specifically prohibited by the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion be permitted in this Church.

Section 2 No person shall be admitted or received as Deacon, Presbyter, or Bishop except, in each instance, he shall subscribe to the following oath, in writing, in the presence of two Presbyters in good standing of this Church, who shall sign as witnesses.

“In the Name of God, Amen. I __A. B. _ do solemnly swear that I believe the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that Holy Scripture contains all things necessary for salvation. I do believe and accept the received Body of Doctrine, Discipline and Worship of this Church, as set forth in the Constitution and Canons of the same, and will conform thereto, the Lord being my helper.”

Section 3 The foregoing oath, duly executed and witnessed, shall be delivered to the Bishop presiding as testimonial during the service of ordination or reception of every clergyman at the time of his presentation to the same for the laying on of hands.

This resolution is commended to other dioceses of the REC and to the 54th General Council of the REC.

I am pleased to see this resolution passed. It is important, from time to time, to state again our beliefs and to reaffirm our identity as Anglican Christians. This resolution is a simple reassertion of some of the critical pieces of our heritage and doctrine. I pray that it will help clergymen and laity throughout the church to recall these principles.