Let’s commit to staying connected. That’s what families do. And we are a family through more than genetics and lineage. Our common faith in the one Christ makes us brothers and sisters in an eternal sense. Nevertheless, staying connected is important.
Worshipping with the Book of Common Prayer keeps us spiritually connected. That is the gift of our Anglican heritage. Each Sunday we pray together in the same ancient forms from many different geographical locations. Different places. Same prayers. Same Jesus Christ.
We read the same scripture passages from the Revised Common Lectionary. God speaks the same words of love and grace in different tones with different cadences to the gathered believers in every place. The words are the same, and yet somehow God crafts the message for each and every heart. God’s word keeps us connected.
The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ slake our thirst and quell our hunger each Sunday. Each of our different Altars is a finite perspective on the one true Altar where Christ is both priest and sacrifice. Or, to us the image of the Table: the Holy Table in each congregation is a different glimpse of the one true Table at which Jesus is host and feast. The Sacrament connects us to God and weaves us into one Body.
In our polity, bishops serve as a symbol of our deeper unity in Christ. When I visit a congregation, my presence as bishop reminds everyone that the entire diocese, in fact the entire Church, gathers as one in worship.
As aids in remembering our unity and keeping us connected, I post pictures of my visitations on Facebook. Additionally, you can read each week’s sermon at Pelican Anglican (http://pelicananglican.blogspot.com and listen to it at my Bishop Jake Owensby sermon.net site (http://sermon.net/bishopjake).
Please consider friending me on Facebook (just look for Jake Owensby) to check out the latest pictures and updates. Also, visit my blog and consider subscribing by email or RSS feed. You can also subscribe to my audio sermons. (There is a link from Pelican Anglican to the audio sermons if that’s more convenient for you.)
Several parishes have touched base with me about book signings. Please feel free to let me know that you would like for me to come, and we will work something out. I will be happy to do a brief class and bring some copies for purchase and signing. If you already have a copy, just bring it along. Connecting the Dots is now available in a number of places, including Amazon.
I am so proud to be your bishop. Your faith and love fill me with joy and encourage me in my own walk with Jesus. I love you all and look forward to seeing each of you face to face.
In Christ’s Love,
The Rt. Rev. Jacob W. Owensby, Ph.D.
