Monday Matters: Yes, it's Friday and…

[Episcopal Church Foundation – Vital Posts] “After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few;...

Are We the Church of Jesus?

[Episcopal Church Foundation – Vital Posts] “It is not enough that we love God. It is not enough that we love one another. We must also love the world for whom Christ died.” George Bernard Shaw once wrote: “If some enterprising clergyman with a cure for souls in...

Piano-Strings Evangelism

[Episcopal Church Foundation – Vital Posts] Festival season is gearing up, and hopefully congregations are spending some serious creative time thinking about how to make the most of these evangelism opportunities. St. James Episcopal Church in Piqua, Ohio, has...

The Key to Strategic Implementation? Communication

[Episcopal Church Foundation – Vital Posts] “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.”(Acts 2: 14) It must have...

Registrar, Clerk, Or Secretary?

[Episcopal Church Foundation – Vital Posts] Our by-laws stipulate that one of the officers of the vestry is a person called ‘registrar.’ This person records minutes of vestry meetings and makes them available to the group. “[S]hall keep or cause to be kept true...

The Speed (or Lack Thereof) of Change

[Episcopal Church Foundation – Vital Posts] The conversation about building a parking lot began before I was born. And while I’m not ready for the pasture, I, sadly, no longer qualify as spring chicken. Welcome to church time, which runs apace with glaciers. I...

Healthy Uncertainty

[Episcopal Church Foundation – Vital Posts] Imagine yourself in these scenarios: It’s about 15 minutes before your Sunday morning service and an acolyte hasn’t shown up. What do you do? The end of the year is nearing and there’s a small budget shortfall. What’s...

Improv Worship

[Episcopal Church Foundation – Vital Posts] Here’s what Sunday reality looks like on the ground where I am: increasingly unpredictable. Our English services — representing the legacy congregation of our historic parish — are getting smaller by the...

Beloved Children of God

[Episcopal Church Foundation – Vital Posts] Her response was plaintive and clear: I think the bishop would be mad at you if the kids weren’t there, if the whole family didn’t come to dinner. I had asked my 14-year-old if she wanted to stay home (or go out with...