Come Join Us on Pentecost, May 15, 2016

Pentecost, Commonly Called Whitsunday, May 15th, 2016

In the Second Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we are presented with a description of what happened to the disciples at Jerusalem during that very first Whitsunday, or Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended upon them.  And in that chapter it states that "there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven." (Acts 2:5)  In other words, there were gathered together a diverse group of people from various regions and backgrounds and areas.  When I was preparing my sermon this week and read this, it certainly hit home with me as I reflected on my own life.  This week I celebrated the Twentieth anniversary of my ordination of being a deacon.  And as is so often the case with anniversaries, it caused me to reflect on many memories during those twenty years: many varied parishes in multiple states; many wonderful people and families I have come to know and cherish; many opportunities to minister to God's Church here on earth.  But all along the way and even leading up to my ordination, first as a deacon and next as a priest, my faith was nourished by a wide array of people in my life:  my parents; my grandparents; my uncle; friends; pastors; teachers; etc.   People from a wide array of backgrounds that God used to help nourish me and form me to be the person that I am today.  Just as there were a wide array of people gathered together on that first Pentecost, so too, there are a wide array of people that God uses in our life to sustain us; to nourish us; to teach us.  There are a whole host of people from a wide array of backgrounds that God has used in our lifetime to bring us closer to Him.  And God uses us also to reach out to others . . . if we only allow Him.   The Church is made up of a wide array of people:  sick people; fearful people; sinful people; faithful people; people who are afraid.  The list goes on and on.  But the one thing that each of these people have in common is God.  Put your trust in God and be open to what God has in store for you.  

Two opportunities for Mass as we celebrate Whitsunday on Sunday, May 15th, 2016:

Come join us at St. Margaret of Scotland Church at 9:30 AM.  We celebrate Mass at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road, on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Come join us at Holy Spirit Church at 1:00 PM.  We celebrate Mass in the beautiful, historic First Presbyterian Church, located at 116 W. South Street in Greenfield, Indiana.

Come join either church as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Hear God speaking to you in Bible-centered preaching.  Join us as we worship God in a traditional setting as God's Family.  And, finally, come and receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

Please Join Us For Rogation Sunday on May 1st, 2016

Fifth Sunday after Easter, Rogation Sunday, May 1st, 2016

If we think back on our life, every single person reading this will be able to remember a time or two where they got themselves into a real jam and needed some assistance or a helping hand.  On the other hand, every single person reading this will remember a time or two when YOU were that person lending a helping hand to a person in need.  I've been the person that needed help; I've been the person that did the helping.  So I have been on both ends of the stick, so to speak.  But the bottom line is this, we have all known people that talked a good game but when it came down to it, their words did not quite equal their actions.  I am sure that all of us can think of a good example of one or two people who talked a lot but when you needed that person, they were nowhere to be found.  Like the old saying goes:  "Actions speak louder than words."   I point all this out to show that it just makes sense to expect people to back up their words with action.  Even St. James knew this and this is why he wrote in the first chapter of his epistle:  "BE ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . . . ." (St. James 1:22)  In the everyday world, if we went to work and had a coworker who bragged and boasted of everything he or she was capable of doing and then did not actually do anything when it came down to it, what would we think of that coworker?  What if you had a friend that you would see every now and then and each time you saw that friend, the friend said "Oh, I got you a nice jacket but I don't have it with me but I'll give it to you the next time I see you." But, as you can guess, the next time you see the friend:  no jacket.  But then the same friend says, "Oh, I got you a really nice book but I don't have it with me . . .  I will give it to you next time I see you."  Again, you guessed it, no book to be found the next time you met this friend of yours.  After a while, if this pattern continues, what will the word of this friend mean?  Nothing.   As human beings, we expect people to live up to their word.  If they do not, their word means nothing.  St. James points out that we put our Christianity into practice by what we do for others, especially the less fortunate.  We don't earn our way into Heaven by what we do.  But on the other hand, the more we do for others . . .  in the Name of Christ . . . .  we show what our Christianity means to us.  And it also shows how much we have learned from the teachings of Our Blessed Saviour.

Two opportunities for Mass on Sunday, May 1st, 2016:

St. Margaret of Scotland Church meets every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We meet at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Holy Spirit Church meets every Sunday at 1:00 PM.  We meet at the beautiful, historic First Presbyterian Church, located at 116 W. South Street in Greenfield, Indiana.

Join us as we gather to hear God's Word.  Join us as we gather together as God's family to worship Our Heavenly Father and to listen to Him speak to us.  Join us as we gather to receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time in order to strengthen and nourish us.  We use the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  

Bishop James Mote

Bishop James Mote

Perspective is a tricky concept at times.  If you look at an object far away,for example, something quite large can appear very small.  Whereas if you look at the same object up close, you discover how large it actually is.  Time, also, depends on perspective.  If you are at work waiting to leave for the day, time seems to just drag on and on and on.  And yet, there are other dates that seemed like they were just yesterday and they were quite a while ago.  So, it seems, with April 29th, 2016, we remember the Tenth Anniversary of the death of one of the true pioneers of what has come to be known as the Continuing Church movement.  It was on April 29th, 2006 that Bishop James Orin Mote passed away.  It is hard for me to believe that it has been ten years since we lost Bishop Mote.  It seems like just yesterday that I was still in the company of Bishop Mote listening to his stories . . . . the same stories that I had heard him tell a thousand times before . . .  but I would gladly listen to these same stories over and over again a thousand more times, if given the opportunity to do so.  I was blessed, to say the least, to know Bishop Mote in his final years and to get to know such a pioneer of the Continuing Church movement.  But more than that, I was blessed to know someone who truly was a Man of God, someone who dedicated his entire life to service of God and in the service of Christ's Church here on earth.

Bishop Mote was one of the original bishops consecrated after the Congress of St. Louis, when faithful Anglicans made the decision to leave the Episcopal Church.  I would dare say this was not an easy decision to make for Bishop Mote, nor any of the others who made that fateful decision back in the late 1970's.  Bishop Mote had been rector of St. Mary's Church in Denver, Colorado.   He had been associated with that parish some fifty years.  He first went there as a young priest and became curate of that parish when he was under the guidance of St. Mary's then-rector, Fr. Lehman.  Bishop Mote would tell me so many stories of Fr. Lehman that I felt as though I knew Fr. Lehman personally.  It's strange in the sense that now I tell stories about Bishop Mote in my sermons and talks that I give, and many people listening to me  may get the same feeling . .. .  that they knew Bishop Mote personally even though they never met him.  We are affected by the people placed in our lives.  People whom we have known . . . and laughed with . . . and cried with . . . and shared memories with . ..  these people touch our lives; touch our souls; they directly or indirectly shape who we are . . . who we become.  Bishop Mote certainly did that in my life.

Bishop Mote was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He was a faithful Anglican his whole life and had always wanted to become a priest.  He was always active in church and would attend various liturgies and church-related functions.  He served in World War Two as a chaplain's assistant.  In fact, He was awarded the Bronze Medal for Heroism.  The chaplain that Bishop Mote was serving under, along with Bishop Mote, stayed on the battlefield giving aid to the dying and also giving Last Rites to those who were dying.  Despite the order to fall back, Bishop Mote and the chaplain stayed behind to give Last Rites to those dying on the battle field.

Bishop Mote was a true Anglo-Catholic.  He attended Mass on a daily basis.  He did this because he knew, without any shadow of a doubt, that Christ was truly present in the Body and Blood consecrated at Mass.  He knew that it was there that he was close to Our Blessed Saviour.  In my years of knowing Bishop Mote, this was certainly no different.  Every day I would see Bishop Mote faithfully there at church, waiting for Mass to begin.  In fact, I never knew Bishop Mote to arrive at "the last minute."  Just the opposite, in fact, I would see Bishop Mote arrive an hour early, if not longer, so that he could pray and place himself in the Presence of Our Blessed Saviour.  No matter how early I got to church myself, I could never get there before Bishop Mote.  Bishop Mote always was there ahead of me sitting in his spot there in the second pew there on the epistle side of the church, meditating and praying before the Blessed Sacrament.  So often, I would see Bishop Mote with his Rosary beads in hand praying and spending time with Our Lord and His Blessed Mother.

Bishop Mote often used the phrase, "Play Dirty and Pray!"   Over the years I have reminded people of that saying, and many of the people that did not know Bishop Mote personally found that saying to be a bit peculiar and they may not know what he meant by it.  Certainly, Bishop Mote was referring to the fact that when we pray, we have a powerful weapon.  In fact, prayer is the most powerful weapon that we can ever possess.  Because when we pray, we have the ear of God.  When we pray, we are in contact with the Almighty.  When we pray, we find ourselves in the presence of God Himself.  And it is through prayer that we are in direct communication with Our Blessed Saviour.  It is through this communication that we can voice our feelings to God, and we also hear what God has to say to us.  So when Bishop Mote used that phrase, "Play dirty and Pray!," he was saying that we should use the most powerful weapon that we have, Prayer!  Pray for yourself; Pray for others; Pray for the Church; Pray for the world; Pray!

Bishop Mote also showed me how to be a servant.  When I was a newly ordained priest at St. Edward the Confessor in Indianapolis.  I was scheduled to say two of the weekday Masses during the week.  Very often on a weekday Mass, there would be no server.  I remember when I was newly ordained and it was my turn to say the weekday Mass, I had no server.  Bishop Mote came back to the sacristy and told me that he would be my server.  For my part, I objected because I did not feel that it was right for a bishop to act as the server for a newly ordained priest.  Honestly, though, the other reason I objected was due to embarrassment that I, as a newly ordained priest, might make some mistakes in saying the Mass.  I felt that I could avoid all of this and just have Bishop Mote say the Mass and I would act as his server, which I had the distinct honour of doing so many times previously.  Bishop Mote said in no uncertain terms that he would serve for me and I would say the Mass.   This was not the only time that I ever had the opportunity to see Bishop Mote as a "servant."  So often where there was a parish dinner or function in the parish hall, I would see Bishop Mote cleaning up the dishes or washing dishes.  In so doing, Bishop Mote was imitating Our Blessed Saviour.

I was able to learn so much by knowing Bishop Mote.   I feel that God truly blessed me by allowing me to know Bishop Mote in his final years.  It is hard to believe that Bishop Mote has been gone for ten years now.  I do not know where the time has gone.  It seems like just yesterday that I was listening to his stories over and over again.  It is said that we truly do not die if we are remembered by those who love us.  This is certainly the case with Bishop Mote.  All the things I learned from him . ..  his attitude in life . . .  his love of God . ..  his service of God through the Church . . .  his love of the Sacraments . . .  all these things live on in me and I carry them with me not only in my life as a priest but my everyday life.  Bishop Mote taught me how to be a better Christian and how to love God.  This is certainly what God calls all of us to do:  to lead others closer to God by not only what we say but also by how we live our life.

NOTE:  If you look at Bishop Mote's marker at his gave, you will quickly notice that it simply says, "Anglican Catholic," and not "Bishop."  Bishop Mote was humble and a true servant.  Even in death, it says nothing about being a bishop . ..  simply that he was an "Anglican Catholic."

Join Us For The Fourth Sunday After Easter, April 24, 2016

Fourth Sunday after Easter, April 24th, 2016

My tongue has caused a wide variety of, how shall we say, adventures in my life.  As a priest, I use my tongue to preach about God and use this opportunity to urge people to a greater relationship with Our Blessed Saviour.  It is a great and wonderful honour that priests enjoy when they stand before a congregation to tell them about God.  That being said, my tongue has also gotten me into a whole lot of trouble in my life, it would seem.  I get upset and say things that I shouldn't say.  Sometimes I get an attitude and say sarcastic things that I shouldn't say.  And when the Cubs blow a lead in the ninth inning and lose the game, I certainly say things that I shouldn't say.  Let's face it, I am sure that everyone reading this can say the same thing.  We lose our temper and say things out of anger.  We get frustrated, both with people and situations, and we say things that we wish we hadn't later on.  Even St. James marvels at the little size of the tongue, compared to other parts of our body, and yet, behold all the damage and harm this "little member" can cause:  "Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.  Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!"  (St. James 3:5)  Yes, all of us, including me, have seen what consequences occur after we say something that we should not.  

Also from St. James, we hear:  "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (St. James 1:19).  A good rule of thumb, if you will, is to remember that we have TWO ears and only ONE mouth.  Therefore, it is probably a good practice to get into by attempting to listen twice as much as we speak.  This is hard to do, though, quite frankly.  Did you ever notice that even in conversation, very often we are not listening to what the other person is saying to us.  Oh, sure, we are quiet while the other person is speaking.  But instead of actually listening, we are mainly formulating in our minds what we are going to say when the other person stops talking!  We're not really "listening" as much as we're planning on what WE are going to say next!  Unfortunately, our prayer life is often like that as well.  We are not so much "listening" to what God has to say to us, as much as WE are telling God how it should be.  Also, it's hard for most people to listen to God due to all the clamor and chatter from the world around.  Have you ever been in a noisy venue such as a restaurant, a bar, a concert, etc., where you just could not hear the other person talking to you due to all of the "external noise" around you?  It was very difficult to hear what the other person was speaking to you.  This is the same scenario when it comes to prayer, very often.   The world around us is so "noisy" that it keeps us from keeping silent and truly listening to God with no distractions.  The world is full of distractions that prohibit us from truly listening to God and focusing on God as we ought.  

Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we hear the Word of God speaking to us in a powerful way.  Join us as we join together in song.  And join us as we come forward to receive Our Blessed Lord in His Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

Two opportunities to attend church on Sunday, April 24th, 2016:

At 9:30 AM, St. Margaret Church gathers together to worship God.  Mass is celebrated in the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  

At 1:00 PM, Holy Spirit Church comes together to worship Our Risen Saviour.  Mass is celebrated in the beautiful, historic First Presbyterian Church, located at 116 W. South Street in Greenfield, Indiana.

Join Us for the Second Sunday after Easter, April 10, 2016

Second Sunday after Easter, April 10th, 2016

In both of the readings appointed for today's Mass coming from the Epistle and the Gospel, both readings focus on Our Blessed Lord being the Good Shepherd.  In the First Epistle from St. Peter, we hear:  "For ye were as sheep going astray." (I St. Peter 2:19 ff)  I do not know much about sheep, but I have a bit of experience with cats and dogs and other such creatures in the "household pet variety," and I know that very often you can not find them without going after them.  Alright, in fairness, I'm really talking about cats more than dogs.  Dogs, in my experience, will pretty much come when you call them.  Cats, on the other hand, well .. . . . .  let's just say dogs will come when you call them.  In this sense, in my humble opinion at least, human beings more closely resemble cats.  We do what we want to do, for the most part.  If we set our mind on something, we go and do it.  And oftentimes this leads to us human beings getting into terrible jams.  We have all heard the term, "Curiosity killed the cat."  Well, again, curiosity has done an awful lot of bad things to human beings as well.  So many of us have "gone astray" in our lives at one point or another.  So many of us were as "lost sheep."  But thank God that we have such a loving Saviour that is the Shepherd of our souls!  Thank God that we have the Good Shepherd that is just as concerned as the one lost sheep as He is the other Ninety and Nine.  

Two opportunities for Mass on Sunday, April 10th, 2016:

At 9:30 AM, St. Margaret Church gathers together to worship God.  Mass is celebrated in the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  

At 1:00 PM, Holy Spirit Church comes together to worship Our Risen Saviour.  Mass is celebrated in the beautiful, historic First Presbyterian Church, located at 116 W. South Street in Greenfield, Indiana.

Come worship at either church.  We use the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  

Join us for Easter, March 27, 2016

Easter Sunday, March 27th, 2016

A very happy and blessed Easter to each one of you!  It is interesting to contrast and compare the various events in the Gospels.  For example, if we look at St. John's Gospel, he only has Mary Magadalene going to the tomb by herself after Our Lord had been laid to rest following His death on the Cross.  In St. Mark's Gospel account, though, we hear "WHEN the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the Mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him."    When I read this particular verse from St. Mark, I can't help but think of when people say something to the effect of "Don't bring me flowers when I'm dead, bring them to me while I'm alive."  Have you ever heard something along these lines or perhaps maybe you have made a similar statement yourself?  In all fairness, this is a valid point when you think about it.  If you had your choice, would you prefer for someone to show their love to you while you are alive or after you are dead?  I think it is safe to say we would all prefer to be shown the love now while we are still "here," so to speak.  In that same respect, we also should be paying attention to Our Blessed Saviour here and now, right now, while we still have the opportunity.  So often we only go to God when we need something from Him.  We only go to God when we need His assistance.  We only go to God when we are in trouble.  But other than that, we don't have time for God.  We need to make time for God on a daily basis.  We need to find time to pray on a daily basis.  We need to tell God on a daily basis that we love Him.  And, quite frankly, we need to act like Christians on a daily basis  . . . .  and not just when we are in church!  We should never miss an opportunity to show love to those whom we love while they are still with us.  I know in my own life I wish that I could say to my own mother, or my grandparents, for example, how much I love them and just enjoy being in their presence one last time.  But we can do this with God.  Spend time with God.  Go to Him on a daily basis.  Bring your cares to Him.  Bring your worries to Him.  Bring your joys to Him.  Just spend time in His presence.  

On Sunday, March 27th, 2016, St. Margaret and Holy Spirit Churches will celebrate Easter.  There will be one combined Mass on Easter Sunday.  Mass will be celebrated at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Please note that we celebrate Mass as we do each Easter up on the Fourth Floor in the "Upper Room."  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  Come spend some quality time with God on Easter Sunday.  Thank Jesus for the wonderful gifts He has given you:  namely, forgiveness of your sins and also the gift of eternal life He freely offers to each one of us.  

Join us for Passion Sunday, March 13th, 2016

Fifth Sunday in Lent, Commonly Called Passion Sunday, 

March 13th, 2016

Similar to everyone else, I like to save money where I can.  I suppose one of the ways I "save" money is buying the cheap brands for products when possible.  In other words, why should I pay four or five dollars for a brand-name item when the cheap dollar-store variety works just as well?  I suppose it depends on the product, obviously.  Sometimes this strategy works great and saves you money to begin with.  Other times it may end up costing you money in the long run.  Case in point.  A clogged up sink.  I proposed saving money by buying the "cheap" generic versions of the drain cleaner.  I insisted on buying the "generic" drain cleaners because I could not fathom paying six or seven dollars for a brand-name when I could just spend a buck-fifty and be done with it.  The problem is that the generic version for a "buck-fifty" didn't work so well and I had to repeat the process another two times, still with no success and then ultimately ended up spending the six dollars for the "heavy-duty," "brand-name" drain cleaner and, voila!, drain is cleaned in a snap!  Just like that!  My efforts, though, at the beginning were in vain especially considering I spent money on products that really did not work to begin with, not to mention multiple trips to the store.  Now, my purpose in writing this is not to get people to only buy name-brand products as opposed to cheaper, less-known products.  No, I am just using this as an example of times where we have tried and tried and tried, without success, and then, boom!, we finally succeed with amazing results.  I just used the drain-cleaning example because it came to mind but I know each one of us can come up with our own example of doing something repeatedly without much success and then we end up with amazing results!

In the Ninth Chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews, we are reminded of the sacrifice of bulls and goats made by the high priest in the Temple.  We are reminded in this chapter that if the blood of goats, and bulls and heifers helps to sanctify the "unclean," "how much more shall the blood of Christ" (v. 14) sanctify the unclean?  You see, for countless generations, the high priests would make sacrifices behind the second veil, as we are reminded in this chapter, to atone for the sins of God's people.  As we are reminded, the high priest went in alone to offer up sins for God's people once a year.  But it is the Blood of Christ which turned out to be the ultimate sacrifice.  We can try and try and try to fix things ourselves, but it is only Our Blessed Saviour Who can save us from our sins.  Perhaps you have had the experience of being in a jam and you tried and tried and tried to get things right and it just seemed to get worse and worse and worse.  And then you placed the situation in God's hands and within a short time, you noticed everything got better.   If our efforts are good . . . . Christ's are better.  If the blood of sacrificed goats and bulls is good . . . Christ's Blood is better.  Never fail to put your life in God's hands.  Do your part, yes, but always look to Christ for inspiration.  Always look to God for how to live your life better.  Always look towards the Holy Ghost for inspiration.  Give your life to God and live your life as His servant.    Living life our way may be good but living life God's way is better.

St Margaret Church gathers every Sunday at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Holy Spirit Church gathers together every Sunday at 1:00 PM.  We worship at the beautiful, historic First Presbyterian Church, located at 116 W. South Street in Greenfield, Indiana.  

Join us for Mass as we gather to hear God's word.  Join us as we gather as God's family to worship Him.  Join with your brothers and sisters as we all take one hour out of our busy schedules and dedicate that hour to the worship of Our Blessed Saviour!  And then receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ, the Good Shepherd Who laid down His life for His sheep!