Can You See It Yet?

It has a floor, walls and a roof now, but we are along way from the finish line. With just a little imagination though you can see the first half completed. We are grateful to God, and all the volunteers who helped in this endeavor. It is incredible that we were able to get this much done before the rains began. For now, we continue to do the work that He has given us to do, and believe that He who began this good work will bring it to completion.

Raising the Roof

Building Progress

This is the footing of what will be our Church building. It measures 36 by 72 ft. And yes we dug most of this footer by hand. Here you see part of our crew, Jerome Lange, Fr. Bob, some of the teenage boys hard at this laborious task. Emily Lemmon (in red ) is checking our progress, and keeping us at it.
Things are moving along well. As of today, our footer is poured and the foundation blocks are laid. We will be pouring our slab this week and if all goes as planned have half of this building under roof by next week.

These picture are more than just a testimony to progress made. They are a window, an icon if you will, into our philosophy of life and ministry. Working together, making use of the resources we have at hand, rather than just paying someone else to do it. Its about building relationships with people while working together for a common cause. There are few better ways to build relationships. It is the price we pay gladly, cheerfully. It's the offering we make of ourselves for the sake of the Gospel. No it is not the most efficient way to dig a footer, but it is the most efficient way of using the resources that we have. The money we saved by doing it our selves, will be used to purchase other materials necessary to build. Even doing much work ourselves, we will still run short of finances before our energy runs out.

Holy Baptism

On July 27, Christ Community welcomed three young ladies into the body of Christ.It was an exciting day for everyone. To many in our neighborhood the baptism of such young girls doesn't make any sense. The reason for this misunderstanding is complex, involving many different issues. Perhaps the most significant is the misunderstanding of the rite of baptism itself. To many people today, baptism is viewed as a testimony of ones faith. It is this testimony that provides the basis for entrance into the Church. However such a conception of Baptism is no where found in Scripture. It is a false conclusion drawn by inference from the fact that in the Acts of the Apostles, many believed and then were baptized. Scripture and Tradition agree that Baptism is into the body of Christ. Even the Anabaptist will agree on this point, but they assert that a persons belief must precede baptism, making it primarily a human work, a testimony. This infants and young children are ineligible for entry into the body of Christ. In fact, excluded also are mentally handicapped, as well as the physically handicapped if they cannot communicate their testimony of faith.

In Matthew 28, Jesus' commissions his Apostles, to go, make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that He commanded. In the original Greek, the operative verb is "make disciples." Going, baptizing, and teaching are verbal clauses that modify the main verb, that is, stating the way or manner in which disciples are to be made- going, baptizing and teaching. Regardless of word order, everyone must understand that baptism is essential to disciple making. Therefore to deny baptism to infants or young children of Christian parents, means that children cannot really be disciples until they are adults. Such a thought is antithetical to much that Jesus did and taught. He bid the disciples to let the little children come to him. He said that unless we become like children ourselves we cannot be his disciples. Which leads us to the fundamental difference between the vast majority of Christians, through out the past centuries, and the modern practice of "believers baptism" only.

Scripture and Tradition hold that God works through material things. The apostles, anointed people with oil for healing, they prayed over handkerchiefs and sent them out, and they baptized entire house holds into the household of God. Baptism is not a human testimony, but God's testimony. It is His welcome of a person into his family. It is the administration of His grace, for salvation. As parents, given the responsibility of raising children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, we have to recognize that we are the ones charged with making disciples of our children while they are in our care. We will be remiss if we do not make available to them every grace toward this end. Let the little children come. Forbid them not.

Family Fun Day

Part of our mission at Christ Community is strengthening and building families, into the Body of Christ. One way that we do this is through our Family Fun Days. Once a month we gather on a Saturday for a time of fun and fellowship. This is not your ordinary church fellowship though. Too often when church people get together, the men gather in one corner, the women go to another, and the children run off and play. That is not what the family fun day is for. Instead, we plan activities that involve everyone together. We do this for a couple reasons. First is that our goal is to strengthen family relationships. Informal activities involving both parents and children provides a good avenue for this. Children need to have fun with their parents. Secondly, parents need to have fun with their children. Today, parents carry enormous burdens, providing and caring for their children, pressures at work, and stressful relationships. Playing and laughing is a great way to relieve stress and regain ones strength. It is truly re-creative.
If you live in Casey County or a neighboring community, you are welcome at our next Family Fun Day. Just email frlemmon@gmail.com for then next date. Or better than that, visit Christ Community Church this Sunday. You will be glad you did, and so will your children.

Confirmations

Last Sunday, May 4Th, we enjoyed the privilege of having the Rt. Rev. Frederick Fick, our bishop with us. It was a rich day in the Lord, as he opened his heart and God's word to us, and confirmed four of our young people, Ethan and Sveta Dunlap, Jessica Martin, and Joel Lemmon. He is very pleased with the progress that we have made over the years, and charged us to move forward with construction on our property.
We count it a blessing to to serve Christ under Bishop Fick's oversight.

Holding on to the Good

So, Christ Community is a traditional Anglican church. What does that mean? If you are asking for a definition of Anglicanism, there are numerous good sources. We recommend our Missionary Society web site at msjanglican.org . However, when we say that we are "traditional" we mean something quite different than "Traditional Anglican," which typically refers to a continuing Anglican jurisdiction. Okay, You're right. It is hair splitting. For all practical purposes we fall in line with Continuing Anglican jurisdictions if that helps you. The difference is that the continuing Anglicans were nearly all formerly Episcopalians. This is not the case with Christ Community. Christ Community Church has never been part of the Episcopal Church in the US. In fact, the Missionary Society of St. John did not separate from the Episcopal Church. Our history lies elsewhere. Where, you might ask? You name it. Lutheran, Methodist, Nazarene, Roman Catholic, and maybe even some Episcopalians. In the same respect, Christ Community Church is composed of people from many different traditions, most of them not Episcopalian. So it is really a misnomer to say that we are continuing Anglicans, but it provides us a great place to begin a more significant conversation, namely to answer the question, "Then why are you Anglican?"

This is where I get excited, because we have found in the Anglican tradition, a solid spiritual foundation for growth and discipleship in the Christian faith. Allow me to speak biographically. My journey with the Lord Jesus, began in conservative evangelicalism. I found Jesus there. I learned reverence for God's word, and zeal for evangelism. Later in life I was introduced to the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in a Charismatic church. This presented a dramatic shift in my life, as my relationship with the Lord became much more intimate, and my confidence and expectation of His power at work today, increased dramatically. It was in the liturgical/sacramental tradition that I learned of the availability and efficacy of God's grace through the sacraments, and the stability and growth that is enhanced through the use of the historic liturgy and episcopal oversight. Liturgical worship has been around since the church's foundation in Acts chapter 2 and has faithfully, preserved the faith of Jesus' Apostles for nearly 2000 years. Here is the beautiful part of this story. In coming to the Anglican tradition, I didn't have to give up any of these treasures that I gained in my previous experiences. The Anglican tradition provides for me, and many others an historic, liturgical and sacramental foundation, for evangelical and charismatic belief. I have kept all the good, all the significant parts of my prior Christian experiences.

The seeds that God has sown in our lives can be nurtured and come to full blossom in the soil of Anglicanism. And as an added bonus, we find ourselves one step closer to the unity of Christ's church envisioned by Jesus in John 17. Come, see for yourself what God is doing in Anglican Churches across America. If you live in Casey or any of the surrounding counties, come worship at Christ Community Church this Sunday.

The Call of Fishermen

February is upon us, and believe it or not, the minds of many have already turned to the lakes. I remember as a young boy braving blustering cold in an attempt to catch the first crappies as they begin to feed. Now much older, I generally try to hold off until the water temperature gets into fifties. But as that mercury inches its way up the anticipation builds. It's still going to mean braving some chilly weather. The determination of Kentucky crappie fishermen is second of course to the heroic ice fishermen of the northern country. Its not for the faint hearted. Some might ask, "Why would you spend hours sitting in a boat in bone chilling cold?" While motives differ widely among fishers, for me it is the thrill of fishing, combined with the anticipation of the freshly cooked crappie fillet on my plate. No, I wouldn't die for it, but I'm willing to brave the elements. The strength of the motive, determines how much we are willing to sacrifice.

One time, Jesus was walking along the lake (Galilee) and he saw some fishermen, James, and John the sons of Zebedee, and Andrew and Simon (Peter). He said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." The amazing thing is that all four of them dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus. What we see in their example is of course their courage and obedience, but at the deeper level we see a measure of motivation. What they were willing walk away from, signifies the greatness of what they were walking into. What we are willing to sacrifice, demonstrates the significance of what motivates us.

Jesus came to us bringing light to our darkness, the good news of the kingdom. For those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death new light has dawned. What Jesus brought to us, perhaps more important than the miracles, healing, or fixing our problems, is motivation, a purpose for living. A purpose so great that Christians through out the centuries have been willing to suffer abuse, persecution, abandonment, even death to pursue. The purpose and meaning that Jesus brings to our lives, affords us joy in the midst of pain and suffering, and a willingness and determination to endure to the end. It is as it should be, for we are following in the footsteps, of the man who for the Joy set before him endured the cross. Come to Jesus. Let him show you what abundant life is.