Directions to Christ the King

From Liberty, south on US 127 to Hwy 910/501, turn left. At the stop sign, head straight on 501 approx. 3 miles to Chestnut Level (just past Davenports Grocery) turn right. Bear right on Halon Young Rd. go about 1.5 miles. Christ the King will be on the right.

Services

Holy Eucharist Sunday 10:30 AM
Early morning Mass Wednesday 7 AM
Evening Prayer Thursday 7 PM
Mid-day Mass Friday 12:15 PM

Youth Night Every second and fourth Friday Evening 7:00 PM -- 9:30 PM

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Nine Years Old, and Growing Stronger

The first Sunday of May marks our ninth anniversary as a congregation. When we began, based on our knowledge of the community, the number of Christian families whom we knew did not have a church home, and the number of un-churched people in the area, we thought within two or three years we would have grown to a substantial congregation. But we were wrong. We are still fairly small, although we are growing. The families who have become part of Christ Community bear fruit in vibrant Christian faith. We are far from dead, or "in-grown." " What went wrong?" you might ask. The enigmatic answer is, "The same thing that went right."

Our founding vision, was from the beginning multi generational. That is to say, our aim we to build a community of faith that would be rock solid doctrinally, stable and enduring, producing mature Christians and building strong families. That these households of faith would be built into the household of faith, and the future would see children, with their parents, as well as grand parents worshiping together on Sunday morning. It would be a church that would serve our community, our county long after we were dead and gone. There are serious needs in rural Appalachia. We believed then as we continue to believe now, that we need to be committed to this mission for the long haul. Our goal is healing, not band aids, or Novocaine.
How were we to accomplish this? After much prayer, we determined that our worship should be shaped by the historic liturgy of the Church. We would stick to the center ground, and stay away from peripheral issues that divide the church. It was our best attempt to hold fast to what "all Christians everywhere have believed for all time." We knew that this meant that we could not remain independent, but we had to be connected to the larger body of Christ. We had no idea just how counter cultural, our trajectory was, nor how big of an obstacle this would be to many. Just imagine: an evangelical, independent autonomous congregation, seeking to give up its autonomy, its distinctiveness and above all its "freedom" to become traditional.
More than a few individuals, have visited once, and not returned. Others have come and stayed for a period of time, but determined it just wasn't their style. In honesty there were times that I had my doubts; donning vestments, written prayers, the lectionary, the black shirt and collar, submission to very human Bishops, was all very foreign to my background. However looking back I am more convinced than ever before, that it was the Holy Spirit's leading, and what ever doubts or anxieties I may have had in those early days, have completely vanished.

The bottom line is that this counter cultural direction, while perhaps being the wrong direction if we were trying to quickly attract a crowd, was and is precisely the right direction if we wanted to grow mature steadfast Christians and lay a foundation that would not crumble with the passing of personalities, or religious fads. In the past nine years, we have witnessed around us, multiple church splits, new congregations spring up, and dissolve almost as quickly. We have seen Christians move from church to church in search of one that fits, and we have had our share of losses as well. But we have remained faithful to the vision that God has given us. The liturgy, the sacraments, the episcopacy, and our connection to confessing Anglicans worldwide, have provided for us strength, stability, and a firm foundation on which to build in the years to come.

Christ Community is a church where you can live and grow in Christ, and where your children can become established in the Christian faith, and become fruitful disciples of Jesus. It's a place where new winds of doctrine, will not blow, and the Bible is the very Word of God. It's a place where we stand against the cultural tide of individualism and autonomy by submitting ourselves voluntarily to the authority of Christ Jesus and his Church. It's a church that will welcome you home.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree that our church style is counter cultural and so the growth in numbers is slow. However, I have been challenged in many ways and I have seen fruit in our children's hearts. Although the path is sometimes painful, it is a blessing to see our children seeking God. Dunlaps

D. Straw said...

Building an orthodox Anglican Church is hard. It is almost always slow work to build an orthodox Anglican parish. However, the rewards (as I'm sure you know) are immeasurable.

Fr. Bob Lemmon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Robert said...

1.WORSHIP SERVIES; ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO FOLLOW THE HOLY EUCHARIST, THE BULLETIN?
2. HOW CAN YOU FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CHRIST COMMUNITY CHURCH AND ITS ANGLICAN THEOLOGY?
3. WHAT IS MEANT BY CHICAGO LAMBETH QUADRELATERAL?
4. WHAT IS MEANT BY MEMBERSHIP IN THE FOREWARD IN FAITH IN NORTH AMERICA? rtaylor

Fr. Bob Lemmon said...

Robert,
1. Anglican worship is ordered by "common prayer." The Prayer book is the foundation of worship. The whole service can be followed with the prayer book alone, once you are familiar with it. The Bulletin, is a guide to the parts of the service which change from week to week, songs we sing, scripture lessons, etc. Take some time before the service, looking at the prayer book, reading the instructions in small italics will help.
2. The Foundational doctrines of Anglicanism are laid out in the 39 Articles, which you can find in the back of the Book of Common Prayer,(BCP) as well as the Chicago-Lambeth quadrilateral. I can get you a copy of the BCP.
Secondly, "as we pray so we believe." The prayers are practical expressions of our Theology and doctrine that form our belief. For a more in-depth study see, The Catholic Religion, by Vernon Staley. I can get you a copy.
3. See BCP at the back in historical documents.
4.Forward in Faith is an organization that formed with in the Episcopal Church 30 years ago, to promote and teach orthodox Anglicanism, in the face of the Episcopal Church's downhill slide toward heresy. Forward in Faith, continues its purpose and work in the Anglican Church of North America. Christ Community Church, and the Missionaries of St. John, share this common purpose. You can find out more about Forward in Faith by clicking the link on this blog site.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, call me, or email me at frlemmon@gmail.com

1300 Halon Young Rd., Liberty, Kentucky
For more info contact: Fr. Bob Lemmon call or text at (606) 303-4537.