Matthew 28:5-7

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

Dear Diocesan Family,

I love the angel's words in the Matthew passage above, "Now I have told you."

As the Lenten season draws to a close and the hope of the resurrection dawns on us afresh, I want to share with you a phrase which has meant a great deal to us since the earliest days of our pilgrimages to Israel.

Take it personally!

Thirty years ago this month, our small group traveled along the eastern side of the Temple Mount, past the Golden or Beautiful Gate, and looked across the Kidron Valley to our destination for the morning, the Garden of Gethsemane. As we prepared to walk through the ancient grove of olive trees and enter the church which has, from earliest times, covered the rock thought to be where Jesus prayed, our leader challenged us: "Take this personally. This is the place of decision, and here Jesus looked down through the ages and made a decision... for you."

The Church of All Nations there is probably the place in Israel I appreciate the most. Being in that church and reflecting on the decision the Messiah made there...for each of us... has changed Good Friday reflections for me ever since. That night, in that place, Jesus decided he would die for me, instead of easily escaping to the wilderness over the Mount of Olives right behind him.

It is easy to review, and even celebrate, the events of Holy Week without ever really taking them personally.

As we celebrate the events of Holy Week this year, my hope and prayer is that each of us will know that, though we are many, Jesus did not die and rise again for a faceless crowd, but personally, for each of us, whom he loves and cherishes and for whom he promised he is preparing a place to share with him eternally.

May our hearts 'burn within us' and may we be eager and effective witnesses to his costly and personal love.

Having been told by the angel, the women were instructed to "go and tell." The Lord calls us to "go and tell" the personally amazing news of the resurrection, just as they did.

Alleluia, the Lord is Risen indeed, for you. Take it personally.

In the Risen Lord Jesus,

+Neil

Discipleship Journal 

Supernatural Specs

Can those of you who are near-sighted like me recall the first time you ever put on a pair of prescription eyeglasses? I will never forget the shock of discovery, at age six, that the rest of the world

could actually see individual leaves on a tree across the street from where they were standing! Other people have been seeing like this

all along???

Perhaps because of this memory, I have always been intrigued by the drama of the prophet Elisha's servant getting a pair of supernatural spectacles. 2 Kings 6 has the story of Elisha's servant awakening in the morning, emerging from his tent and discovering to his horror that he and his master were surrounded by enemy troops, horses and chariots. He loses it. He cries out to his master in despair. But Elisha meets his servant's fear with faith: "Don't be afraid!" Elisha told him. "For there are more on our side than on theirs!" Then Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!" The Lord opened the man's eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. (2 Kings 6:16-17 NLV)

Elisha prays for this panic stricken young man, who is seeing an actual enemy army, not a product of a tortured or paranoid imagination. In a moment, however, the servant's field of vision is eclipsed by a greater sight... the armies of the Lord, poised to defend His own people. Does anyone else identify with this servant? I can think of countless times when some great fear of mine has been eclipsed by a gracious glimpse of God's even greater power at the ready to defend me. I need to remember to pray for this sort of vision when I am overwhelmed. I behave completely differently when I have my eyes trained on God's greatness rather than my circumstances.

What about when others suffer? Notice that Elisha doesn't explain to his servant what he sees. Rather, he simply prays for his servant to see what God is actually up to.  Recently, more than one of our dear friends have experienced inexpressible trauma. We have learned, sometimes by our failure, the truth of Proverbs 25:20. Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone's coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound. It is not always helpful to try to convey what we see, but we can, instead, do as Elisha did... pray for someone to see God at work. Ask God to give them supernatural vision. In the deep mystery of prayer... he can and does.

This idea of seeing supernaturally is picked up in the New Testament. Paul promises that compared to eternity, our present sorrows are small and swiftly dissipating. In one impossibly ironic phrase from 2 Corinthians 4, he says we are to "fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen."  At first glance this always makes me laugh. Yeah, right. But can we do this? Yes.

What does it mean to see cancer supernaturally? Or a child's illness... or bankruptcy... or infertility... or violence and abuse of all sorts? It must mean that, like Elisha and his servant, we see that God can dramatically alter our circumstances. Their vision of the armies of the Lord wasn't just encouragement about eternity. It was followed by an on-the-ground miraculous military reversal. We have to pray honestly for what our hearts desire. Two years ago a young woman dear to us was told that the daughter she was soon to deliver would need cardiac surgery within hours of birth. The life-threatening condition was repeatedly confirmed, the C-section was scheduled and the surgeon was being flown in from another city. But instead, from the moment of her birth, the baby's heart began to heal spontaneously. She left the hospital on a normal schedule with a healed heart. We saw God act in power.

But here's a different kind of seeing: Just before the birth this young woman said, "Of course we are praying for healing, but we are trying to trust the Lord with whatever comes. If there is a Kingdom purpose in this ordeal then we want to trust God to walk with us through it and we want him to be honored." It's just what Paul was after when he said, "For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen..." (2 Cor. 5:17-18a NLV)

Hebrews 11's long list of saints and heroes of the faith is a must-read. It plays with this idea of supernatural eyesight. Abraham obeyed God, leaving his home and living in tents for the rest of his life because he could see God's eternal home for him (v.10). Moses had the courage to walk out of Egypt, with Pharaoh pursuing in anger, because "he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible" (v.27). But the chapter's victorious list then turns upside-down and includes those who stayed faithful in spite of  torture, imprisonment, and murder. The author goes on to beg us to persevere in this life of faith, regardless of our circumstances, as if we were running a race. And what is to fuel our endurance? "Fixing our eyes on Jesus..." (Heb. 12:2). And when we fix our eyes on Jesus what do we see? "...Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, despising its shame." (12:2)

In this season of Lent, think of Jesus enduring Good Friday because he could see beyond it.

Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet 

On Sunday, March 20th, the Rt. Rev. Neil Lebhar, Bishop of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese in the Anglican Church of North America, blessed the Shrimp Fleet in Fort Myers Beach at 3pm on the shrimp docks. The ecumenical service was hosted by the newly formed St. Raphael's by the Sea Anglican Church with participating clergy from the Beach Ministerial Association of Fort Myers Beach, FL. The Shrimp Fleet was so impressed with the pastoral outreach and genuineness of Bishop Lebhar that the Anglicans have been invited to also host next year's Shrimp Fleet Blessing which will be held on Sunday, March 4th.

The Shrimp Fleet Blessing is an annual event for the shrimpers and their families that is supported by the local community on behalf of the shrimp industry at Fort Myers Beach. The event takes place from noon until 5pm and includes activities for children, a live band, a shrimp eating contest and local vendors. The Blessing of the Fleet began in the early 1950's and was originally hosted by the local Episcopal church.

The Reverend Alice Marcrum

Saint Raphael's by the Sea

Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931 

Immanuel Anglican Church  

A Gem in Keystone Heights

Keystone Heights is small city with a lot of lakes, horses, and vacation homes.  It is near to Starke and near to Gainesville.  It is also the home to one of the highest percentages of churches to population in the country.  It is a tough environment in which to stand out.  But that is exactly where God has placed Immanuel Anglican Church.

Visitors have often commented that they have never before experienced a church as warm and welcoming as Immanuel Anglican.  And we really are warm and welcoming.  Founded just five years ago in Jack and Nancy Dabney's living room, Immanuel has managed to keep that informal and friendly feel even after moving to the facilities of the Woman's Club of Keystone Heights.  Our average Sunday worship attendance last year was forty three.   Our worship style uses a blend of traditional and contemporary music, and the liturgy and the lyrics to the music are projected so that guests don't have to contend with following the service through an at times difficult to follow prayer book.  To make our worship still more accessible, especially to younger families, we recently changed our worship time from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM.  And during each service, prayer is offered for anyone seeking it during the communion time, and at the close of each Sunday service, there is a time set aside for people to give thanks to God for whatever He has been doing in their lives over the previous week.  There are always refreshments after the service and it is not unusual for people to still be seated around the tables and talking even an hour after the service has ended. 

Part of the reason for Immanuel Anglican's friendliness may be that most of our members have either been through Anglican 4^th Day or through Cursillo weekends, and many of our people have worked 4^th Day teams.   What's more, between 70 and 80% of our membership participate in small groups that meet in homes on various nights during the week.  We also have an active chapter of the newly formed Daughters of the Holy Cross.

This past year, for the first time, Immanuel entered a float into the Keystone Heights Christmas Parade.  We were surprised and delighted to have won second place!  All along the parade route we handed out candy to the children and witness tracts to the adults that included the "One Solitary Life" poem and also invited people to come and check out one of our worship services.

Our hope is that very soon Immanuel will be in a new building of our own.   We just celebrated our having paid off the loan for just under five acres of land fronting directly onto SR 100 (on the right side of the road just as you head from Keystone Heights toward Starke).  We are now looking into purchasing a modular building for our property, which will give us some much needed space for children and to be able to have Sunday school classes.  We look forward to establishing a visible presence in Keystone Heights, and are looking forward to the new ministries that this will make possible for us.   Please pray with us also as we enter into a search for a priest.

Check us out at:

http://immanuel-keystone.org  

Church of the Redeemer in Jacksonville, FL is a community of imperfect people who are profoundly grateful for God's love as displayed in the cross of Jesus. We seek to Know Christ better in our daily lives through worship, study and obedience to the Scriptures; to Grow Together in relationship and love for one another; and to Go Into the World demonstrating the good news of God's love through word and action. We welcome anyone who is seeking to develop an authentic life in Him.

Just last month we dedicated our new facility, in joyful celebration of the Lord's faithfulness and goodness.  We are grateful to Beth Israel Messianic Congregation for sharing their building with us for the past three years, yet rejoice that we now have a sanctuary that can accommodate our growing congregation.  Likewise, our ministry space has the capacity to house a wide range of discipleship opportunities for all ages.  We are particularly enthusiastic about launching "40 Days of Community," a relationship-building, service oriented small group program for the entire congregation, that will begin just after Easter.

 Redeemer tithes our income for missions and outreach.  We have focused on developing a high impact partnership with 12 missions and outreach ministries, some global and some local, to whom we give funds and with whom we have a strong relational connection. This connection is developed, nurtured, and supported by a passionate advocate for the ministry from within the congregation.  We currently partner with three SAMS missionaries: Mike and Kim Miller, with The Hope of Jesus Children's Homein Honduras; Juan and Maria Isabel Marentes in Belize; and Susan Morris, leaving in June to be Coordinator for Partnership Services within the Church of Uganda's Office of International Relations.  We also continue to support the Pileggi family in Israel, Mission Aviation Fellowship, Christar, and the Anglican Relief and Development Fund.  Locally, we give financial and volunteer assistance to City Rescue Mission, First Coast Women's Services, Ennoble, Kairos Prison Ministry, and Shoresh USA.      

We are blessed to be the parish home of our Diocesan Bishop, Neil Lebhar, and his wife Marcia.  We are eager to work in partnership with other Anglican churches in our Diocese and elsewhere to develop and sustain programs like Dynamos, Anglican Fourth Day, and the children's home in Honduras mentioned above.  We have also developed a close ministry partnership with Christ the Living Cornerstone Church

Tutoring at Cornerstone

in downtown Jacksonville, working alongside their congregation in seeking to reach and transform the neighborhood surrounding their church building.

Redeemer is in all things fully committed to making disciples and giving glory to God.