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Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119.105
I am always thankful my life and work as a priest gives me a focus for reading—the Bible most surely and books with a theological purpose useful to parochial or other teaching opportunities. But I also love to read books in general with no specific theological intention or purpose. I make no apologies for this. The early Church writers encouraged Christians to learn from every branch of knowledge. St Augustine of Hippo wrote:
‘A person who is a good and a true Christian should realize that truth belongs to his Lord, wherever it is found, gathering and acknowledging it even in pagan literature.’
Augustine went on to compare the benefits of reading pagan writers to the Israelites carrying gold out of Egypt. Although the Egyptians employed the gold to fashion idols, God did not deem the gold itself to be impure but commanded the Israelites to cart it out of Egypt. (For the sake of this argument, we’ll draw a temporary veil over that little lapse with the Golden Calf in the desert.)
This summer I am reading more fiction than normal and thoroughly enjoying it. I finished John le Carre’s The Night Manager (1993) and I didn’t get lost or confused in it the way I have in some of his other spy thrillers. I’ll find time to watch the Netflix series based on the book.
Now I have finished a novel by Mark Helprin given to me by a friend: The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story A Love Story (Hardcover October 3, 2023). Mark Helprin is an American-Israeli novelist and journalist who served in the Israeli air force. What a compelling blockbuster of a book--- I followed non-stop and anxiously the novel’s Navy ship captain through seven battles in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean--- capped off by all the tensions of a trial by court- martial.
But a little theology this summer. I am intrigued to read a book about the Church by the German Roman Catholic mid-twentieth century theologian Ida Friederike Gorres (1901-1971). The Church in the Flesh (Paperback September, 2023) translated by Jennifer S. Bryson
In a short essay that I have read, Trusting the Church, Gorres praises the many quiet and indeed, silent saints, who, like Christ on Holy Saturday, appear ‘hidden’ and make little noise in the Church synods. She writes:
I believe in the praying Church made up of laity and priests, the forbearing, the atoning Church.
And then, almost curiously, Gorres ends by praising the youth, the next generation, and draws the paean of praise to a close with a quotation from St Augustine, that is a sheer delight. Gorres writes:
I believe in the many pure and good hearts among the youth who are concerned with what is real, who hunger and thirst for justice, who bide their time critically and are maturing gradually. God already knows them. He will call them at their hour.
Didn’t Augustine even say, when his church was almost empty because of a circus festival: “Who knows how many future bishops are now sitting in the stands at the circus and applauding the gladiators!”
Amen.
Yours, Douglas
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Let us pray for authors, editors, and journalists that their writings may further the truth and purposes of God.
V. Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;
R. Take account of these things.
Almighty God, who hast proclaimed thine eternal truth by the voice of prophets and evangelists: Direct and bless, we beseech thee, those who in this our generation speak where many listen and write what many read; that they may do their part in making the heart of the people wise, its mind sound, and its will righteous; to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
From After the Third Collect by Eric Milner-White
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Rector's Book Review with
Timothy Keller:
The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness
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A little over a year ago on May 19, 2023, we lost a wonderful American pastor, preacher, author and Christian apologist. A number of Tim Keller’s books were on The New York Times best seller lists: The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (2008), Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (2014), and The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (2008) and Making Sense of GOD: An Invitation to the Skeptical (2016). Keller was the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan that grew from a congregation of 50 to a total exceeding 5,000.
For a book review this month I am singling out a devotional by Keller that packs a big punch for such a small book of three short chapters. It is a little book that was presented at the men’s weekly share group that I attend. The book’s title is compelling: The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness. The title forces the mind to take a phrase we might on first impression associate vaguely with a potentially negative personality trait and view it strongly (in the light of the Gospel) as a motivating and energizing virtue.
Self-forgetfulness. C.S. Lewis explained its virtue beautifully in Mere Christianity. He tells us that if we should ever meet a truly humble person:
We would never come away from meeting them thinking they were humble. They would not be always telling us they were a nobody (because a person who keeps saying they are a nobody is actually a self-obsessed person).
The thing we would remember from meeting a truly gospel-humble person is how much they seemed to be totally interested in us. Because the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less.
Thinking of myself less. Self-forgetfulness. Tim Keller’s devotional explains, via a meditation on a section of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 3.21-4.7, just where we find the energizing grace to live a fuller life in the freedom of thinking of myself less.
The energizing grace is of course, having our hearts and minds transformed by God in Christ in such a way that we no longer see our identity in what others think of us or even what we may think of ourselves, i.e. ‘I don’t care what you think, and I don’t care what I think.’ God’s judgement on my life and identity is far more liberating than anything you or I can make of it.
To continue reading, please click here.
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An Interview with Forward Day by Day
Author Owene Courtney
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Owene Courtney has given generously of her time writing book reviews for the Bishop’s Institute e-Newsletter since we started. She has been involved in teaching and Christian formation for forty years and most recently as Director of Formation and Spirituality at St John’s Cathedral, Jacksonville.
Along with some others in our Diocese with a gift for writing that includes Fr Wiley Ammons, Philip Beyer and Dean Kate Moorehead-Carroll, Owene has been chosen to contribute to the work of the Forward Movement church publishing house. Forward Movement is one of the strongest instruments for evangelism in The Episcopal Church.
INTERVIEW
1. I understand you have been asked by Forward Movement to do some writing for them. Could you tell us briefly what Forward Movement is and what they have asked you to do for them?
Forward Movement has been a ministry of the Episcopal Church since 1935 publishing printed booklets and books including Forward Day by Day, a collection of meditations for each day based on the Daily Office readings. I am a third-generation reader of Forward Day by Day, following my mother and my grandmother. We have all been known to save our “Forwards” for years.
Having read these meditations for years (and being a serial journaler), I began using lines from scripture as prompts for my own prayers and meditations each day and have done that for several decades now. I have a blog called Pilgrims’ Journeys where I post those ramblings and enjoy interaction and discussion about them with the few kind souls who read them. The editors of Forward Movement asked me to write daily meditations for Forward Day by Day for August 2025, and so I did.
2. How did Forward Movement know of your experience and practice as a writer? How did they approach you? Or did you approach them with a willingness to contribute?
I went through the submission process years ago, before I had started my blog, and I never heard back from them. But last year after I submitted some writing, I heard back from them and was invited to write. I think the blog helped!
To continue reading, please click here.
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Rector's Picks: July Books | |
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Biyi Bandele. Yoruba Boy Running: A Novel. Hardcover—September 3, 2024*
A fictionalized retelling of the life of the first African Anglican bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther
and his journey from slave to liberator.
*Pre-order for US September release or switch Amazon
US to UK site to order now.
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. Hardcover reprint – May 17, 2022.
Jesus died with a psalm on his lips. For millennia, humans have been shaped by the Psalms. And before the Nazis banned him from publishing, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer published this book on the Psalms. --- Amazon notice.
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Laurel Garber and Jennifer A. Thompson (authors). Mary Cassatt at Work Hardcover—May 21, 2024.
As one reviewer noted, get past that hat on the cover and you are in the world of this splendid American artist and painter of modern women. The book marks the May- September 2024 Cassatt Exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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Jonathan Haidt. The Anxious Generation. Paperback.
Haidt explores what he views as the collapse in youth mental health and how the great ‘rewiring’ of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness.
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Austen Ivereigh. First Belong to God: On Retreat with Pope Francis Paperback – February 13, 2024.
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Tim Kaine. Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outside Hardcover—April 9, 2024.
How one American senator relieved stress and learned a lot about his constituency hiking the
559 miles of the Appalachian Trail that crosses Virginia from Harpers Ferry to the Tennessee
border; biked 321 miles along the crest of the Virginia Blue Ridge and canoed the entire 348
miles of the James River. All best attempted from the safety of your air-conditioned den this
summer.
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Timothy Keller. The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy.
Paperback-- March 2012.
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Dasha Kiper. Travelers to Unimaginable Lands: Stories of Dementia, the Caregiver, and the Human Brain Paperback – July 16, 2024.
Comes with a strong recommendation from caregivers who walk this path.
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Simon Parker. A Ride Across America: Small Towns, Big Issues and One Epic Adventure
Hardcover – October 8, 2024.
Maybe a good pre-Election read: a popular British travel writer’s 4,000 mile cycling adventure through the small towns of America to listen to individuals deliberately turning away from the shallow headlines focused only on politicians and our divisions.
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St. Mary Magdalene
Apostle to the Apostles
July 22nd
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Mary Magdalene was one of the original Galilean disciples of Jesus and the most eminent among the many women who followed in his itinerant ministry. Little can be said about her origins; she is characterized simply as “a woman from whom seven demons had gone out,” a statement subject to various interpretations.
Mary Magdalene is often confused with other women of the New Testament. She is not Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who anointed Jesus' head. She is not the prostitute who anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair (Luke 7.36-50). Historically in the West all three women are lumped together under Mary Magdalene's name. This confusion continues even today, e.g. the Last Temptation of Christ and The DaVinci Code.
Mary Magdalene is firmly associated with two vital facts: that she was a witness to the crucifixion and that she was the first witness of the Risen Lord.
Witness to the Crucifixion
All four Gospels name Mary among the women who followed Jesus to Golgotha and there witnessed his passion and death. While all the male disciples fled, it was these women who remained faithful to the end. Mary Magdalene and the women were there with Joseph of Arimathea when he took the body of Jesus down from the Cross, wrapped it in a cloth, and laid it in the tomb.
To continue reading, please click here.
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Wise Words from a July Saint | |
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Commitment is doing what you said you would do, after the feeling you said it in has passed.
--- St Camillus de Lellis (1550-1614)
Feast day July 14th
Born near Naples, a professional soldier inclined to quarrel until his conversion, St Camillus is the patron of hospitals and nurses, and his assistance is invoked against gambling – as that was the weakness of his youth.
He suffered stoically many physical ailments throughout his life including a wounded leg that would not heal. When he could not walk nor stand, he would crawl to visit the sick. His remains are buried in the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Rome, as is the cross that he claimed spoke to him concerning his work, asking: ‘Why are you afraid? Do you not realize that this is not your work but mine?’ Those words have become the motto of the caregivers inspired by him.
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Art of the Pledge Drive Workshop | |
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Thursday, August 22
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Taliaferro Hall, St. John's Cathedral
256 E Church St, Jacksonville, FL 32202
The Bishop’s Institute and St. John’s Cathedral invite you to the 'Art of the Pledge Drive' Workshop which will take place on Thursday, August 22 at the St. John's Cathedral, Jacksonville. The workshop will be led by Dean Kate Moorehead Carroll.
How does a follower of Christ lead a congregation to give in an age when everyone seems to want to take your money? How do we cultivate the trust that leads to generosity? How do we plan and execute a 6 to 9-week pledge drive this fall that gives us an accurate income with which to plan a budget for 2025? Technology has altered, making it possible for money to come into the church in a variety of ways. Learn how to get cheap and good technology, instill motivation and master the art of thanking.
To register and view books for the course, please click the buttons below.
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Bishop's Institute Pilgrimage to Italy and Greece in the Steps of Saint Paul | |
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March 11-25, 2025
A Tour led by the Rev. Canon Douglas Dupree with the Archdeacon, Mark Richardson and the Rev. Deacon Annette Sines
Join the Bishop's Institute for an extensive journey from March 11- 21, starting with a flight to Greece and then traveling to various historical and archaeological sites. On arrival in Athens, the group will visit Corinth to see ancient ruins and the Corinth Canal. The following days include a tour of Athens' significant monuments like the Acropolis, Parthenon, and the Acropolis Museum. The journey continues to Vergina, Thessaloniki, and Philippi, following the footsteps of St. Paul, visiting ancient tombs, and significant early Christian sites.
The tour then proceeds to Rome, exploring key locations associated with early Christianity, including the Abbey of the Three Fountains, St. Paul's Basilica, the Catacombs of Santa Domitilla, the Colosseum, and the Vatican Museum. The trip concludes with visits to significant basilicas and the Vatican, reflecting on the early Christian history in Rome, before flying back home.
Don't miss this unique opportunity to connect with history and faith in some of the world's most storied locations. Book your spot today and be part of this enlightening and inspiring journey!
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ART@noon encourages life-long learning. Come learn with us in Philadelphia. Join ART@noon members for the Faith, Liberty, Art and Architecture Art Walk to Philadelphia and Brandywine, October 23 through October 26. Some of the sites included on the tour are visits to the Brandywine Museum, Longwood Gardens, Christ Church/St. Peters, Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Rodin, The Barnes, and The Magic Gardens.
For further information, contact St. John’s Cathedral Bookstore & Gift Shop at (904) 356-5507, Ext. 152 or by email: cathedralbookstore@jaxcathedral.org.
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