Episcopal Diocese of Albany - Priests and Deacons Update

Business Office: 68 South Swan Street - Albany, NY 12210 - (518) 465-4737
Christ the King Spiritual Life Center: 575 Burton Road - Greenwich, NY 12834 - (518) 692-9550

Feast of St James
July 26th, 2006

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

This will be my last Update for awhile. Bishop Dan comes back from his summer vacation next week, and I leave for vacation. Mary Ellen and I will attend the Anglican Communion Network meeting in Pittsburgh, and then go on to visit our son and his family in Colorado. While in Colorado, I will participate in the National Board Meeting of Faith Alive, of which Tom Gizara and I are members. We'll also go to North Carolina for our annual reunion with my pilot from Vietnam, and his wife. And finally, we'll spend a few days on the beach in Pensacola. With the price of gasoline what it is, we will make a significant contribution to our nation's economy!

Today, I heard a wonderful sermon by The Rev Wesley Carr, recently retired Dean of Westminster Abby. He was the preacher at today's weekly Healing Service at Christ the King Spiritual Life Center. Even though it was a Tuesday morning, about 130 people were on hand. I liked what he said about healing from the perspective of release from bondage. Quoting from Romans Chapter Eight regarding the whole creation being in the bondage of decay, he stated the obvious that human beings are also locked in this decaying world and themselves decay. Healing comes when we are freed from the bondage of fear regarding the decaying process. The Holy Spirit can free us from the fear that our bodies are breaking down, and then open us to the beauty of living eternally, even when we are still living in our bodies. For some of us, that may mean physical healing, but for all of us, it can mean spiritual healing. Pray about that.

Bishop-Elect Love will have his last Sunday at St. Mary's, Lake Luzerne on August 13, and then will be moving out of the Rectory. He will become fulltime at the diocesan office on September 1.

We are looking at a Mid-Week Marriage Encounter for clergy sometime this winter. The Marriage Encounter Weekend is a Christian experience for good marriages. It is not an encounter for troubled marriages, although all marriages have some trouble. It is a weekend "to make good marriages better," and is based on biblical principles, Christian spirituality, and sound communication techniques. Since they are held on weekends, clergy have a difficult time attending. So we would like to have a midweek - two overnights - at Christ the King, just for clergy couples. Fr. John Bassett and his wife Terry are our clergy representatives and are looking for the best time to schedule a Midweek Marriage Encounter. Please contact them to let them know of your interest. bassettinthewood@netscape.net. Mary Ellen and I got a lot out of our Marriage Encounter Weekend, and have used its principles for thirty years. You ought to make a Marriage Encounter.

A general informational meeting for those interested in Holy Orders will be held on Sunday, September 10 at 2 pm in the Library of Christ the King Center. This is an opportunity to hear directly from the Bishops their expectations of those seeking Holy Orders, to hear more about ordination, and and to turn in an Interest Form for the Bishops to read. Spouses are encouraged to attend to hear about expectations for their support. Please let those in your parish who would make a good priest or deacon know and, if someone will be coming, please contact Fr. Bob Haskell, Chair of the Commission on Ministry, at rhaskell2@nycap.rr.com

St. George's, Clifton Park is looking for a part-time organist/choir director. Contact the church at stgeorge@csdsl.net

O gracious God, we remember before thee this day thy servant and apostle James, first among the twelve to suffer martyrdom for the Name of Jesus Christ; and we pray that thou wilt pour out upon the leaders of thy Church that spirit of self-denying service by which alone they may have true authority among thy people; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lived and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

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