Christ Church Anglican

Dear Christ Anglican Church members and friends, as well as my FB friends. You are probably aware by now that the next two Sunday services (March 22 and 29) at Christ Church have been suspended, as have all the services in the congregations of the Pittsburgh Diocese. Obviously, this is a defense against the spread of the Coronavirus. I will be live streaming a service of Morning Prayer this Sunday and next Sunday (March 22 and 29) at 10:30 am on Facebook Live, so please an...swer my friend request if you haven't already done so. I will be following the Anglican BCP 2019, so if you would like to download a copy, you can find and download it at http://bcp2019.anglicanchurch.net//upl/2019/08/BCP2019.pdf. I will also have a couple of "Video Refreshers" each week we are away from public worship; these will be little 2-minute meditations that will come out on Tuesdays and Thursdays and that you can view anytime. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or email me. I am also available for home visits in case of emergency, or if you would like me to bring Holy Communion. Remember that God is still in charge, and He will help us through this challenging time. See more

Video Refresher will start in 10 minutes.Video Refresher will start in 10 minutes.

Dear Christ Anglican Church members and friends, as well as my FB friends. You are probably aware by now that the next two Sunday services (March 22 and 29) at Christ Church have been suspended, as have all the services in the congregations of the Pittsburgh Diocese. Obviously, this is a defense against the spread of the Coronavirus. I will be live streaming a service of Morning Prayer this Sunday and next Sunday (March 22 and 29) at 10:30 am on Facebook Live, so please an...swer my friend request if you haven't already done so. I will be following the Anglican BCP 2019, so if you would like to download a copy, you can find and download it at http://bcp2019.anglicanchurch.net//upl/2019/08/BCP2019.pdf. I will also have a couple of "Video Refreshers" each week we are away from public worship; these will be little 2-minute meditations that will come out on Tuesdays and Thursdays and that you can view anytime. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or email me. I am also available for home visits in case of emergency, or if you would like me to bring Holy Communion. Remember that God is still in charge, and He will help us through this challenging time. See more

We've been having a great time of fellowship and study in the men's Bible study!

Some years ago, a panel of doctors was appointed by the Federal government to draw up eight laws of public health that could be printed in pamphlet form and distributed to the public. But even after twelve days of exhaustive meetings, the doctors were unable to come to with what these eight laws should say. It seems that because each one of these specialists approached the problem from their own discipline, no consensus could be reached. The cancer specialist was conce...rned about carcinogens in the environment. The chest expert was concerned about harmful dusts and molds that could get into the lungs. The psychiatrist was concerned about the effects of stress. Finally, someone said, Let's just re-publish the eight beatitudes of Jesus and simply replace the word "Blessed" with the word "Healthy." Let’s try that and see what happens: Healthy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Healthy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Healthy are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Healthy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Healthy are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Healthy are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Healthy are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Healthy are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10) I think we’ve got something here! Obviously, the Beatitudes speak to us about our ethical behavior in relation to the desires of our Father God. God’s priorities and, in turn, Kingdom ethics are vastly different from the world’s priorities. But isn’t it interesting that when we replace the word Blessed with the word Healthy, we indeed do gain some insight into the relationship between the physical and the spiritual sides of life? When we are in relationship with our God, we are at peace with life, and this is beneficial for our health. To back this insight up, the Greek word we translate as Blessed in the Beatitudes (Makarios) can also mean fortunate, well off, or happy. It is not a big stretch to include healthy, especially mentally healthy. And how much of our physical health is dependent on our mental health. Kinda puts our whole worldview in a different light, doesn’t it?! Something to think about! Fr. Keith

I understand that at the Lloyd's of London insurance house, there can be found on display a historic bell that is sometimes referred to as the Bad News Bell. There is a fascinating story that surrounds this bell. The year was 1799, and a large frigate, the HMS Lutine, set sail from London to Hamburg, Germany. Hamburg was facing a financial crisis, and the Lutine was loaded with gold and silver intended to help stave off a crash of the German stock market. Unfortunately, a... great storm in the North Sea caught the Lutine, and she sank somewhere along the Dutch coastline. Of the 240 crew members on board, only one survived. All of the cargo was lost at sea. In 1858, divers found part of the wreckage of the Lutine, including the bell that had hung at the front of the ship. The bell was turned over to Lloyd's of London, the insurance underwriters who had insured the Lutine's original trip. The folks at Lloyd's of London hung the bell in the main lobby of the great insurance company’s headquarters. For many years, whenever a ship was late in arriving at its destination, a Lloyd's employee rung the bell once to let all the brokers know the bad news. If the missing ship arrived safely, the bell was rung twice. The good news followed the bad. There is some good theology that underlies this practice. So many times in life, the good news follows the bad, and the bad news attunes us to the reality of the good. Think about it. How many times have difficulties in life driven us to our knees? We turn to God when our backs are to the walls. Too bad we didn’t trust God earlier in life (we could have saved ourselves some trouble), but the Lord never turns away from the repentant sinner. The Apostle Paul says it this way: ...we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28). Good news follows bad. And no matter how bad the news is, God in Christ has overcome all things, even death itself. He loves us, and He will never let us go. Fr. Keith