Prayer for the Baptized Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace.  Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit.  Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.  Amen. From the service of Holy Baptism The Book of Common Prayer, p. 308

Personal Ministry Statement

GENERAL. Part of what is gratifying about all Christian ministry is its breadth. Ministry is the all-encompassing activity to "know Christ and make him known" (BCP, p. 836). In parish life the breadth of this ministry is lived out in everything from the routine tasks of administration, to the formation and realization of dreams and goals in program development, to the rich wonder of daily lives shared with one another. I am in parish ministry primarily because I cherish this breadth. Within this broad realm, however, several more specific elements form the foundation of my ministry.

WORSHIP. Worship is celebration. In worship we celebrate foremost our communion with God. As a result of our communion with God, we have many other things to celebrate. We celebrate being a community united in Christ; we celebrate the gifts of music and language and creativity and hope and comfort that God’s presence brings into our lives. Drawing upon the rich resource of the Book of Common Prayer, I seek to foster and lead worship that is characterized by joy and awe and is engaging and participatory for the entire community.

PREACHING. The seeds for my preaching are in the Gospel, the Good News of God’s transforming love made real for us in the person of Christ. Beginning from that source, each sermon I preach is offered for a particular community on a particular day within a particular context. The fundamental message throughout most of my sermons, however, is the challenge to all of us truly to live as Christians, to explore and live into our full-time, daily vocations as members of the Body of Christ.

CHRISTIAN VOCATION. This Christian vocation is never static, but is inevitably a journey, an ever-continuing journey of discovery. For this process of exploration and discovery to occur and be fruitful, at least two elements must characterize a parish community. First, the Christian parish community must be a place where creativity, in all of its diverse forms, is continually stimulated and nurtured. Second, the parish community must be committed to Christian Education as a life-long endeavor for people of all ages. I hope to help nurture a parish community that will provide this sort of environment for me, and where I may be a part of providing it for others.