(Part two of five in David Roseberry's Suddenly Surging series on church growth.) In the first of this series, I mentioned signs that churches might be growing and offered reasons why that might be. I have no proof for this beyond anecdotal evidence and what has been on X in a few places (here is [...] The post A Heart for Others (Suddenly Surging Part 2) appeared first on Anglican Compass ..read more

An Ancient Tradition The first Easter Vigil I ever attended was in southern Ukraine, what is now annexed Crimea. I was 15 years old, on a spring break mission trip with my Christian high school. I don’t remember as much as I wish I did (and I admit I was smitten with a particular boy [...] The post On This Most Holy Night: An Easter Vigil with the Arts appeared first on Anglican Compass ..read more

On Easter 5 every year, the church moves us hard toward the mindset of expectation for the coming of the Holy Spirit. To get us there, the lectionary puts forward Jesus’ most explicit teaching on this matter, as found in the Last Supper discourse in John 14-16. For Easter 5B, the Gospel selection is John [...] The post Today in the Spirit: Easter 5B appeared first on Anglican Compass ..read more

On Good Shepherd Sunday, we both acknowledge that we are sheep who go astray and also glory in the good news that Jesus is our shepherd. Typical features of the day include a collect on the theme of the Good Shepherd and the reading or singing of Psalm 23 or Psalm 100. The gospel reading [...] The post Good Shepherd Sunday: A Rookie Anglican Guide appeared first on Anglican Compass ..read more

What is Going On? I first read a series of tweets from church leaders citing tremendous and unexpected growth in attendance in their congregations over the last few months. They were not commenting on Easter crowds but on Easter-like trends. Since their churches were not Anglican, I thought I’d better check in with some of [...] The post Is Your Church Suddenly Growing? appeared first on Anglican Compass ..read more

By the end of Easter 3, the Sunday lectionary has covered all the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus recorded in Luke and John; so at Easter 4, the church makes a shift in the assignment of Gospel readings to those of our Lord’s teaching about the new life of the kingdom of God under his reign [...] The post Today in the Spirit: Easter 4B (Good Shepherd) appeared first on Anglican Compass ..read more

Did you know "Be Thou My Vision" was written by a blind monk? The text is attributed to Saint Dallán, a 6th-century Celtic monk who went blind in the middle of his life. In 1919, the Irish Church hymnal combined the text with a traditional Irish ballad called SLANE. Ever since, it has been a [...] The post Hymn Guide: Be Thou My Vision appeared first on Anglican Compass ..read more

Growing up in Northern Ireland, Anglicanism often felt more like a gang than a religion. It wasn’t just about where your family went on Sunday; it was as much a part of your identity as having red hair, an aptitude for maths, or a brother on the rugby team.  We had five churches in our [...] The post Full Circle and Across the Globe: An Anglican Journey appeared first on Anglican Compass ..read more

We continue in the Easter season with readings appropriate for the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. The assigned Gospel reading from Luke 24:36-49 appears to be Luke’s version of the initial post-resurrection visit by Jesus to his disciples, which we heard last Sunday from John 20. If that is the case, Luke’s narrative [...] The post Today in the Spirit: Easter 3B appeared first on Anglican Compass ..read more

The Sunday after Easter is also called “Saint Thomas Sunday.” This Sunday, we read the story of the apostle Thomas, his doubts about the news of the resurrection, and his confession of faith when Jesus showed him his wounds. It is a day to acknowledge skepticism and celebrate belief. Most importantly, Saint Thomas Sunday is [...] The post Saint Thomas Sunday: A Rookie Anglican Guide appeared first on Anglican Compass ..read more