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Ecclesia Anglicana ANGLICAN PROVINCE of AMERICA

The Most Rev. Walter H Grundorf D.D. Presiding Bishop DECEMBER 2016

Electronic copy available on line at www.anglicanprovince.org - under - News Articles

OUR HERITAGE

FEATURED PARISH

basis. In short order even the Masonic Lodge became

too small for the quick-growing Church. By this time,

two services were being held each Sunday and it

quickly became obvious that the group, now known as

St. Alban’s Church, needed a more permanent

location. A storefront on the busiest street in Orlando

was leased and begin welcoming more and more

parishioners. Before long, this intrepid band of

Christian soldiers outgrew the spacious storefront and

began looking for a permanent location to build their

church. Now led by Suffragan Bishop Walter Grundorf,

they contracted to purchase and build on the site of an

old orange grove. The plan was simple. Harvest the

oranges for a few years which would provide seed

money to start the Church. Great idea until the Great

Frost of ‘83 & ‘85 destroyed every orange tree. While

the grove died, nothing could kill the idea of an

Anglican Church in Central Florida, so the parishioners

self-funded their project. While they were always short

on cash, they never lacked faith or enthusiasm. Each

family helped in their own unique way, from providing

simple labor to other parishioners who were licensed

contractors to donating and installing a state-of-the art

HVAC system. Professionally-trained singers served

as the nucleus of their choir and their organist was a

senior demonstrator for Allen Organs in Florida.

Somehow, they were able to acquire an organ far

larger than our tiny budget could possibly afford. Pews

became available when a newly constructed Catholic

Church in nearby Deltona, Florida asked if we would

take them. After their land purchase and during

construction of their Parish House and Sanctuary, they

learned that the State began construction of a freeway

exit just a few hundred yards from their property

enabling the parish to trade part of their side property

for an adjacent plot and began construction on another

building to serve as a Sunday school classrooms and

a place to hold annual fundraisers.

Now, in their fortieth year, St. Alban’s Cathedral is

proud to have served as a teaching and training

St Alban’s

Anglican Cathedral

The Very Reverend

Ralph Waterhouse

Dean and Rector

Forty years ago, Mrs. Lillian “Golly” Tarr placed a

small, personal ad in the local Orlando Newspaper.

It simply read; “Has Your Church Left You?” and

included a phone number to respond. A handful of

phone calls and a few meetings in her living room

resulted in Golly and her like-

minded friends forming a new

church mission. They first met in

a small side Chapel in St. Paul’s

Lutheran Church in downtown

Orlando, but as word spread about their mission,

they outgrew that space and moved to a nearby

Masonic Lodge, then to another, larger Masonic

Lodge. Bishop Clark Dorman agreed to travel from

Florida’s east coast to perform services for this

small mission and present communion on a weekly

Fr Ralph Waterhouse

FOR UNTO US A CHILD WAS BORN

St Alban’s Cathedral

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Diocese of the West 2106 SYNOD

celebrated Friday afternoon, during which Bishop

Grundorf confirmed Hannah Staley and Brad

Rothacher, St. Andrew's,

and Aislinn Kencke, St.

Michael's. After Synod was

adjourned, the new

Standing Committee met.

Canon Robert Hawkins was

elected President, Bea Crites

was elected non-voting Secretary, and Dave

Mahar as Chancellor. Fr. Dan Squires and Fr.

Vince Varnas were appointed to the BEC, with Fr.

Squires as its President. Following the day's

proceedings a delightful Synod Banquet was held,

at which time Bishop Grundorf appointed Canon

Crites as Vicar General Emeritus,

in recognition of his faithful service

to the DOW over these past many

years. For the foreseeable future, it

was determined that the Standing

Committee’s focus would be on

mission planting, parish/mission

support, clergy/laity development

and diocesan growth. Bishop

Robert Griffin, Bishop Ordinary of

the DMA and recently appointed Episcopal Visitor

of the DOW, is a full time Hospice Chaplain

working in San Antonio Texas.

ground for many men who have gone into the

priesthood, and now serve in other APA churches. The

blessings bestowed upon St. Albans have been many,

and St. Albans has always tried to give back to the

community. Through the years, the parish has been

involved with many civic projects - Soles For Souls,

Super Bowl Sunday Food Drive, and Feed My Sheep.

In addition, they support the Christian Service Center of

Orlando, the Spouse Abuse Center in Sanford and

Daily Bread in Oviedo as well as provide meeting space

for civic organizations including the Scouts,

Neighborhood Homeowners Associations, voting

districts, Lions Club and others. Their Parish Nurse

Program provides grief counseling, nutrition and

wellness programs along with a variety of health

services both for their parish and parish neighbors.

“We’ve come a long way during the past forty years,”

wrote Fr. Ralph. “Our Cathedral has been blessed with

strong leadership, dedicated members, and the heart of

the Lord’s Son. While we are proud of what we

accomplished, we also know that the Lord is far from

being done with us. With the Lord’s blessing and his

grace, St. Albans will continue to move forward.”

The DOW 2016 Synod was hosted St. Andrew's

Anglican Church in Jacksonville, Oregon. The outgoing

Standing Committee met Thursday afternoon and

approved the 2017 DOW Budget for presentation.

Friday, following Morning

Prayer, the Synod convened

with introductions and an

Address by Presiding Bishop

Grundorf. After the minutes of

the previous Synod were

approved, the budget was

adopted, parish reports were

given, and Ben Lizak, Treasurer,

and new standing committee members elected, Canon

Robert Hawkins was appointed the new Vicar General,

replacing retiring Canon Walt Crites. Bishop Robert

Giffin, Ordinary for the Diocese of Mid America, was

elected Episcopal Visitor under the provisions of APA

Canon 16, Section 6 (a). Holy Communion was

Canon Crites and

Bishop Grundorf

Bishop Robert

Griffin

Dcn Bill Baker

Dcn Chris Smith

Fr John Longcamp

TENDING THE GARDEN

New stained glass at St Mary’s

Church, Delray Beach, FL

This Christmas the members of Saint

Mary’s the Virgin, Delray Beach Flor-

ida, celebrated the birth of Christ in

the radiance of five new stained

glass windows, and with the

knowledge that a donation has be

made for four stained glass windows for their

chapel. Ever mindful of the Anglican tradition of

visual teaching, the parish plan is to collect the

necessary funds for the remain three windows in

the church for next year. The Rector and Vestry

would like to express their deep appreciate and

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No Pooh-Poohing Biblical History by John Stonestreet abridged

Israel Antiquities Authority, digging in the remains

of what was once the biblical city of Tel Lachish,

made a discovery that confirmed the biblical text in

a most unexpected way. They found an ancient

PERSPECTVE

Confirmations at

St. Matthew’s Church

Fr. Greg Miller Rector

On Nov 6, 2016 St.

Matthews welcomed into

our church family Thomas

Kopt and Jeffery Allen,

during a confirmation

service officiated by Bishop Chad Jones. Prior to

the service Bishop Chad lead the parishes adult

Christian Education class speaking on the

Communion of the Saints.

St. Alban’s Church

Joppa, MD

Fr Gordon Anderson

Rector

St Albans Joppa MD - gets a face lift

A couple of years ago, when contemplating ex-

panding the interior of their church, the vestry of

St Albans decided it would be best to focus on the

outside of the building. So they had their beautiful

slate roof completely repaired, a new air condi-

tioner was donated, the gutters on the front of the

church were replaced, the bell was reinstalled in

the belfry, and now the entire church has been

professionally power washed, scrapped, and

painted. But they are not stopping there. Currently

the parish in the process of raising $7,000 to re-

build the front entrance ramp and repair the exte-

rior sacristy door. “Saint Alban’s is truly a fantastic

little church full of faithful and devoted people,”

wrote Father Gordon. “Once all of this work is

done we will turn our attention indoors: to our en-

trances which are un-welcoming, and difficult to

use, to the flooring in the kitchen, hallway to the

church, and bathrooms, and to the carpeting in

the church which is a problem as it is no longer

sticking to the floor, but bulging up in a couple of

places.

MISSION TRIP TO EQUADOR

Following the recognition of the

Ecuadorian Government the

APA undertook Episcopal

oversight of Indigenous Pasto-

ral of the Anglican Province of

America in Ecuador (English

translation) and on November

10th Bishop Walter Grundorf, in

his capacity as Presiding Bishop, accompanied by

the Very Rev. David

Haines, Vicar General of

Foreign Mission and Dr.

Mary Grundorf, member of

our Foreign Mission Board,

made his first Episcopal

visit to the country. To say

that they were embraced

by the leadership and the people would be an un-

derstatement. The highlight of the tour came when

2,000 representatives marched to the coliseum

(from the 32 parish/communities which total 20,000

people) to celebrate

Mass and witness the

ordination of the church

newest deacon. A de-

tailed trip report is being

readied for publication on

our Provincial Website.

March to the coliseum in

Quamote

The Bishop Mary and Fathers

Eulogia & Luis

Presentation of Ceremonial

Ponchos 2,000 representatives attended

Gathering after Mass

Thomas Kopt - Bishop

Chad and Jeffery Allen

thanks to William Laurie &

Patricia Moore in memory

of John Linton Moore and

Thomas & Gladys

Klingerman in memory of

loved ones.

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toilet. To fully appreciate the significance of the find,

we need to go back in time to the eighth century

BC. King Hezekiah, one of only a handful of post-

Davidic kings that earns the Bible’s seal of

approval, initiated series of reforms aimed at

eradicating syncretism in Judah. At the heart of

these reform efforts was eliminating what the Bible

called “high places” or bamot in Hebrew. These

were cultic sites containing an altar, usually located,

as the English name suggests, on a hill or a ridge.

While ostensibly dedicated to the worship of YHWH,

these sites where also used to honor pagan deities

and as a consequence asherim, or “Asherah Poles,”

cultic objects dedicated to the worship of the

Canaanite goddess of fertility, were erected. In the

scriptures Hezekiah was commended because “He

removed the high places, smashed the sacred

stones and cut down the Asherah poles.” And that

brings me back to the discovery at Tel Lachish.

Archaeologists found a “large room that appears to

have been a shrine. The room contained two four-

horned altars, whose horns had been intentionally

damaged.” Excavation leader Sa’ar Ganor “believes

that the destroyed altars corroborate biblical

references to King Hezekiah’s efforts to centralize

worship in Jerusalem and abolish it elsewhere.” As

if this weren’t exciting enough, Ganor and his team

found something else in the room: a “seat carved of

stone with a hole in the center.” In other words, a

toilet. Ganor believes that this “was unquestionably

a form of desecration of this shrine room,” and he

has ample biblical reason to do so. In 2 Kings 10,

we are informed that following the fall of King Ahab,

Jehu and his followers “demolished the pillar of

Baal, and destroyed the temple of Baal, and made it

a latrine to this day.” And to think that only a few

decades ago, many, if not most, scholars doubted

that Hezekiah, along with ancestors David and

Solomon, ever actually existed.

A Christmas Mistake

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm

and peaceful experience. I had cut back on baking,

decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found

myself exhausted. My son, Nick, was in

kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for

a 6 year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs

for his school's "Winter Pageant." I didn't have the

heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the

production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I

spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a

dress rehearsal and all parents unable to attend that

evening were welcome to come then. Nick seemed

happy with the compromise. So, the morning of the

dress rehearsal, I found a spot on the cafeteria floor

and sat down as the students were led into the room.

Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-

legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one,

rose to perform their song. Because the public school

system had long stopped referring to the holiday as

"Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun

songs of reindeer, Santa Claus and good cheer. So,

when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I

was slightly taken aback by its bold title. Nicholas

was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in

fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, Those in the front row-

held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title

of the song. As the class would sing "C is for

Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then,

"H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child

holding up his portion had completed the message,

"Christmas Love." The performance was going

smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed a small, quiet,

girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down

- totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W".

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at

this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they

were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly

holding her "W". Although many teachers tried to

shush the children, the laughter continued until the

last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A

hush came over the audience and eyes began to

widen. In that instant, we understood - the reason we

were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first

place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose

for our festivities. For when the last letter was held

high, the message read loud and clear: "CHRIST

WAS LOVE."

Merry Christmas from ECCLESIA ANGLICANA