The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries round about. His lightnings lighten the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.
–Psalm 97:1-6
By 2005 we had indeed joined the ranks of smaller Anglican blogs, and got regular mentions from the Big Guys. In late August of that year, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and I found myself as the channel through which the American Anglican Council sent tens of thousands of dollars of relief money to coast residents. I made many trips to the coast on their behalf and helped countless families through the generosity of blog readers and AAC members.
I had also started to “franchise” the blog, setting up state “chapters” like Louisiana, West Virginia, and Alabama. The Alabama group was particularly energetic, but eventually all the state chapters proved unable to maintain the posting level that was then being required of Anglican blogs if they wanted to build and maintain an audience of any size.
In early 2006, I shut down the state sites, audaciously changed the slogan to “Traditional Anglicanism in America,” and recruited two new writers. Andy Figueroa was first aboard, and in my search for a second I found Matt Kennedy. I noticed that when I read comment threads at TitusOneNine, I would begin reading a comment and find myself smiling and agreeing with whoever it was writing it. Every single time, it was Matt. I sent him an email asking him if he’d like to join me, and he’s been a fixture at Stand Firm ever since.
Will Ross reports on the challenge of fighting Boko Haram, and watches rare footage filmed by the group of a recent attack.
The National Council of Churches (NCC) has sent a letter to President Barack Obama expressing concern about the plight of Christian communities in Syria, especially the depopulation of the Armenian community of Kessab, stating: “While Syrians of all religious communities are caught up in this horrible conflict, of particular concern to us are the Christian communities, which are often the most vulnerable.”
“One situation that has just come to our attention is the attack on the Armenian villages of Kessab. Though this attack comes in the wider context of the overall Syrian conflict, it nevertheless has brought death and destruction to the Christian communities there,” the NCC letter reads in part. The letter specifically urges the President to “safeguard the vulnerable Christian communities” and to “restore stability to the Armenian communities of Kessab.”
When Anglicans and Catholics recently gathered to discuss their differing beliefs about the Eucharist, the atmosphere was notably friction-free.
“It’s awkward to talk about our differences because we can’t do anything about them in terms of resolving them,” said Christophe Potworowski, Redeemer Pacific College theology professor. “It’s not really in our hands. The point is really how to live with those differences.”
He and the Rev. Richard Leggett of St. Faith’s Anglican Church shared their ideas about communion with about 100 hundred people March 23. Much of what they discussed covered areas of mutual agreement.