This post is a response to a previous post in which I talked about the Problem of Individualism in the Church. I claimed that Individualism has hurt the church, and I stand by that position. This post is a warning of the dangers of collectivism in the church.
When mentioning to our family members and friends how we are Anglican, we get a lot of confused looks and questions. Once they hear the word “father,” they think that we’re Catholic. Also, in conversations with friends who are wives of Anglican priests, they talk about getting flack for being married to a priest–thinking that all men who wear collars must be celibate! Well, this post is a little unpacking of the tradition of calling pastors ‘father,’ the clerical collar and the allowances of the men who wear them.
Welcome to Tips & Tricks #5
HOW TO VACATION BY CAR
We’ve been on the road for the last month! Yes, that’s right, we left our humble abode and went on a trip to a couple different cities from December 5th until today–January 2nd. I’d like to say that I’ve learned a couple things, so I’m sharing with you the tips and tricks I’ve picked up from this past month of traveling. Some things we kept in mind while traveling (and always in everything) are to stay within a budget, and to be efficient with space, packing, and physical effort.
What to bring when vacationing by car? This depends on the kind of places in which you’ll be staying. We were staying with our friends, relatives, and sometimes, in a home where the residents were absent (when we went to the Poconos and rented a cabin). If you are planning on staying in a hotel, you might not have access to a kitchen like we were fortunate to have. This really helps reduce the amount of money you would spend on food if you are able to cook for yourself.
Welcome toTips & Tricks #4
THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
Merry Christmas one and all! We celebrate the first coming of our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ, in this Christmas season. We call it “Christmastide” or the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Most all of us have heard of the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, but pay it no mind as we dutifully take down our Christmas decorations the day after Christmas. (If we leave them up past New Year’s Day, we are considered lazy and disrespectful!) But the celebration of Advent an Christmas in the Anglican Church calendar is very different from what we are used to here in America. Here are some major differences:
Welcome to Tips & Tricks #3
MINIMALIST CLOSET
Welcome to another week of Tips & Tricks: How to Make an Anglican Home! Soon after having my daughter, I found myself wasting tons of time picking through my clothes to find something that fit, looked somewhat flattering, wasn’t super worn down, and coordinated with my other clothes. Imagine getting ready in the mornings and having to put the baby down for just a few moments so that you can get dressed. (Yes, the baby starts screaming, and you start flinging clothes out of your closet frantically!) I believe my baby was only 2 months old when I told my husband that I was thinking about starting a minimalist closet. He scoffed at me because he had already been living off of a rotation of about 10 items in his closet; but then he really did encourage me to do it.
Now that we have a daughter, the question of what to do about Santa comes up. As Christians, we know that Christmas is all about Christ! The true meaning of Christmas has almost nothing to do with what Santa Claus has become today (a highly commercialized fictional character who travels with flying reindeer, fits through chimneys, and rewards children for being good).
The original Santa Claus was based on Saint Nicholas, who was an actual person who lived in the third century in the village of Patara, (now Demre, Turkey). Nicholas was born into a very wealthy family and was raised a devout Christian. When Nicholas was still very young, his parents died. He decided to obey Jesus’ words from Matthew 19:21 “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me,” and so he used his entire inheritance to help the sick, needy and suffering. He was later made the bishop of Myra and became known for his generosity.
Welcome to Tips & Tricks #2
HOW TO FEED YOUR HUSBAND
I used to do a lot of cooking, and not just cooking, fancy cooking! That was before we were married, and since we’ve been married, my meal ideas and effort has waned. When we had our daughter, it had gotten even worse. At one point, we were spending $500 on eating out every month simply because I couldn’t find the time to make us food! I’m writing to share with you what we do on a daily basis and why they’ve worked for us: Paleo and Freezer Cooking.
Individualism. It has ruined the church. We all understand as Christians that there is a need for the individual to come to faith, repent and believe in Christ Jesus as his personal Savior in order to be considered righteous in God’s eyes. We understand that we cannot rely on the faith of others to enter the gates of heaven. We must work out our individual salvation in fear in trembling. In this context the individual is important and we should focus on that. But is individualism consistent with Christianity?
The blood of Christ bought the Church (not an individual) (Eph. 5:25); all of us together (not individually) are the body of Christ; where two or three are (not one) (Matt. 18:20), there Christ is; Christ said we will be known by the love we have for one another, not for ourselves (John 13:35); Christ said the moral law is summarized in how we love God and one another, not how we love ourselves (Matt. 22:38-39). The whole Christian perspective is otherly, not individualistic!
Welcome to part 3 of How to Pray! If you’re interested in the background and reasons to read and pray every day using the Daily Office, check out Part 1. If you need the schedule and resource links for when and what to pray, check out Part 2.
This post is the detailed elaboration on Option 1 of the ‘Simple Plan’ with Morning, Evening and Night Prayer discussed generally in a previous post here.
I posted previously about how to read & pray every day using the Daily Office and explained the importance of praying and reading the scripture daily. Remember that the Daily Office was written for daily church services, and now that we don’t have the ability in the modern day to go to church every day, I’m adapting it to fit the needs of family daily prayer. And now here’s the nitty-gritty.
The structure of the Daily Office breaks down into four parts: the Opening, the Psalms, the Readings, and the Prayers. These four parts fall under one of two categories: the Ordinary and the Proper. The Ordinary parts of the Office stay the same all the time, while the Proper parts change according to the day or season of the Church Year (includes different psalms, readings and prayers).
How do we implement the Daily Office into family prayer? How frequently in the day should we pray as a family?
The Anglican Mom 
