Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid;
do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
I remember vividly the day I sat in a college auditorium and learned Jesus was Jewish. I was stunned, I remember my head popping up from the sea of students. I was so confused, my church growing up hated Jewish people and said they were going to hell. I also felt so stupid as it appeared I was the only one in the massive survey course for whom this was new information. I went back to my dorm, waited for my roommate to leave and called my mom to share this piece of information. My mother responded with an emphatic “aha!”. She wasn’t as stunned as I but, having read through the bible several times, she had always wondered but didn’t feel like she could ask our pastor.
That memory has fueled one aspect of my ministry because I know people, especially those who have been raised in the church, have a million questions they are scared to ask. Some of these questions are biblical, others theological, others liturgical. Our current focus in our Family Worship is to teach the students about the various elements of the service therefore in the next few issues of Edmund’s Notes you will notice a blurb about some aspect of worship, particularly some of the elements that are unique to the Episcopal church. I also want to invite questions that I might not think to cover. If there is any question you have never dared to ask I invite you to email me and we will try to provide you with the best answer possible or, at least provide information for topics that are broad and may have a number of interpretations. Names will not printed and I’m certain questions raised will be ones wondered by many.
