June 4, 2026

Season After Pentecost

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

For many people, Summer is a series of months when the rhythms of work and family life changes. The regular schedule over 9 months revolving around work and school calendars including related activities gives way to vacations, travel, and unique, outdoor seasonal activities. One might say that we tend to spend 9 months with an “ordinary” schedule and 3 months with an “extra-ordinary” schedule.

A similar dynamic is seen in the Church Calendar Year but the term “ordinary” means something quite different. The first 6 months revolve around the life and ministry of Jesus from Advent to Pentecost. The 6-month season after Pentecost, often referred to as “Ordinary Time” because it is ordered sequentially after Pentecost, fills out the year. This season, however, is far from ordinary [common; plain; usual; routine] because it is marked by the Church living on mission in the dynamic empowering of the Holy Spirit!

I highly commend the following piece “Courageously Going Forth” written by Fr. Joe Boysel, Rector of Holy Trinity Parish in Hudson, OH. As Fr. Joe encourages the parish he serves, may we be encouraged to go forth courageously in the power of the Holy Spirit living on mission for God. God’s presence and power turns the ordinary into something extraordinary for His glory and our good.

As we move courageously into our future in God, let us continue to pray for His providential blessing in the selection of our new Bishop Coadjutor. Please pray for God’s Spirit to guide the members of the Search Committee that continue to vet nominees and finalize candidates for election in 19 weeks. Pray for all who participate in the regional Walkabouts September 15-17 where candidates will be introduced. Pray, too, for wisdom and discernment for all the clergy and lay delegates to Mission Conference and Synod October 15-17 as the selection takes place.

Please pray with me:

“Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously

on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall

choose a Bishop Coadjutor for the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes

that we may receive a faithful pastor who will preach the Gospel,

care for your people, equip us for ministry, and lead us forth

in fulfillment of the Great Commission; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.“

Your servant for Jesus’ sake,

+Mark

Courageously Going Forth - Written by Fr. Joe Boysel

Now while Paul was waiting for [Silas and Timothy] at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?” 

—Acts 17:16–19

Reading through the letters of the New Testament helps us see how very difficult it was to be a Christian in the first century. The Jewish world, from which all the original Christians came, quickly set itself against the Church. Similarly, the pagan culture had very little patience with claims of resurrection. In other words, the whole world was adversarial toward the tiny (tiny!) minority of Christians. Moreover, there was no such thing as religious tolerance. Basically, one could be Jewish or pagan but that was it. Any attempt to find a third way was met with fierce opposition. For example, Christian men were often expelled from the pagan trade guilds, which meant they could no longer work as craftsmen. Christian women were likewise routinely shut out of their social circles. Similar shunning took place among Jewish communities. Consequently, the first Christians often faced the difficult choice of either feeding their families or bowing their knees to their present age. Beyond the economic hardships were actual physical persecutions too. Identifying with Christ came with a heavy price. 

Naturally, the Apostles found the need to write to their little flocks, encouraging them to remain steadfast in the midst of such terrifying discrimination. Indeed, it was this sort of suffering that provided much of the backdrop to the letters of Paul and Peter, James and the writer to the Hebrews, John and Jude, as well as the vision John saw in his Revelation.  

Acts tells us more. In The Acts of the Apostles the author, St Luke, shows his readers what courage looks like. In Acts we see Jesus’ followers boldly speaking out despite the hostility of the culture. Early on it was Peter and John being arrested by Jewish leaders, yet refusing to be silent. Luke further describes Stephen being murdered for his commitment to Christ, but even as his countrymen hurled stones at him he remained faithful. Then, Paul and his friends launched missionary journeys into the Greco-Roman world where they preached Christ, both to Jews in diaspora and to Greco-Roman peoples in their native lands.

In the passage from Acts 17 above we see Paul strolling through Athens, revolted by the ubiquitous idolatry. He thus began his mission work among the Jews who lived there, engaging them in conversation about Jesus. Then, he turned his attention to the pagans, and started making conversation with them too. With both audiences his message remained unchanged, it went something like: “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” Luke summarized Paul’s hearers saying, “some mocked…[while] some joined him and believed.” (Acts 17:32, 34)

As the liturgical calendar moves us from Easter to Pentecost it reminds us that our lives are not only to be focused on our personal piety, we’re also called to mission. Happily, Western culture has been transformed by the missionary work of those who went before us. Christians (in the West) are not routinely fired from their jobs because of their faith, nor are they murdered with government sanction. (Whew!) But simply identifying with Christ does not mean we’re actually engaged in mission. Paul recoiled when he saw the idols of Athens but he was not content to see people ignorant of God’s saving work. Instead, he entered both Jewish and pagan spaces and there proclaimed the resurrection.

As we pass from Easter to Pentecost let us commit ourselves afresh to mission. Engaging in evangelism begins by making friends with people who do not know the Lord, then, when they ask, being ready to give an answer about the hope that lies within us. Like Paul, it’s okay for us to be uneasy about the idols of our culture. But the response to that discontent isn’t to wring our hands in despair or to gossip with fellow believers about how ungodly people have become. Rather, we ought to go boldly into the culture, provoking people with our kindness, and then offering our unique message of hope. 

Now, as we set out to do this important work,

Oremus Pro Invicem,

Father Joe+

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