Holy Week and Easter

Shirley and I had a good (but stressful) Holy Week and Easter.

Palm Sunday was great -- we gathered outside the church building with palms and flags, acoustic guitars and percussive instruments (of course I had a shaker!). We walked around the church and shouted and sang "Hosanna!", then processed inside and had a wonderful Palm Sunday Eucharist.

Then things happened during the week that weren't very enjoyable. I think I'll just call it persecution, : ) 'cause that's just what it is. There are people who hate us simply because we're Christians, and say we are judgemental because we attempt to live by, and hold up the standard of God's holy Word the Bible. We must show them the Lord Jesus and His love.

Maunday Thursday we had a very good Eucharist, and the priest delivered a well-done sermon on the "Real Presence" of Christ in the Eucharist. Then they stripped the altar, and we remembered Jesus' betrayal and arrest and the disciples fleeing, sat in the silence after, and "kept watch" and prayed.

Good Friday morning at 8:00 am we flew out to OKC. We did the Stations of the Cross after noon on Good Friday, and Eucharist and Veneration of the Cross Friday evening. Saturday the Abbot showed us Bricktown, the downtown district -- the older brick buildings are renovated and have shops and restaurants, and the baseball field is there, too. Looking forward to seeing some games there! We spent some time in a Native American art and gift store, and I had a hard time leaving. I wanted a flute, but it was a bit more than I wanted to pay. And they had a wooden Latin cross with a turquoise stone in the middle, which I nearly bought. (Wish I had, now...!) Then we went by and saw the Memorial of the bombing -- next time we plan to go in and see the museum. They weren't able to do their Seder/Maunday Thursday Eucharist Thursday night, so we combined it with the Vigil on Saturday night. So we had Seder, Maunday Thursday Eucharist and footwashing, and Easter Vigil, all on Saturday night. What a service! Sunday morning we had Easter Eucharist with our friends at St. James Anglican. Then late Sunday afternoon we had Easter dinner with the rest of the Order. It was a great, restful weekend, and I really wasn't ready to come home.

We really like Oklahoma City. It's a medium-sized city, and has a lot of what Houston has -- except it's not as spread out and the traffic isn't as bad. I like the rolling plains. The neighborhood we'll be in there with them is pretty quiet, which I enjoy tremendously. The city is pretty, and we're looking forward to moving there.

It's Monday, after work, and I'm tired. But God is good. Time to ask Shirley what we should do for dinner. We hope your Easter weekend was as wonderful as ours was.

under the mercy,
Brother Francis, O.S.J.B.

Concerts and study

Shirley and I have been to see a couple of good concerts lately. We saw Rebecca St. James and Barlow Girl (Jadon Lavik opened). The sound was good, the volume good, and the ministry was excellent. I was especially impressed with Barlow Girl, 3 sisters who rock and love our Lord! The concert appeared sold out. May God bless their ministry.

We went with Todd and Becca, my bandmates in a mainstrean rock effort, to see Warrant last night. They rocked! We saw the end of the set for the female-fronted opening band, Troublemaker--very good. The overall sound was good, despite a couple of technical problems during Warrant's set, and the volume was a little too loud. But Warrant rocked, the musicianship was exceptional, and we had a good time. Lord, we thank you for the talent we heard and saw displayed last night, which came from You. We pray that each person in the bands knows You and the joy of walking with You.

I am studying Anglican history today, as part of my preparation for ordination to the priesthood. I count it a privilege, and right now I'm humbled and awed that our Lord would call me. The coffee is on--this week it's Chocolate Rasberry, and I ground the beans. Yummy!

under the mercy,
br francis

Episcopal oversight and evangelical

In case you haven't read my home page, let me take a moment to tell you about our group. The Order of St. John the Beloved is a Franciscan monastic order led by Bishop/Abbot Jim Beckett, and the members are referred to as monks or nuns. We allow each to serve in the state he/she is called to be -- celibate or married. Our order allows for clergy as well as lay, and also for family members of members. We also have oblates. While a lot of orders focus on one area of service, each of us is involved in whatever ministry he or she is led to do. We feel like we are called to shine as lights in the world, so while we want to focus on our prayer life, we are an "active" order -- we serve in the world.

We are Anglican/AngloCatholic, and the name of our communion is the United Convergence Church. We believe in worship in a "convergence," or blending of the three streams of worship of the ancient Church: evangelical, charismatic, and sacramental/liturgical. From what I have seen, folks don't generally think AngloCatholic and evangelical go together. We believe they do -- we're very sacramental, and we believe Christ is to be received by each person, and preached in all the world. We believe the Holy Bible is the inerrant, infallible written Word of God, every Christian's rule for all of life, and that we are to obey it, the best we can. Also, charismatic to us is the work and life of the Holy Spirit in indwelling, filling, and moving in us, gifts to serve God and man. (We don't believe a person must speak in tongues to be filled with the Spirit; each person receives gifts "as the Spirit wills," as Paul said.) As far as a liturgy, an order of service -- every church has one of those, but every church doesn't print it and have all use it. Ancient Israel, the Lord Jesus, and the ancient Church used a written liturgy for public worship. It is a beautiful thing to combine liturgy and charismatic spontaneity.

As an Anglican/AngloCatholic part of the Church, we believe in a succession of bishops, or chief pastors, who shepherd the church and are to safeguard its teachings. Sadly, just because a person is ordained in apostolic succession is no guarantee that person holds to the apostolic faith which came from the Lord Jesus, was given to the apostles, passed on to the early bishops, and written in our Bible. There are many ordained ministers in the world today who weren't ordained in apostolic succession (but according to their tradition), who teach the truth of the Scriptures. But if you are looking for episcopal oversight from a bishop ordained in the apostolic succession, holding to the apostolic faith, and believing in the Scriptures and the move of the Spirit, our Abbot and Bishop Jim Beckett would enjoy talking with you. His email is j_beckett@sbcglobal.net. He would also enjoy talking with you if you're interested in our monastic order.

If you are evangelical, believe in the Trinity, that the Lord Jesus is God in the flesh who died and rose for our justification and salvation, and will come again, in the Bible is the Word of God our perfect standard, that we're saved by grace alone through faith alone, and have repented and received Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are family. We are one body in Christ. If we scraped the names of our churches off the signs, they would all underneath say: "Jesus." There is but one Church: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

Jesus Christ is Lord and God and is worthy to be praised and for us to give our whole lives to.

Peace to you in our Lord Jesus.

br francis

Tonsure, preparation, ring

Well, Shirley has been shaving my tonsure for the past couple of weeks. We're used to it now. What I'm not used to, and don't think I'll ever be......is our Houston weather. We're cool one day and warm and muggy the next. I don't like warm and muggy. I like it cool and dry (hey, I'm a big guy, what can I say?). I've been here nearly all me life. You'd think I'd be used to it, by now. The older I get, the less I like it. Oh, well -- 8 months to put up with it, one more long, hot Summer.

So, I have to say we're looking forward to OKC this weekend. The humidity there day before yesterday was 14. Love it! Dry. Our next premarital counseling time with the Abbot....we did a family tree for this one, should be interesting. And we're supposed to talk about what will it be like for Shirley to be a pastor's wife. And, we're supposed to begin my formation for the priesthood. I'm excited and nervous at the sam time. I've always got my head in a book.....maybe it'll be worse, now. : )

And I bought Shirley's ring. Got it from a missionary who is a gemologist to fund his mission work. This man serves in India, Nepal, Africa, Madagaskar, and I can't remember where else. He's an Anglican priest, attends a Baptist church with his wife when home, and has served with Mother Theresa. I bought her a white sapphire that has a tint of blue, in a gold band -- the stone is from Sri Lanka and the band from Thailand. It's a beautiful ring. We're very thankful for it, and I purchased it a a very good price -- it's worth quite a bit more than what I [aid for it. So, now she has a ring. And she likes it very much. We're thankful.

I'll post more often. It's been very busy lately.


under the mercy,
br francis

Snowy, icy OKC!

Our OKC trip last weekend was great!

And Shirley and I had a couple of surprises.

Our flight was delayed. An hour after we were supposed to depart, we boarded. We waited several minutes, then the flight attendants began the emergency precedures. Then they informed us they were dimming the cabin lights and we began moving away from the gate. Suddenly, the cabin lights came back on and we bagan a fast taxi back up to the gate! We, of course, wondered why.

Several minutes later,we found out the Will Rogers airport in OKC was closed -- freezing weather. It was late, so we slept at the airport and took the first flight out the next morning, at 8:25 am. Where did we sleep? The quietest (!) place in the airport, and very appropriate: the chapel.

We did not sleep well, but enough to get up in the morning and try again to leave. It was nice to kneel on one of the chapel kneelers at 4 am to do Morning Prayer.

Over the weekend in OKC, I "took the plunge" and allowed one of our nuns to give me -- a TONSURE! I've been permanently vowed for a couple of years now, but at the time I just got a haircut. But now, I gave in. I now have a tonsure. I had to get the rest of my hair trimmed when I got back, so it wouldn't look funny. I'm getting used to it. But it feels right.

This weekend: a quiet weekend here with Shirley, church, Cheyenne, and hopefully -- naps.


under the mercy,
br francis

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Amen.


Hello all. I've begun again! I had another page, but I've closed it and begun again. I may post some old posts here.


May God be praised and Jesus exalted! He is worthy of all praise! Our lives are to be centered around Him and be for His glory. Let us prefer nothing to Christ.

I'm enjoying Epiphany, and beginning to think about Lent this year. Not sure how/what to fast, but I'll know by then.

Blessings to you!


grateful to be under the mercy,
br francis