Dear Christ Church,
Today’s Hodgepodge Friday brings together three topics that I’m excited to tell you about.
Baptisms
One of my favorite experiences as a priest is the moment of holding someone’s hands while they slip under the water to be buried with Christ in baptism. NT Wright reminds us that baptism “is not magic, a conjuring trick with water. But neither is it simply a visual aid. It is one of the points, established by Jesus himself, where heaven and earth interlock, where new creation, resurrection life, appears in the midst of the old.” As the church surrounds and celebrates baptism we all witness a powerful moment of grace.
We will celebrate infant and immersion baptisms in both services on November 13th. If you are interested in having a conversation with one of our clergy and preparing for baptism, let us know here. By the way, if you’ve ever wanted to explore infant baptism more deeply, I recommend the very accessible book It Takes a Church To Baptize by Scot McKnight.
Diaspora Network Conference
There’s a theme we hear throughout Revelation that every nation, tribe, people and language will stand before the throne and worship God. In fact, the culminating vision of the New Heavens and the New Earth sees every society bringing the best gifts of their culture before God in worship (Rev 21:24).
With that vision squarely in mind, I’d like to invite you to the first-annual C4SO Diaspora Conference hosted here in Austin. At this relationally-rich event, we will experience the richness of diaspora cultures and languages and be encouraged and equipped for diaspora ministry in addition to learning from diaspora leaders present in our diocese. You can find out more details about this event, which begins October 7, and register here.
Matthew 25 Initiative Bible Study
Beginning October 3rd, the M25 Initiative will host a monthly Bible Study with one of North America’s foremost Old Testament scholars, Dr Daniel Carroll Rodas. This is a rare chance to be led in a live Bible study via zoom with a prestigious world class scholar. The monthly study will last no more than an hour and is a great way to seek biblical answers to questions you might have around justice and mercy. You can find out more information or register here.
Peace,
Matt+