Christ’s Church in Yucaipa, CA
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
The very first parable that Jesus gave in all of the Gospels is the parable of the sower and the seed. It is a parable about the different conditions of people, and the different conditions of our hearts, in receiving the seed of the Gospel. You know the story: a sower goes out and scatters the seed in every direction, far and wide. The seed that falls on the hard ground where Satan comes and steals it away. The seed that falls on the rocky and shallow ground withers under the heat of persecution and trouble. The seed that falls on thorny grown is soon choked by the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires of other things. But the seed that falls on good soil, where the word is heard and accepted yields a multiplied crop of 30, 60 and a hundred fold. (Mark 4:1-8, 13-20)
Strictly speaking, that’s a 75% failure rate, yielding from the 25% success/good soil a hundred fold!
That’s what we call “Kingdom of God” mathematics!
I know from our walkabouts that many leaders and congregations are toiling away, scattering the seed of the Gospel as far and as wide as you can. It’s hard to see what seems to be failure. And it’s hard to continue to sow when you are feeling isolated from other Anglican churches, lonely or burned out. But Jesus reminds us that in our faithfulness he will direct that seed to exactly where HE wants it to go, to the good soil—yielding surprising results! Often we are surprised by joy at the seeds of we can see, harbingers of a greater harvest to come. Sometimes we are still waiting, with faithfulness and hope, as those seeds take root silently beyond our sight.
Either way, we need to hear the stories of Good Soil, Good News! from your local church. This is the first video in a series of what I hope will come from my visitations with you—seeds of hope and joy at what the LORD is doing in and through you, however small or large the harvest may seem at this point. We need to hear about each other, to celebrate what God is doing in and through each of us and our churches, and to PRAY for each other that the harvest will be plentiful. This is one way we can be connected with each other through sharing and prayer as a Diocesan family of congregations, far and wide. We are not alone!
This video celebrates the consecration of a new worship space after 19 years of “temporary housing” for Christ’s Church Yucaipa, the excitement of a multi-generational congregation that has become a family welcoming new members into its embrace. It is 4:36 long, and I encourage you to watch and pray
Deans, may I encourage you to forward this to every leader in your deanery, lay and clergy alike.
Rectors, may I encourage you to forward this to every person on your congregations e-mail list, and include Christ’s Church, Yucaipa in your prayers this Sunday and regularly.
Small group leaders, please forward this to everyone in your small group or home group, whether they are members or not.
Intercessors, please forward this to your fellow intercessors and pray for continued Gospel breakthrough in Yucaipa!
Next week we will continue with a report from another visitation…and another..and another, God willing.
May we join in prayer with each other, and for each other, as a family of Jesus following Anglicans committed to making disciples who make disciples! (Matt. 28:16-20)
Your Bishop and brother-in-Christ,
+Phil Ashey
Bishop Ordinary, Diocese of Western Anglicans
