Sermons & Pastoral Letters
A growing collection of sermons and pastoral correspondence from the ministry of the Rt Revd Brent Edward Whetstone.
- Pastoral LetterSaints & Feasts
Pastoral Letter on the Ninth Anniversary of My Ordination to the Sacred Priesthood
On the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, Bishop Whetstone reflects with gratitude on nine years of priestly ministry, the witness of the Apostle to the Apostles, and the faithfulness of God who calls imperfect servants into His work.
- Pastoral Letter2 Chronicles 7:14
Pastoral Declaration: For the Observance of a Year of Prayer
Upon the 250th Anniversary of American Independence, Bishop Brent E. Whetstone declares a Year of Prayer for Our Nation from July 4, 2026 to July 4, 2027.
- Pastoral LetterGalatians 5:13
A Fourth of July Pastoral Message from the Bishop
Celebrating 250 years of American independence, Bishop Brent E. Whetstone reflects on liberty, gratitude, and our highest allegiance to the Kingdom of Christ.
- SermonPentecostA Sermon for the Ordination of Liam to the Sacred Priesthood
The Candle That Cannot Be Put Out
Preached at the ordination of Liam to the Sacred Priesthood, recalling the witness of Latimer and Ridley at Oxford and charging the new priest to keep the candle of Christ burning through faithfulness, courage, and love.
- Pastoral Letter
On Freedom and Remembrance
A pastoral call to remember those who have fallen in service to our nation, to honor the living, and to pray for peace in a time of conflict.
- Pastoral Letter
A Thanksgiving Day Message
A pastoral letter of gratitude to the clergy and faithful of the Anglican Diocese of Saint George, with a call to serve our neighbors in need.
- Pastoral LetterSaints & Feasts
Christ the King in an Age of Upheaval — An Anglican Reflection
An Anglican reflection on the Feast of Christ the King, calling believers to re-center their lives on Christ's reign of love amidst cultural upheaval and persecution.
- Pastoral Letter
The Gales of November: A Reflection and Prayer on the 50th Anniversary of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
A reflection and prayer on the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, remembering the crew and all who have perished on the Great Lakes.
- Pastoral LetterOrdinary Time
On the Eve of the Meeting of the North American Bishops
A call to prayer for the bishops of the Anglican Free Communion International in North America as they gather to elect a new Provincial Archbishop.
- Pastoral LetterEaster
Paschal Letter, A.D. 2025
A Paschal letter to the Anglican Mission of Lake Erie — issued in English, Russian, and Church Slavonic — proclaiming the Resurrection and calling the faithful to guard Holy Tradition and to be peacemakers.
- Pastoral LetterEpiphanyMatthew 3:13-17
On the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord
A pastoral letter for the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, calling the Anglican Mission of Lake Erie to remember the grace of their own baptism and to be a beacon of Christ's light along the lake.
- Pastoral LetterChristmas
A Pastoral Letter for Christmastide, Anno Domini 2024
A Christmastide pastoral letter to the Anglican Mission of Lake Erie, drawing on 'Once in royal David's city' to proclaim the light of Christ amid the community's grief over Ana's passing, Heather's cancer diagnosis, and the world's darkness.
- Pastoral LetterOrdinary Time
A Pastoral Letter on the First Anniversary of Consecration
Marking one year since his episcopal consecration, the Bishop reflects on the dissolution of the Diocese of Erie, separation from the Anglican Free Communion International, a move to Amish country, and Heather's cancer diagnosis — and the three lessons of family, generosity, and mortality drawn from the year.
- Pastoral LetterSaints & Feasts
On the Seventh Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination
On the Feast of Mary Magdalene and the seventh anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, the Bishop reflects on imperfection, Heather's breast cancer diagnosis, and the eve of her first appointment with the surgical oncologist, asking for prayer.
- SermonHoly Week2 Corinthians 5:21; Luke 22:19–20
Breaking the Gates of Hell: A Holy Saturday Meditation
A Holy Saturday sermon drawing together the threads of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil — the hope of the Eucharist, the willing sacrifice of the Cross, and Christ breaking open the gates of hell with His Cross to rescue Adam, Eve, and all who sit in darkness.
- Pastoral LetterChristmas
The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
A Christmas Day meditation on the King's College Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and 'Once in Royal David's City' — finding the light of Christ breaking into a world cast in darkness by war, poverty, and sorrow.
- Pastoral LetterOrdinary Time
On the Feast of Christ the King
A pastoral letter for the Feast of Christ the King, recalling Pope Pius XI's 1925 encyclical Quas Primas and answering the modern unease with kingship by proclaiming a King who serves his subjects rather than demanding to be served.
- Pastoral LetterOrdinary TimeMatthew 28:19-20Diocesan Vision
Reaching the World
The second in a series of pastoral letters laying out the vision of the Anglican Diocese of the Emmaus Way. Following 'Anchored in Christ,' this letter unpacks what it means to be 'Reaching the World' — fulfilling the Great Commission through discipleship, leadership, and the building of a healthy church.
- Pastoral LetterSaints & Feasts
On the Institution of the Feast of the Founders
Declaring November 4th a perpetual feast in the Anglican Diocese of Erie in commemoration of the founders of the Free Protestant Episcopal Church of England — Bishops Leon Checkemian, James Martin, and Andrew Albert MacLaglen.
- Pastoral LetterSaints & Feasts
On the Feast of the Oxford Martyrs
Reflections from a visit to Saint Michael at the North Gate in Oxford on the witness of Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer — and what it means for the Anglican Diocese of Erie to live into its reformed and catholic identity.
- Pastoral LetterPentecostActs 2:1-21
Pentecost: A Year of Devotion to Mary
On the rushing wind of Pentecost, the icon of the Theotokos at the center of the apostles, and the declaration of a diocesan year of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Pastoral LetterEaster
On the Commemoration of the Martyrs of the Reformation Era
On the 500-year-old wounds of the Reformation, the call to unity in the episcopate, and the meaning of the motto Caritas Domi Exoritur — Charity Begins at Home.
- Pastoral LetterEaster
On the Renaming of the Diocese as the Anglican Diocese of Erie
Announcing the diocese's new name and the symbolism — the pelican, the net, the waves, and the anchor — that will shape its mission.
- Pastoral Letter
A Response to the Kigali Commitment
Reflections on the GAFCON split from Canterbury, the true authority of Scripture, and what it means to be both orthodox and affirming in the Anglican Free Communion International.
- Pastoral Letter
On the Acceptance of My Episcopal Nomination
A pastoral letter to the clergy and people of the Anglican Diocese of the Emmaus Way upon formally accepting nomination as their Bishop.
- SermonHoly WeekMark 11:1–11; Zechariah 9:9–10
Two Processions: A Palm Sunday Meditation
A Palm Sunday sermon on the two processions entering Jerusalem — Jesus on a donkey from the east, Pilate at the head of imperial cavalry from the west — and the still-divided picture of Christ we carry today.
- SermonOrdinary TimeMark 16:15–18
The Prophetic Voice and the Three Streams of Anglicanism
A sermon on being a prophetic voice in a time when the assault on orthodox Christianity is coming from within — and on how the Evangelical, Charismatic, and Sacramental streams of Anglicanism together equip the Church for the battle for souls.
- SermonOrdinary TimeActs 2:1–18Three Streams, One Church
Anglicanism: Three Streams, One Church — The Charismatic Stream
A sermon on the Charismatic Stream of Anglicanism — drawing on Acts 2, the Azusa Street Revival, Dennis Bennett, and Thomas McKenzie's *The Anglican Way* — and the four Charismatic values of intimacy with Christ, being filled with the Spirit, supernatural power, and mystical experience.
- SermonOrdinary TimeMatthew 3:16–17; Genesis 1:26
What Is the Trinity, and Why Is It Important?
A Trinity Sunday sermon defending the doctrine of the Holy Trinity against modern Arianism inside the Episcopal Church — drawing on the Didache, the Nicene Creed, St. Augustine, and the witness of Scripture from Genesis to Matthew.
- SermonOrdinary Time
Christ the King: A Servant on the Throne
A Christ the King Sunday sermon on the meaning of Christ's kingship in an age of secularism, social media outrage, and weariness — drawing on Pope Pius XI's Quas Primas and a moment of quiet charity on the streets of Youngstown.