On the Seventh Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination

Seven years ago I swore my Oath of Conformity by saying, "I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God and to contain all things necessary to salvation, and I consequently hold myself bound to conform my life and ministry thereto, and I do solemnly engage to conform to the Doctrine, Discipline and Worship of Christ as this church has received them."

I selected July 22 as the date of my ordination to the priesthood because of the feast day that falls on this day, the feast of Mary Magdalene. Mary, the first to witness and proclaim the resurrected Christ, was an imperfect person, yet God used her as the first evangelist. I too am imperfect. On the night of my ordination I celebrated my first Eucharist. In my sermon I talked about God's ability to take someone or something that is imperfect and use it to spread His perfect message of hope, healing, and love.

As many of you know, Heather, my wife, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. This is an imperfect situation. In fact it downright sucks. But what I know is that God is able to take what is imperfect and make it perfect.

We have our first appointment tomorrow with the surgical oncologist. We don't know what to expect when we get there. But I do know that we are not facing this alone. We have an army of friends and family who are standing with us in this battle, and I know that we are facing this with God by our side.

So on this the seventh anniversary of my priestly ordination, and as we approach the end of the first year of my episcopacy, I ask you to join with us in prayer as we enter this new normal. Pray for strength for my wife and our children, pray for the care team that is assembling around Heather ready to provide her with amazing treatment, and pray that this imperfect situation is made perfect.

I remain your humble servant in Christ.

✠ Brent