Chronicles of Canterbury
the
Chronicles of Canterbury september 2019
From the Rector
Dedicated Mentors Raise OurChrist Children in Christ y rector growing up once told me that the through the rite of Holy Baptism is a vital
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purpose of the Church is reconciliation. I wasn’t sure what that meant, and so he explained it to me, as a young seeker. He said the good news of God in Jesus Christ is that by grace those who follow Jesus may become reconciled to God. He said our whole hope is that we might live together with God in the Kingdom. My childhood rector told me this begins by following Jesus, and never ends. When I went to seminary, after having grown up in the Church, I learned a lot of fancy theological words and ideas. One of the ones I learned actually sounds just like what my rector had told me. The idea is called “theosis.” Theosis has to do with the process of becoming holy. In a nutshell, “theosis” is the process by which God has poured out His Grace upon the Creation, so that ultimately we may become fully one with God. By Grace we become what God already is.
The journey toward holiness begins thus in each human being who has responded to the prodding or calling of the Holy Spirit working within. Entrance into the Body of what’s inside
The Rev. Samuel Gregory Jones is pleased to announce that the Rev. Dr. James L. Pahl Jr. has been named new 3 Anna Page, Seminarian Vicar of St. Michael’s. Dr. Pahl, who grew up in our parish, returns after years of par4 House of Grace ish ministry in Wilmington and in Oxford. 6 9 10 Briefly 11 Lifelong Disciple
No, by being baptized we enter into membership in Christ’s mystical body, but it is just the beginning of a whole new life in the Kingdom. What comes next is growing up into the full stature of Christ. This is what disciples are doing. They’re growing into the full stature of Christ. And it doesn’t happen alone. It requires mentors. Clergy. Teachers. Parents and siblings and uncles and aunts. At St. Michael’s, we have a large team of dedicated people who see themselves as mentors in this way. We call them youth group
See RECTOR on page 7
Jamie Pahl Returns To St. Michael’s as New Vicar
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step in that journey, as it brings us into the living community in which Christ most fully dwells in this world. Individuals are called to do more of course than just be born, or born again. We must also grow up. And whereas baptism (also called ‘regeneration’ or ‘new birth,’) brings people into the Church, that’s not the end of the journey. Baptism into Christ is the beginning, but not the whole story.
Most recently, he has served as rector of St. Stephen’s in Oxford for 11 years and was associate at St. James’ in Wilmington. Holding both a Doctor of Ministry and the Master’s in Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary, he is also an alumnus of N.C. State and Broughton High School. His wife, Susie, and their four children will be joining us at St. Michael’s on their first Sunday, September 29. Dr. Pahl will join the staff in the role of Vicar, a senior assisting clergy role which reflects his many years as a
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priest, but also as rector of a parish. He will focus on adult Christian formation and family ministry, which will mean working to develop and strengthen our work with children’s ministries and their families. He will also be involved with outreach and missions, refugees, racial reconciliation and other groups. He attended Virginia Theological Seminary, receiving his Master in Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 2005 and his Doctorate of Ministry (D.Min.) in 2018. His dissertation is titled, Community Backyard Relationship-Building: A Partnership between the Church, Government, and Local Stakeholders. He serves on several community and diocesan boards, which focus on the faith community, government and local stakeholders partnering to address socioeconomic issues.
See PAHL on page 3