CEEC Consecration of Henry Roberts

Dr. Henry Roberts is founder and pastor of Word of Life Community Church in the Mobile, Alabama area, which operates in multiple locations. The largest location (pictured below) houses a very active School of Ministry (off camera to the left), a health and fitness center (off camera to the right), a 1200 seat sanctuary, conference rooms, and bookstore.On Sunday December 9, Archbishop Russell McClanahan of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches consecrated Pastor Roberts as a Bishop of the Church Universal.


Here is Archbishop Russell, assisted by yours truly as chaplain.
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The laying on of hands is a tradition which stretches back in an unbroken line to the 12 Apostles themselves.

Here +Russell is assisted by four other co-consecating bishops as they lay hands on Henry, strengthened by his wife Sherry.
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Henry Roberts is a powerful teacher at the vanguard of life transformation in the black communities of southern Alabama and Mississippi. He leads a fellowship of 20 or more churches who support one another in building disciples of Christ.

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My own bishop, Alan Morris, flew in from Pittsburgh to assist in the con-secration. He also had a chance to renew his friendship with fellow Trinity Seminary graduate Fr. James Giles and to counsel me as we seek God's path forward for my own ministry.

Some 60 or so bishops, elders, deacons, and ministers participated in the processional and recessional for the consecration, which was attended by 700 or more people in all.

This is convergence of the three streams of Christianity: the Liturgical, Evangelical, and Charismatic traditions. Convergence of another sort took place on the same day, as multiple bishops took part in consecrations that will fuel the emerging Common Cause.

North Carolina Trip

Carolina! Carolina! Heaven's blessings attend her!

I have a great capacity to find things to fret about. The first week of June was my time to fret about the car: “Did the old jalopy have one more trip in it? Would it make it to North Carolina for the weekend of 9-10 June for the baptisms of Timothy and Peter, the sons of my Pennsylvania friends, Kurt and Katie Grossman? Would it make it in time for me to assist as Bishop’s Deacon in the ordination of my friend Colin Munroe to the priesthood, and the baptism of their daughter Catherine?"

As often, my fretting was misapplied. Steve Anderson here at God’s Katrina Kitchen replaced the plugs and checked the fluids for me, and the car achieved more than 27 mpg, a new record well appreciated at the going rate of $3 per gallon.

I should've reserved my fretting for the timing of the trip. About half-way there Alan Morris, my bishop, called to see if I would make it to the 2:00 pm rehearsal for the baptism. I swallowed and said “Sure, I’ll roll in there just about on time!” Then I recalculated the miles and kicked my freeway speed up several notches.

Later, Alan called me again: “How are you doing?”

“Fine,” I said, “I’m 40 miles out and I’ll be there on time.”

“But,” Alan replied, “It’s 2:15 right now.”

Oops. I had neglected to factor in the switch from Central time to Eastern. After a harrowing downhill trip through the Great Smoky Mountains, I pulled in to the church in Black Mountain, NC. To Alan I seemed a bit dazed, so Colin stood in for me as Bishop’s Deacon for the baptism service, pictured above.
By dinnertime I was feeling a bit more myself. Around the table here is pictured Timothy, Katie, and Peter Grossman, Colin Munroe, Alan and April Morris, Kurt Grossman, and myself. We had all met in Ambridge, where Kurt is working towards his degree from Trinity Episcopal Seminary. Colin has since moved to a little town called Black Mountain, near Asheville, NC. Some of you may know this as the location of the Wineskins conference. Nearby Montreat is the location of Billy Graham’s retirement home.

The conference center in Montreat has a lovely camp­ground perched beside a rushing brook, where I stayed both Saturday and Sunday nights. My campsite was right on the camp road, but on the other side it was situated just above the rushing stream. With my car blocking off the road I had just enough room to pitch my backpacker’s tent, and slept quite peacefully to the babble of the brook.

The Grossmans were camping right next door to me, but their campsite was secluded in the trees at the end of a short entry trail. Peter and Timothy were delighted to explore up and down the creek, discovering the orange juice I had stashed in the water to cool. We had time to bring each other up to date, to fellowship, and to sit by the fire and relax.

Colin’s ordination service on Sunday went much more smoothly, with everyone (namely me) arriving on time. I had a chance for the first time to wear my deacon’s stole from Guatemala, prepared lovingly by Colores del Pueblo (coloresdelpueblo.org). Here’s a photo just before the ceremony of (from right to left) the Reverend Deacon Colin Munroe, soon to become a priest; the Right Reverend Alan Morris, bishop of the Diocese of Saint Aidan Lindisfarne, and the Reverend Deacon Captain Rolin Bruno, missionary deacon.

My job as bishop’s deacon is to hold Alan’s crossier (shepherd’s staff) and hand him anything he might need to conduct his business—sort of like Radar O’Riley’s task for Colonel Henry Blake of M*A*S*H. Here I am wondering what to do while the psalm is being recited in unison by everyone except Alan, who could not recite with us because I had not handed him his prayer book situated just at my right hand.

Here’s Alan giving Colin his charge to serve as a Priest in the One, Holy, Universal Church. Both our services were conducted here at the Church of the Incarnation in Black Mountain, North Carolina; a parish of the Charismatic Episcopal Church.
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Before his ordination, Colin prostrates himself before the altar and cross of Christ, symbolizing his complete abandon- ment of service to anyone else but Christ. This is a very solemn moment.
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And of course we need the “after” picture. Here we present the Reverend Colin Munrow, Priest and Presbyter in the Diocese of Saint Aidan Lindisfarne, of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. On the left is the Reverend Shirley Wood, also of the CEEC, who assisted with the ordination service.
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Bonus Photo:
Here is the only photo I have so far of my own ordination as deacon last January 6.

I found it on the ministry news page of the website for our diocese.

Much is happening back here in Mississippi in the NoAH program and at God's Katrina Kitchen. I'll do my best to bring you a new post within the next week.