Purpose of this Blog

Blogging is something that I have tried to avoid for sometime now. I have even created this blog once and ignored it for the better part of a year. However, as I live into my ministry as a Priest in the Episcopal Church that is squarely set in the 21st century, surrounded by electronic gadgets, immersed in the internet, and overtaken by the "we've gotta have the information now" era of our culture, I have finally given in to the pressures of the world, peers, and pressures, some from members of my congregation, some from members of my family, and some of my own creation, to enter into the "blogosphere".

Now, my hope is that I can accomplish several things with this blog. First, I hope to be able to address some of the tangential questions to my immediate ministry at St. Paul's Episcopal Church and the Diocese of North Carolina. From time to time, I will get questions related to what I feel or believe or how I think things will unfold in The Episcopal Church (TEC) or the Anglican Communion from my parishioners. While I completely believe that I should answer these questions face to face, many of the parishioners have asked for a place to read what I have to think, or will say, "I know you have answered this question 20 times, but what do you think about..." To which I respond, "It is perfectly ok that I have answered that question 20 times, because your question is just as important as the first 20 times it was asked and you deserve the same time and answer that everyone else received."

Personally, I would answer the same question 1000 times over to give everyone the answers, attention and respect that they deserve! However, I know that there may be another 20 or more people that for some reason or another do not wish to come forward and ask they same question, even though they may have the exact same question. To me, they deserve the exact same answer, attention and respect. However, I am not a mind-reader (and if I were, I would probably be in a lot more trouble than I already am!) So, in an effort to reach out to those people, I will try to post questions and answers to those questions that I receive through out my ministry here on this blog. Now, I can't promise that they will come here to read them, but I will do my best to offer what I can.

A second purpose of this Blog is to share what's on my mind. This is place where from time to time I may use it to expand or expound on what I am thinking, wrestling, or contemplating during my ministry and study. These may be things that I can't necessarily use in sermons because of time restraints, things that I can't put in the parish Newsletter because of space constraints, or things I can't teach or discuss in Adult Education classes because of topic constraints. Yet, these may be things that are central (or not so central) to our ministry as Christians and followers of Christ. Some times they may seem like rants, some times the may be reflections, and sometimes they may seem like prayers. Either way, they will be genuine, for I am only a servant of God, struggling to find my way along my own spiritual journey as I long to follow Christ and proclaim his Gospel and Love.

Finally, this Blog will be used to help create and organize my thoughts for upcoming projects (Christian Ed classes, trips, possible writings I may do.) If you have thoughts or suggestions, I encourage you to share them with me. I know that I do not have all the answers. I know that I have a lot to learn. The more I learn, the less I know. The less I know, the more I want to learn. I need and want your input and help.

Thanks for visiting this Blog...I hope you will come back often.

Fr. Kenny