Putnam Afield
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another."
The Gospel According To St. John Chapter 13, Verses 34 and 35
Fifth Edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bible New Revised Standard Version
"If it's not about love, it's not about God."
The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry,
27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church (2015 - 2024)
"The God behind you is bigger than any problem before you."
Bishop Barbara Clementine Harris (1930 - 2020),
Suffragan Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts (1989 - 2003)
Reading The Bible
This website encourages people to read the Bible from beginning to end with no skipping around coming into play, reading at the rate of 3 to 7 pages per day (depending upon the size of the print in the Bible that people choose to use for the reading) with the reading starting the day after Easter (Monday, April 1, 2024) and ending during Lent or shortly before the start of Lent. By following this general schedule, you will start to read The Book Of Psalms in late August or in September and you will start to read the New Testament of the Bible during Advent. If you'd like to use one of the newer versions of the Bible for your reading, you might enjoy using the Fifth Edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bible New Revised Standard Version.
To assist you in determining how many pages of the Bible that you are using for your reading you should read each day, the schedule for the first two weeks of your reading is posted below.
Day 1
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 1 through Chapter 4, Verse 20 (Genesis 1:1 - 4:20).
Day 2
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 4, Verse 21 through Chapter 9, Verse 8 (Genesis 4:21 - 9:8).
Day 3
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 9, Verse 9 through Chapter 13, Verse 13 (Genesis 9:9 - 13:13).
Day 4
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 13, Verse 14 through Chapter 18, Verse 9 (Genesis 13:14 - 18:9).
Day 5
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 18, Verse 10 through Chapter 21, Verse 17 (Genesis 18:10 - 21:17).
Day 6
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 21, Verse 18 through Chapter 24, Verse 40 (Genesis 21:18 - 24:40)
Day 7
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 24, Verse 41 through Chapter 27, Verse 9 (Genesis 24:41 - 27:9).
Day 8
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 27, Verse 10 through Chapter 30, Verse 10 (Genesis 27:10 - 30:10).
Day 9
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 30, Verse 11 through Chapter 32, Verse 12 (Genesis 30:11 - 32:12).
Day 10
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 32, Verse 13 through Chapter 36, Verse 5 (Genesis 32:13 - 36:5).
Day 11
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 36, Verse 6 through Chapter 38, Verse 30 (Genesis 36:6 - 38:30).
Day 12
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 39, Verse 1 through Chapter 42, Verse 1 (Genesis 39:1 - 42:1).
Day 13
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 42, Verse 2 through Chapter 44, Verse 32 (Genesis 42:2 - 44:32).
Day 14
Today, you are reading Genesis Chapter 44, Verse 33 through Chapter 48, Verse 3 (Genesis 44:33 - 48:3).
The Lectionary Page
(The Lectionary Page website contains a
Liturgical Calendar with links to the Lessons from
The Revised Common Lectionary)
The Episcopal Church
The Sacraments Of The Episcopal Church
The Holy Communion Doctrine Of Concomitance
Eucharistic doctrine that affirms the simultaneous
presence of Christ's body and blood in each of the
eucharistic elements. It contradicts a narrow identification
of Christ's body with the bread and Christ's blood with the
wine. The doctrine of concomitance upholds the truth that
the fullness of Communion is available by receiving either
the consecrated bread or the consecrated wine.
Clergy Of The Episcopal Church
Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD)
(Episcopal Relief & Development is the international
relief and development agency of The Episcopal Church.
ERD assists victims of hunger, disease and natural disasters
in the U.S. and throughout the world.)
Forward Day By Day
(A booklet of daily Bible readings and meditations that is
issued quarterly and that is published by
Forward Movement, a ministry of The Episcopal Church.)
A Washington National Cathedral Office
(for use with Anglican Prayer Beads)
Cross: In the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitatory Bead: Lord, show us your mercy, raise our minds to heaven, keep us from all evil, give the departed eternal rest. Drive plague, famine, and war from all nations and bestow on all nations the gift of peace.
Cruciform Beads: Oh God of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds, loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words and to go beyond speech to praise you in the silence deep within our hearts.
The Weeks: Reflect on each scripture passage with these words at each bead as indicated:
1. I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35)
2. I am the Gate (John 10:9)
3. I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:14)
4. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)
5. I am the True Vine (John 15:1)
6. On the Road To Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35)
7. Spend a minute or so in an attitude of silence.
(Last time through:)
Invitatory Bead: The Lord's Prayer
Cross: I bless and praise you, Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Used with written permission from Washington National Cathedral.
A General Thanksgiving
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowlege our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer copyright 1979 Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, New York 10016. All rights reserved. Used with written permission from Church Publishing Incorporated.
Brief Explanation Of The Episcopal Shield
The Episcopal Church shield is a familiar symbol found on signs and in newspaper ads in cities and towns throughout the United States, usually accompanied by the words, "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You," together with information about a local church's location and worship schedule.
The shield and its corresponding Episcopal Church flag were officially adopted by the General Convention of 1940 and are rich in symbolism. The shield is usually presented in red, white, and blue. The red cross on a white field is an ancient Christian symbol, white representing the purity of Jesus and red representing his sacrifice on the cross and the blood of Christian martyrs. The red cross is also known as the cross of St. George, patron saint of England, and indicates the Episcopal Church's descent from the Church of England. The blue field in the upper left is the color traditionally associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary and is symbolic of Jesus' human nature, which he received from his mother. The X-shaped cross is the cross of St. Andrew, patron saint of Scotland, and recalls the Episcopal Church's indebtedness to the Scottish Episcopal Church for the consecration of its first bishop, Samuel Seabury, as Bishop of Connecticut in 1784. The St. Andrew's cross is made up of nine smaller cross-crosslets that represent the nine original American dioceses which met in Philadelphia in 1789 to adopt the constitution of the Episcopal Church. They are: Connecticut (established 1783), Maryland (1783), Massachusetts (1784), Pennsylvania (1784), New Jersey (1785), New York (1785), South Carolina (1785), Virginia (1785), and Delaware (1786).
The Episcopal Handbook copyright 2008 Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, New York 10016. All rights reserved.
Used with written permission from Church Publishing Incorporated.
The Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ and comprises 108 dioceses and three mission areas in 22 countries or territofies. Those countries and territories are: Austria, Belgium, British Virgin Islands, Colombia, Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Germany, Guam, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Taiwan, United States, Venezuela, U.S. Virgin Islands.
In 2022, The Episcopal Church had 1,432,082 active, baptized members and 6,249 parishes and missions in the United States.