PASTORAL LETTER from Bishop David Moyer SSC for Whitsuntide

Reverend Fathers and dear people of God,

Grace and peace be unto you in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit whom He sends upon the Church.

As I flew home from my first episcopal visit to some of the clergy, their wives, and people of the Traditional Anglican Church in Britain, a verse from the Psalms of David came to mind - What reward shall I give unto the Lord for all the benefits that He hath done unto me? (116:11).

My time with you was short, and there remain a goodly number of clergy and laity yet unmet; but with this inaugural trip I left with a great sense of honor, privilege, and appreciation for the warm welcome I received, and for the receptivity I found from you for my apostolic ministry of shepherd and being your father-in-God. I pray daily for the grace to exercise godly episcopal oversight and wise pastoral care.

I ask for your daily prayers that I fully be the bishop you require as we labor together in God's vineyard.

Please know that our Vicar General, Fr. Brian Gill, and his lovely wife, Ann, were quintessential hosts to me. From the very moment I arrived at Gatwick until my departure a week later, my itinerary was carefully and creatively planned and orchestrated so that the time was profitably used. And I so enjoyed my brief stay with Father Robert and Elizabeth Aird.

I write this Pastoral Letter to you at the time of the Feast of Pentecost (Whitsunday), and I would ask that you prayerfully reflect upon the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, took up residence in our lives when we were baptized. St. Paul asks the question,Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? (I Corinthians 6:19).

The Holy Spirit touches us personally as a refreshing breeze and/or as a mighty, rushing wind. The Holy Spirit comforts us at times, and propels us forward at other times. The Holy Spirit is very personal in that it bestows upon us particular gifts which further our unique lives as Christian men and women. We become fully human, fully able to understand human life and equipped to help others in their humanity (with all its ups and downs), as the personal manifestation of the Trinity known as the Holy Spirit shapes us as God desires as our Creator.

It is the Holy Spirit that brings us into a father-child relationship with God, which is the most secure and empowering relationship available to humanity. St. Paul instructs us, For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:14). As a son of God (men and women alike), we are given through the Holy Spirit the necessary ingredients for the maintenance of a Christian life. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Romans 15:13).

A seminary professor of mine often described the Trinity as a perfect family of three persons who have lived eternally in a wonderful community of love. They had perfect love between them which never grew cold. But, because they had so much love, they wanted to share it outside their family, so God began the whole wonderful process of creation, which led to redemption, which led to sanctification - the actions of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Always remember that in the Book of Genesis, God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... (1:26). We are made in the image of the fullness of God, the Holy Trinity. One way of understanding this is that as God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are men and women - body, soul, and spirit.

And so I say again and again (as you do with me in our common worship all our days), Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.