Homeland2015 is a Success

The end of August was highlighted by our Communion’s Chaplains Conference. The theme of this year’s conference was, Homeland, Protecting the Hearts of Veterans and Caregivers. The conference was hosted by the generosity of St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church in Orlando, Florida. The main themes of the gathering of C.E.E.C. Chaplains was Post Traumatic Stress and the effects of Moral Injury to an individual from the battlefield and other environments. Our chaplains left the meetings with a greater sense of unity and understanding of the challenges that confront their ministry. Those attending from left to right were;

Archbishop David Scott
Father Scott Bennion
Father Diego Londono
Father Chris Turner
Chaplain Richard Smith
Father Lucas Small
Chaplain Cliff Edwards
Chaplain Noel Dawes with the WHI Project
Father Benjamin McEntire
Presiding Bishop Charles Travis

Homeland2015, Chaplains and Pastors Conference

Click Here For More Information

Meals to Liberia, Update

At long last the food we shipped to Liberia has been received and is being distributed through the the hard work of our Bishop Pah. It has been sad that a picture is worth a thousand words. Please take time to rejoice with us through the following visual images of the distribution of food and medical supplies. Our thanks are extended to the following ministries and people who made this relief shipment possible.

Feeding Children Everywhere and their staff.
Haiti Health & Rehabilitation Inc. - Ms. Odette Constant
Ms. Ruth Gegner
Bishop Robert Gosselin
Archdiocese of Saint of Saints, Province of Saint Peter,
Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches

2015 Convocation in Israel

I am excited to announce that the dates and location have been set for the 2015
C.E.E.C. CONVOCATION.

You’re invited to join us in JERUSALEM, ISRAEL from October 22-31,
2015 for an amazing and historic convocation and tour of the Holy Land.
As you know, convocations are open to everyone who wishes to participate –
lay persons, deacons, priests and bishops. EVERYONE is invited to join us!
For many people, a chance to visit the Holy Land is the event of a lifetime. I
have visited Israel several times – and each time is a new and fresh experience
that touches my heart. One of the greatest joys in my ministry is to take
believers in Jesus to Israel and teach them God’s Word while standing in
the spot we are reading about! To actually study the Bible where the visuals
of each story can come to life before your very eyes, in the places where
the Jewish patriarchs, our beloved Lord and His disciples lived is a truly
remarkable experience. Imagine studying the book of Revelation while
standing in the Valley of Megiddo! or, taking communion at the Garden
Tomb. These are life impacting events!!!

This will not be the “typical” Israel tour. We will study key sections of the
Scriptures together and explore the land of the Book! We have time allocated
for prayer and ministry events that will change the way you see the Word of
God and the way you live your faith. C.E.E.C. bishops who live and work in
Israel have created an incredible experience that you will not want to miss.
We’ll visit places that many tours never get a chance to see, such as a newly
discovered site that may be the home and ministry center of the Prophet
Elisha and the newly documented location where the trial of Christ occurred.
Moreover, we’ll have the opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist in some of the
most holy places on the globe – places where Our Lord Himself walked and
ministered.

All of the tour details are being handled by Educational Opportunities, one
of the leading operators for tours to Israel. Their experience and expertise
will make sure that every detail of your travel is handled by an experienced
professional.  >   http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/ceec2015#eotours

You won’t want to miss this trip of a lifetime. Come to Israel with us and see
the Bible open before your very eyes in ways you never dreamed possible. You
faith and your walk will be empowered. Your vision will be impacted. You’ll
never be the same.

Blessings,
Presiding Bishop Charles Travis

155,000 meals for delivery to our Bishop Pah in Liberia!

This is a GREAT DAY! This morning I assisted in the loading of 155,000 meals for delivery to our Bishop Pah in Liberia. Thanks to our partners at Feeding Children Everywhere, and Haiti Health & Rehabilitation Inc. which donated medical supplies to assist in the effort to treat Ebola victims.

In addition, thanks to a contribution from a loving person for the shipment of the food and medical supplies, many hard stricken people will have a brighter Christmas and New Year. Thanks to all who made this critical shipment a reality. MOST of all, Thanks Be To God, for His making all of this possible.

POPE MEETS WITH LEADING CEEC BISHOPS

The ‘Miracle of Unity’ Continues After Death of Papal Friend

ROME, ITALY  (10 October 2014) -  On Friday October 10th a delegation of Bishops from the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches (CEEC) met for several hours in Rome with Pope Francis. The purpose of the meeting was to continue talks on Christian unity that began almost a year ago between Pope Francis and his long-time friend, CEEC Bishop Tony Palmer. Bishop Palmer, whose iPhone video of Pope Francis pleading for increased unity among Christians went viral after it was presented to a gathering of Protestant Evangelicals, tragically lost his life in highway crash in the UK earlier this year. In spite of this, Pope Francis wanted the talks to move forward; and he has encouraged Bishop Tony's wife Emialana and CEEC Ecumenical officer Bishop Robert Wise to continue advancing the dialogue of Christian unity that he and Bishop Palmer had begun.

In his opening remarks, Pope Francis spoke of an “ecumenism of blood” as he told the Bishops that they needed to deal with an issue in the Christian Church. Making reference to his recent trip to Albania, he said  “Today we see how Christians are being persecuted. I was just in Albania. They were not asking them whether they were Catholic or Orthodox.  If they were Christian … BANG! They would kill you.  Actually, presently in the mid-Orient and Africa and other countries around the world, how many of our Christians are being persecuted and killed?  And they don’t ask them if they are Pentecostals, or Orthodox or Catholics. These issues are not being brought up. They are Christians – so they kill them. They kill them because they believe in Jesus Christ. This is the Ecumenism of the Blood.”  

Several of the Bishops asked penetrating questions to which Pope Francis answered with clarity and a deep sensitivity. He challenged each of the Bishops to walk out Christian unity in their personal lives as well as in their communities. He encouraged each bishop to find a friend in a different faith community to 'Walk Together' with.

“We are always concentrating on our differences,” the Pope said, “yet we all have the same baptism. The same baptism is more important than our differences.” He encouraged the Bishops that they had true unity because they all shared the Holy Spirit. “He is not with me only because I am a Roman Catholic. He is not with another person only because he is Orthodox. He is not with another person only because he is Lutheran or Pentecostal. This is a disaster theologically.  We are the same house, though everyone has their own identity.”
The delegation was urged to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit who will lead each one into relationships that are the foundation for unity. He shared several personal experiences of reaching out to those different than himself and how the Holy Spirit had created strong bonds of lasting friendship and unity.

He said it is the function of the Holy Spirit to have the capacity to surprise. That why we must be careful not to over organize but to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, surprise and inspire us, on to Christian Unity.

The CEEC is a communion of Christians from around the world who walk in the convergence of Christianity’s three historical streams: the sacramental, the evangelical and the charismatic.