New Church Life Sept/Oct 2013 | Page 9

      Learn more about the Lord, refining your understanding of Him, perhaps reading the Psalms, the Gospels or a portion of the Writings which addresses the Divine directly: the Doctrine of the Lord, The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrines’ chapter on the Lord, the first chapters of the True Christian Religion, etc. Talk openly about the Lord, using His name perhaps where you had not before. Efforts such as these can heighten our awareness of the Lord, bring His presence among us, lead toward a heavenly conjunction with Him, and bring us the joy He intends us to have. Settling In I have fully moved into the episcopal office. My e-mail and office telephone number remain the same. ([email protected], 267-502-4944) My door is always open. Your counsel, questions and suggestions are always welcome. (Although, if too many people take me up on that it could significantly delay response time!) I’m looking forward to serving the Lord’s Church in this new role – supporting worship, New Church education in all its forms, outreach, and the many subsidiary uses connected with these. This first year I will be limiting my international travel; however, I will be making a number of shorter visits in North America. The reason for this is both because Bishop Peter Buss Jr. needs to visit many places he has not been before, and because I want to get established in this new position. A key component of that is being in the Academy. Academy The selection of the Rev. Eric Carswell as the pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society meant that the office of Vice Chancellor at the Academy became vacant. We used this occasion to re-examine the Vice Chancellor’s role and the current needs of the institution. In consultation and cooperation with the administrations of the Secondary Schools and College, we have restructured the use on an experimental basis. While we are still working out all the details, the broad outline is that I as Chancellor will have more of a presence at the Academy, particularly relative to the responsibilities of the Board and administration, and one minister in each of the schools will become more involved in the administrative functions to provide support and spiritual direction – the Rev. Barry Halterman in the Secondary Schools and the Rev. Dr. Thane Glenn in the College. We have also set up communication and coordination of these functions. This is sort of a “top-down and bottom-up” approach to serving the uses 443