The
Bishop's Notebook Archive
Gerry Blackburn
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The
Bishop's Notebook, Wednesday 21 August 2002
“On September
11, 2001, I was leading Morning Prayer at the Episcopal Church
Center (ECC) Chapel in New York City. I work there in the
office of Bishop George Packard, our church's Bishop for the
Armed Services, Healthcare and Prison Ministries. I serve
as Bishop Packard's Director of Military Chaplaincies. Those
of us who work at the ECC are invited to volunteer to lead
Morning Prayer. Some days before September 11th I had signed
up to be the leader for that Tuesday.”
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The
Bishop's Notebook, 5 April 2002
“The
following four brief questions in the prologue of Henri Nouwen's
book "The Living Reminder" have been extremely helpful to
me over the years: "What are the spiritual resources for ministers?
What prevents them from becoming dull, sullen, lukewarm bureaucrats,
people who have many projects, plans, and appointments but
who have lost their heart somewhere in the midst of their
activities? What keeps ministers vital, alive, energetic and
full of zeal? What allows them to preach and teach, counsel
and celebrate with a continuing sense of wonder, joy, gratitude,
and praise?" In short, the relationship between the professional
life and the spiritual life of both ordained priests and lay
ministers should be of concern to all of us lest we simply
become empty vessels instead of being "living reminders" of
the Christ we are called to represent in the world.”
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The
Bishop's Notebook, 31 May 2002
“In
the recently completed East Coast Military Chaplains' and
Spouses' retreat we focused on "The Spiritual Life of the
Spiritual Leader: Tending, Nurturing, Deepening." Among other
things, the week was for me a reminder that a key part of
our lives as priests is that we are called to be contemplatives.”
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The
Bishop's Notebook, 3 May 2002
“In a recent one-day event I participated in a small
group made up of five priest and lay colleagues from various
departments and agencies here at the Episcopal Church Center.
Two of us were quite new, having been here about a year each.
Both of us admitted that one of the challenges of working
at the Church Center was the change of rhythm in our spiritual
lives. Neither of us now have an altar and pulpit that we
regular stand behind or any of the other more familiar routines
that we had grown use to in our pastoral/chaplain ministries.
”
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The
Bishop's Notebook, 8 February 2002
”Church
history reminds us that a crucial task facing the first Christians
was to understand who they were. Were they simply another
variation of Judaism or were they something radically different?
The conversion and baptism of a centurion, a Roman army officer
named Cornelius, is considered by many to be a turning point
in that process of mission discovery by the early church.
Perhaps there is a distinct message in that little story for
us today who are trying to be faithful to the Gospel.
”
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The
Bishop's Notebook, 27 October 2000
“I am happy to announce the appointment of CH
Gerald J. Blackburn as the new Director of Military Affairs
in my office. Commander Blackburn brings abundant strengths
to this job and in particular noticeable time in service and
pastoral sensitivity. Originally a Southern Baptist Pastor,
Gerry transferred his denominational affiliation after studying
at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. His canonical
residence is the Diocese of East Carolina. He will begin this
job when he is released from the Navy, sometime in the first
quarter of next year.”
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Office
of the Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies