By way of background, I retired from the Navy last August after 20 years as a chaplain. I enjoyed a number of fascinating assignments during those years. The last ship I served was the 50-year old aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, a legendary and gallant old ship. I was the air wing chaplain aboard the USS Harry S Truman, and was assigned to Marine units including Second Radio Battalion, Second Force Recon, Second ANGLICO and Marine Air Group 26. My family and I lived for two years on the island of Crete, Greece while I was assigned to Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, living right in the Cretan city of Hania (Xania, Chania, it’s spelled different ways). We love Greek food to this day.

I was born and grew up in the small town of Childersburg Alabama, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Religion at Auburn University. I then completed a Master of Divinity degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, and while there I met and married Perriann, who hails from Cincinnati Ohio. I served 3 years as an American Baptist pastor in the rural town of West Mansfield, Ohio before joining the Navy. During a very ecumenical military ministry ministry, working with chaplains of various faiths and backgrounds, exploring theology and liturgy, I was ordained an Anglican priest in the Anglican Church in North America on February 21 2009 by Bishop Martyn Minns. That also was very much a homecoming, though my wife tells me I should not be surprised. She has become expert in genealogical research on the internet, and looking at records of the Wilmot family she tells me half of them recorded their faith as Baptist, and half as Anglican.

Numerous people have already given us a warm welcome, and having such a wonderful church in such a beautiful part of the country populated by such great people is a tremendous answer to prayer for us. My family and I look forward to meeting you as we live here, and we’d be delighted to welcome you to the Anglican Church of the Resurrection, which meets in Brewster.

God Bless you all,
Father Alan

Rev. Alan Wilmot comes to us after 20 years as a Navy Chaplain. He became ordained as an Anglican Priest for the Convocations of Anglicans in North America (CANA), a part of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in February 2009. Fr Alan brings strong ecumencial experience from his work as a Navy Chaplain. His spiritual journey brought him to combine his belief in the authority of scripture, his appreciation of liturgy and church tradition as expressed in Anglicanism. We welcome Fr Alan in our growth together.

Many thank you’s to our Discovery Team for their work with candidates and their recommendation for Fr. Alan Wilmot. So thank you to Lucy Carlsen, Dan Secor, Monica Rizzio, Joyce Hickman and chairman Gerry Dorman for your service !

The Winter Schedule for the Anglican Church of the Resurrection Brewster, MA, service will be at 10AM for Sunday worship. This will be our schedule until July when our Summer Schedule will beign.

A4D Weekends… Co -Ed Weekend May 3-6, 2012

June 10-19, 2012: The World of St. Francis – Walk in St. Francis footsteps through Assisi, Rome, Siena, etc. with Dr. Les Fairfield.

Be dedicated to the Lord. In all your doings, with all your talents, and with your very lifestyle, may you always seek to glorify the Lord. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

From Proverbs 3:9-10 – “Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

From Luke 6:38 – “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

From Philippians 4:15, 17 – “…not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except only you… Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.”

And from II Corinthians 9:10,11 – “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness, and make you rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”

Charles L. Allen, in his book All Things Are Possible Through Prayer, says “I speak often to people about tithing because I believe that is one of the finest ways to prove our faith in God. He said, ‘Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse…and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ (Malachi 3:10)
“But a lot of people don’t believe God can keep that promise. Their God is not even as big as ten per cent of their income. How big is your God? Big enough to supply all your needs? Or must you worry all the joy out of living today because of what might happen tomorrow?”

And in an article in the The Anglican Digest The Rev. Ted Schroeder of Amelia Chapel, Georgia has this to say: “Christian stewardship is different from raising money for charity. The goal of secular fund raising is dollars for a worthy cause. The goal of Christian stewardship is the faithful management of all that God gives so that God can use our gifts to transform us spiritually and to extend Christ’s transforming love to others.
“St. Paul spelled out these two goals in his lengthy definition of stewardship in II Corinthians 9:11-13.
“‘You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, people will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them, and with everyone else.’
“Jesus summed up the spiritual connection between money and God this way: ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ (Luke 12:34). Financial stewardship is treasure management that helps us escape the trap of selfishness by keeping ourselves spiritually focused on God.”
“In the parish in which I serve our focus is on the question, ‘What is God calling me (us) to do? Rather than on the question, ‘What does the parish need in order to pay its bills?’ Thus our emphasis becomes a spiritual growth experience, not a fund-raising effort.”

O God, for as much as without thee, we are not able to please thee; Grant that the working of thy mercy may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord.