Letter from Amy: September 9, 2026
Dear friends,
This week I’ve got a letter full of mostly-unrelated, newsy updates (yay fall!). Thanks for reading and see you Sunday!
Happy birthday, Incarnation!
Eight years ago today, we launched the public worship of Incarnation Anglican Church. Back then, I never could have imagined that I would be your rector. I never could have imagined we’d plant a church in Maryland. I never could have imagined you, this congregation I love so much. What a gift!
I reflected briefly on that launch in a sermon I preached at Holy Comforter back in July, and in honor of our birthday, I thought I’d share that reflection here:
“‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.’
Back in Jesus’ time, leaven probably wasn’t yeast; it was probably a little lump of fermented dough. And the woman hides this lump in an enormous quantity of flour; nearly 60 pounds, enough to feed a whole village. The leaven does its thing, patiently and slowly fermenting its way through all the dough.
And here’s the thing about fermentation: it looks like everything is going wrong. The dough bubbles and pulses. It smells a little sour and alcoholic. It pops the lid off of its container and oozes out onto the counter. It takes ages, and so much patience, to wait and trust while it grows.
That is what Jesus says the kingdom of God is like. Something very small, hidden in something that seems overwhelmingly big, that kind of looks like everything’s going wrong as it does its work.
I remember back when we planted Incarnation — your mother church — how much that felt like leaven. So small, so slow. I remember riding waves of joy and discouragement and hope and disappointment and “oh gosh, everything is falling apart” and so much waiting. And as I prepared to preach here this week, I wondered if you ever feel like leaven too.
So I wanted to tell you, friends, that the kingdom is fermenting here. These little lives of ours, this little church of ours, all the things that feel so hard and mysterious — we are on the way to glory. We are being transformed into bread.”
That’s true for Holy Comforter and it’s still true for Incarnation on our eighth birthday. The kingdom is fermenting here, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be becoming bread.
New Sermon Series: Philippians
On Sunday, we will begin a new fall sermon series through the book of Philippians. We will cover the entire book between now and Thanksgiving, taking a few breaks for special Sundays like the Fall Retreat, All Saints, and Christ the King Sunday.
Philippians is such a warm, encouraging, joyful letter — this is Paul at his most pastoral, writing to a community he deeply loves. I am captivated by Paul’s vision for the church at Philippi. His hopes for their life together in Christ echo so many of my hopes for ours (just in a different context and with much more complicated sentence structures).
Many of you know that I am on a not-so-secret mission to convert skeptics to my love for Paul’s letters, and fortunately, he throws me a lot of bones with this beautiful book. I can’t wait to dig in together.
Denominational News
As I mentioned in Sunday's sermon, the trial of Archbishop Steve Wood began on Monday, September 7. Archbishop Wood is the head of our denomination, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), but has been inhibited from ministry since last November due to allegations of misconduct. I wrote about this matter several times last year; if you’d like a refresher, this post summarizes the developments, provides links, and offers a litany to pray for the church.
In addition, if you follow ACNA news, then you may be aware of another recent disciplinary matter. Last week, a presentment (formal charges of misconduct) was brought against Bishop Chip Edgar of the Diocese of South Carolina. This article is a helpful explainer.
I am grieved by all of this, and I know many of you are too. I invite you to pray for our broader church, its leaders, and the “little ones” within our flocks. I'm happy to talk more with you about any of these matters; please reach out if you'd like to get together.
Summer Staff Interviews
Finally, summer is wrapping up and so is our series of staff interviews. I encourage you to read all the interviews here; they're so good, and we've got such a wonderful team!
You already hear from me a LOT, so I won't do a full interview — but I'll answer one of the questions here, and I'm always happy to share more over coffee!
What's your ideal Sunday or sabbath rest day? Is there anything the congregation should know about your work rhythms or availability?
My sabbath is on Mondays, and by the miracle of his four-day workweek, so is Trent's! We protect this day together pretty ruthlessly. And while I wish those days were filled with long hikes (my true ideal sabbath, but one that time rarely permits), I really love the ordinary rhythms we do share.
I wake up early, make coffee, and send John off to school. Trent and I then enjoy a leisurely morning catching up on all the conversations we rarely have time for during the week. Sometimes we do exciting things like scheduling plumbers, getting cars inspected, and paying bills. We walk along our neighborhood stream to lunch and talk through our calendars over tacos. And then we enjoy working together in the yard until the sun goes down, sometimes punctuated by a nap or an after-school fishing excursion with John. It may not seem like much, but it genuinely refreshes me through time with Trent, time outside, and time in the dirt (plus tacos).
Happy birthday, my fermenting friends!
With love,
Amy
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