Okay people…I know this may be a bit premature and some of you probably don’t even care, but I am only three hits away from 1,000. Which to me is amazing. I thought maybe I would hit the 1,000 mark if I kept up with this blogging thing for a couple of years. I am truly amazed that ya’ll (my roots are still in the South) would even be interested in anything I have to say. So thanks. I hope I can keep you coming back.
I can’t believe it has been almost a month since I have written a post on this site. I was talking to my buddy Joel Klampert today and he called me out on it. So thanks Joel. 
So anyways, things have been pretty crazy in my life over the last month. Fr. Terry Gensemer, director of CEC for Life, asked my to come on to the board of directors for this awesome ministry. I was, and am, truly humbled to be involved in such a great ministry, surrounded by great men like Fr. Terry. One of things I have been asked to do on the board of directors is to contribute to CEC for Life’s new blog site. So go and check it out. Click here. I am going to be writing on that site about once a week. I am also going to recruiting other people to contribute. So if you are interested leave a comment and let me know.
I am sure that nobody else in the world has experienced this (sarcastic tone), but have you ever been so focused on a task at hand that you forget the joys of being a parent? I truly love being a dad. I am also a man that tends to get hyperfocused on a task. My wife tells me I am horrible at multi-tasking, like most men I know. This evening as my wife was leaving for a class at our church, she noticed the zipper on her vest was stuck. So being the man I am, I had to fix it right then and there. Meanwhile, she had to leave so she wouldn’t be late and I was left with my 2 daughters. As I was fixing the zipper, my daughters were having a wonderful time climbing up and down the futon and pretending it was a slide. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t neglecting my children. Neither one of them tumbled off the futon and hurt themselves. However…I didn’t join in on the fun. I was so caught up in my task that I missed a great opportunity to enjoy my daughters. How often do Christians do this with ministry in the Church? One of the great dangers I face working in a church is to miss just spending time with God. I get so busy doing “His work”, I forget to enjoy His presence. It is my prayer this evening for myself, and all those in ministry, is that we don’t lose sight of keeping a close relationship God.
I just returned from the March for Life in Washington D.C. Prior to the march, CEC for Life held two nights of rallies and participated in many events during the day. I was asked by Fr. Terry, founder of CEC for Life, to lead worship at the rallies. What you must understand is that this is not my gifting, but I was willing to be used by God and I think it turned out pretty good. :) I was accompanied by Luke Jones (guitar), Andrew Slagel (bass), John Tittmann (keys), and Haley Bifulco (drums). We had two awesome nights of worship along with some great speakers such as Fr. Karl Lynn, Brian Kemper of Stand True Ministries, and several women from the Silent No More campaign. Prior to each rally, the newly elected Patriarch, Archbishop Craig Bates, celebrated the Eucharist and encouraged the young adults to continue the fight. The day of the march, CEC for Life held its annual Liturgy for the Pre-born at the Time of Death in front of the Supreme Court. Fr. Terry Gensemer officiated and the Patriarch once again brought forth a great word to the crowds. Here is where it gets interesting…just prior to the Patriarch speaking Fr. Terry pulls me aside during one of the readings and tells me that I am going to address the crowd! Needless to say, I was shaking in my boots! Fr. Terry called me up to speak after the Patriarch and this is what came out of my mouth:
Have you ever said anything to your wife/husband that came out the wrong way? Well, I put the proverbial foot in my mouth at my daughter’s, Callie, first birthday party. After all the guests left, my wife and I were just sitting around with my parents, who came up from Florida for this special occasion, and my in-laws. Some how we ended up on the conversation of my wife’s hair and how she likes to wear it up all the time. I decided, in a moment of sheer genius, to shout out “When you wear your hair in a ponytail it looks like a horse.” Trust me, I know there’s no good explanation of why I said this but in my head I was thinking that’s why it’s called a “pony”tail. Anyways, my wife was very offended, and for good reason mind you, and I began to back out but continued to dig the hole deeper. Finally my father-in-law jumped in with infinite wisdom and said “just stop talking, Alan. You won’t ever live this down. You called your wife a horse.” By this time everyone was hysterical laughing and Katie was in good spirits about it. However, she has still made a number of comments, like my father-in-law said would happen, when she puts her hair up in a ponytail. I say all this to lead into a great video that Katie and I ran into on YouTube. This guy, Tim Hawkins is hilarious! Guys, I wish I would have heard this before I made the horse comment!
Today I humbly accepted the call to serve our communion as Patriarch. My mentor and spiritual father, Bishop Frank Constantino, told me that we sometimes know God’s will by three things: First, it is something that you do not want to do; Second, the task is much bigger than you are; And third, you cannot do it alone.I ask you to join me as we move forward, continuing to build upon the vision to make visible the Kingdom of God on the Earth. We do this by holding together the three historical streams of worship—the charismatic, evangelical and sacramental—and by ministering to the least, the lost and the lonely in Jesus’ name. This is our calling.We are an international communion. Ninety-five percent of our members reside outside of the West. This is consistent with the move of God around the world: the expression of the Christian faith is becoming more and more influenced by the Churches of South America, Asia and Africa. I am deeply thankful to my brothers and sisters in the Philippines, Africa, South America, Europe, and North America for their perseverance in reaching the lost, establishing churches and ministering to God’s people. The heart of our Church is ministry to the world, bringing Christ to men and finding Jesus in the broken. This is how we fulfill the Great Commission.
We cannot do this, though, without the active presence of God. We are charismatic and are committed to working in the power of the Holy Spirit to see lives transformed and restored. We live with the expectation that the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will walk, and the dead will rise.
The Patriarch is the symbol of unity and ministry, not of bureaucracy. My office will continue to develop an administrative infrastructure that is transparent, accountable, and that serves the purpose of facilitating ministry in our Church. As the First Father of the Church I want to affirm that all of the faithful are called to ministry. Ministry begins with baptism, not ordination. We must all work together in the ministries to which God has called us.
I reaffirm that the Charismatic Episcopal Church is called to a government of councils in consensus at all levels of the church. I enter the office of Patriarch as a bishop among bishops and as a priest among priests. The greatest among us is the servant. Our desire must be to hear the voice of the Lord and in hearing His voice to respond in joyful obedience.
I ask your prayers. I am committed to be among you as one who serves. I pray for each of you that the Holy Spirit draws us closer to the heart of Jesus and in so doing we will encounter the incredible love of our Father. In this encounter we will be made into His holy likeness and will be compelled to live out a life in obedience to the command to love one another. It is then that the world will know we are His disciples.
Under His Mercy,
The Most Reverend Craig W. Bates
Patriarch of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church
Orlando, FL - January 9, 2008
The Most Reverend Loren T. Hines, Senior Archbishop of the ICCEC, announced that the Patriarch’s Council, in accordance with the Canons, has elected The Most Reverend Craig W. Bates as the new Patriarch of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. Press release and full statement to follow.
Craig W. Bates, 58, is the Bishop of the Northeast Diocese and the Diocese of Canada and Senior Pastor of the Cathedral Church of the Intercessor in Malverne, New York.
He is a graduate of Franconia College, Franconia, New Hampshire with a BA in Psychology.
He has a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts and a Masters of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary in New York City. He was ordained a priest in 1980.
He served as Senior Pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Fitchburg, Massachusetts from 1980 to 1985 and has served at the Church of the Intercessor since 1985. He was consecrated a bishop on November 14, 1997. Prior to ordained ministry, he worked in Drug and Alcohol Counseling as a Psychologist and Administrator both in treatment programs and for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Bridges of Greater New York and the Board of Directors of Concerts of Prayer of Greater New York. He is considered one of the key pastors in the New York City area.
He and his wife, Cathy, have three grown children and three grandchildren.
My name is Alan Melanson and I am married to a beautiful woman named Katie. We have two lovely daughters named Jocelyn, age 4, and Callie, age 1. I absolutely love being a dad! I am the Director of Youth and Children's Ministries at the Cathedral Church of the Intercessor in Malverne, NY.
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