Well it has been a while since I have posted and I apologize.  I started the semester taking six classes and about half way through the semester realized that I was slowly killing myself.  I decided to drop a class but the damage of the stress had already taken its toll.  I ended up getting a stomach infection that caused me not to eat for a week.  I was unable to completely function for a week but it helped me put things into perspective.  Without my health, I can't do anything so I must take care of myself first.  How can a priest offer guidance and care if they don't care for themselves first.
But now I'm back, rehabilitated and ready for the last two assignments of the semester.  All I have remaining between me and the end of my first year is a final exam in New Testament studies and a paper for History of Christianity 2.  As you can tell, I am procrastinating doing both but I thought I would give you a taste of the paper I am writing.  I am still writing it so if you have any good ideas for the paper please let me know. What follows is my thesis paragraph.  Hope you enjoy.

            The protestant reformation in Europe began with disagreements over the doctrine of the Catholic Church.  As the reformation continued to grow and spread, King Henry VIII of England defended the Roman Catholic Church and was awarded the title “Defender of the Faith.”  But within a few years, Henry and his supporters were beginning a reformation of their own.  While it is a belief that the English Reformation was a separate and distinct entity than the European Reformation, in actuality it was an offspring of the European Reformation.  The leading theologian of the English Reformation, Thomas Cranmer was influenced by the continental reformers of the time and used their writings to help shape the doctrine of the Church of England.  This paper will discuss the effects the continental reformers had on shaping the thoughts of Thomas Cranmer, as they became doctrine within the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer.   It will then examine how those same thoughts continue to shape The Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer and the church’s search for ecumenism within the United States.

Until next time, Peace.