Fr. Jake returns

In the summer of 2008 Fr. Jake Stops the World blogspot went offline as the author accepted an evangelism post at Church headquarters in New York. What was seen as a boon for the wider Church, was certainly seen as a loss to the blogging Church.

In fact, the loss to the blogging Church was a loss to the wider Church, for there is power and grace in a nom de plume that is not always capturable otherwise. Why? Alas, this may be a mystery.

For several years as the Episcopal Church slept, Fr. Jake Stops the World gathered and detailed information about the activities designed to undermine it. In the process he attracted many regular readers and contributors who found a spiritual home.

This naturally drew the attention of Church leaders—but truth be told, the thunderous clarity of the eccentric and sometimes heretical Fr. Jake seemed muted and constrained at 815.

This observation should not be underestimated, and perhaps we might find in it somewhere a lesson. For even as we are reminded to recognize that our incarnational Church is built upon human experiences, there is true and enduring power in the written word and community.

The roundabout point is that as of August 6 Fr. Jake has returned online.

Hail!