In three days, the Priory of the Temple Church will be convening our Business Meeting the link that has been provided in your email. 7:00 PM Sunday 27 April Business Meetings of any kind have received what perhaps may be a well-deserved bad reputation in any organization. But as I have discovered as the moderator for decades in both church and NASA business meetings – a lion’s share of the bad rep is due to the single-point failure of the moderator. It is their job to clearly understand the meeting’s landscape and professionally handle the inevitable case of crossed wires,…
A Message from the Prior Beginning next Wednesday, 16 April, I will post Holy Week messages each day from Wednesday through Resurrection Sunday in lieu of a single Battlefield Report. As you prepare to celebrate this upcoming Holy Week – in Lent or as another worship tradition – Claudia and I pray your heart will be filled with rejoicing in this extraordinary season celebrating the breathtaking grace of our Lord! ______________________________________ The Templar journey is today, just as it has always been a spiritual one. Our forefathers of antiquity were cloistered monks, offering their military service to the Church….
On the Feast of St. Cuthbert, Saturday, 22 March 2025, the Convocation of Anglican Churches initiated a reorganization that created the Diocese of St. Cuthbert (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina). The Convocation of Anglican Churches took this opportunity to convene a Mass for the Anglo-Catholic Consecration of Bishop-Elect, the Reverend Canon David Sokol – who is currently the Chaplain and Inspector for the Priory of The Temple Church – to become the first Bishop Ordinary of the new Diocese. The Consecration was conducted at Reverend Canon David Sokol‘s home church, St. Martin’s Anglican Church in Ocala, Florida. Members of the Priory…
As Templars, we have been thoroughly trained by God’s Word to know how to enter and manage the spiritual warfare of life. It is our oath and calling to stand out here on the Battlefield every day and participate. As 21st century Templars, this is our daily job description as explained in God’s own Words: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but…
A decade ago, I had just been touched by the sword of the accolade. One minute I was a common soldier in the Army of Christ. The next minute, I was a Templar Knight in the Army of Christ. The day before I was a bondslave of Jesus and a slave of my fellow Christians. But after the touch of the sword, I was not only a bondslave of Jesus… but now I was also a totally humbled slave of the slaves in the Kingdom. (Matthew 23:11) The sacred white mantle of my calling bore on it the red…
Depending on the situation, I describe myself as is indicated on my various business cards – and I have a handful, to be sure. But of all my titles, including Templar Knight, I do not yet have a card for this one: alien. I am an alien among the people of planet Earth. I had my suspicions at first – but now I am certain of it. Not an illegal alien, to be sure. Just a garden variety alien, as I am about to fully disclose. I also openly confess to being a really geeky alien as well, frequently…
The Convent and Investiture of the Priory of The Temple Church with the Commandery of the Holy Trinity 28 February – 2 March 2025 The Temple Church C&I commenced with the Prior’s Reception and Dinner on Friday, 28 February, at Sonny’s BBQ Restaurant in Titusville, Florida. There were 34 attendees. Grand Chancellor, H.E. COL Chev. Fredrick Kienle, PhD, GCTJ, accompanied by his wife Laura, was present for the weekend events. The reception included dining, a review of the weekend by the Prior, and raffles to benefit The Temple Church Priory Scholarship Fund. Following the reception, there was continued fellowship around…
“I see dead people” was the key line from a spectacularly well written and produced 2008 movie titled The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan. (Spoiler alert) In case you missed it, the 8-year-old boy protagonist, Cole Sear played by Haley Joel Osment, would occasionally see and interact with the dead. And a startling fact about Cole’s sixth sense was carefully hidden from viewers until the breathtaking reveal at the conclusion of the story. But, as movie-goers, we were quite skillfully kept blissfully unaware of the detail through director Shyamalan’s skills, bound up as we are every day…
I remember, as if it were yesterday, standing at my school bus stop adjacent to my small Oklahoma country High School and watching the Seniors climb aboard their buses. Their High School days were almost over, and then they could leave for the “real world” where life truly begins! In but a blink, I was there also – a High School Senior, leaving my school bus for the very last time, headed to the University where the “real world” would commence. Very soon thereafter, I came to understand that here I had to learn discipline and work so that…
Is it even possible for anyone today to accurately claim the title of “Authentic 21st-Century Templar”? The answer to that very essential question is wholly conditional. If the individual making the claim to be a 21st-century Templar does so while repudiating the core of the original Templar’s ethos, then the answer is unambiguously clear: they are a wannabee, perhaps – or possibly a well-meaning service club member at best. But certainly not an authentic Templar! Dressing up as a Templar in a costume once in a while is one thing – but living the life of a Templar Knight…