Episcopal missioner Thomas Brackett to preach on ‘Day 1’

Priest leads church planting, redevelopment efforts for Episcopal Church

Posted Apr 20, 2012

[Day1] The Rev. Thomas L. Brackett, an Episcopal priest who serves as Missioner for Church Planting, Ministry Redevelopment, and Fresh Expressions of Church for The Episcopal Church Center, headquartered in New York City, is the featured speaker May 20 on “Day 1” with host Peter Wallace, the nationally syndicated ecumenical radio program also accessible online at Day1.org.

Brackett has been passionate about lively communities of faith for 30 years of ordained life, having led two new church plants and started several new ministries within existing parishes. He holds a master of divinity degree, having studied at Bangor (Maine) Theological Seminary and Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. He resides in Asheville, N.C.

Brackett’s “Day 1” sermon for the seventh Sunday in Easter, based on Jesus’ prayer in John 17:6-19, is entitled “This Prayer That Won’t Let Me Go.” In it he describes a shift in his faith, which had earlier been deeply influenced by this prayer, after a thorough reading of the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts.

“I have to tell you that this reading from Luke 1 through Acts 28 was radicalizing my faith,” he says. “I was being asked to look for the Spirit in all the wrong places. I was being asked to move from the life of strict theologies I’d inherited to a life of curiosity about where God might show up next. Instead of sniffing out the newcomer for their orthodoxy, I was learning to ask them for their stories of the heart—stories of God surprising them with unconditional love and affection.”

The program includes interviews with Brackett conducted by Wallace, who is also executive producer.

“Day 1” has been broadcast every week for 67 years, formerly as “The Protestant Hour.” Featuring outstanding preachers from the mainline denominations, “Day 1” is currently distributed to more than 200 radio stations across America and overseas. The program is produced by the Alliance for Christian Media, based in Atlanta, Ga.

For more information, call toll free 888-411-DAY-1 or check the program’s website, http://day1.org.