Not every saint gets a dramatic backstory—but St. Matthias gives us a powerful word for the Church today.

In this new episode of Everyday Monks, the parish podcast of St. Benedict’s Anglican Church (REC) in Rockwall, Texas, we explore the Feast of St. Matthias the Apostle and the striking contrast between Judas the traitor and Matthias the faithful servant. It’s a conversation about apostasy, restoration, faithful pastors, the ordering of the Church, and why Christians should never stop praying for their bishops, priests, and deacons.

This one is rich with insight from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, Acts 1, and the sobering reminder that while false shepherds can wound the Church, Christ still preserves His Church and raises up faithful men to guide it.

If you’ve ever wondered why church order matters, why the apostles replaced Judas before Pentecost, or why praying for your pastors is so vital—this episode is for you.

A six-week study on ‘Angels, Archangels, and all the Company of Heaven’ led by The Rev. Marq Toombs, Church Planting Curate with St. Benedict’s Anglican Church in Rockwall, TX. Belong - Believe - Become.

A six-week study on ‘Angels, Archangels, and all the Company of Heaven’ led by the Rev. Marq Toombs, Church Planting Curate with St. Benedict’s Anglican Church in Rockwall, TX. Belong - Believe - Become.

New Everyday Monks Episode: Ash Wednesday + NEW MUSIC PREMIERE

Ash Wednesday isn’t about “giving stuff up” so you can feel spiritual. It’s about coming home.

In this week’s episode, we dig into the Church’s threefold rule of Lent—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—and how it maps right onto Christ’s temptations in the wilderness. We also open up Isaiah 58 and the difference between false fasting and the kind of fast that actually turns us outward in love.

And here’s the bonus: we’re debuting a brand new single from Michael Templin and the Lone Star Sound — “Little Bit of Desert,” a hauntingly Lenten track about the tug in all of us to wander off—“There’s a little bit of desert in all of us”—and our deep need for the Shepherd to bring us back.

Join us for Ash Wednesday at St. Benedict’s Anglican Church in Rockwall, Texas: 8:00 AM & 7:00 PM.

A six-week study on ‘Angels, Archangels, and all the Company of Heaven’ led by the Rev. Marq Toombs, Church Planting Curate with St. Benedict’s Anglican Church in Rockwall, TX. Belong - Belei

A six-week study on ‘Angels, Archangels, and all the Company of Heaven’ led by the Rev. Marq Toombs, Church Planting Curate with St. Benedict’s Anglican Church in Rockwall, TX.

What happens when the eternal God is placed into human hands?

In our latest episode of Everyday Monks, the monks gather around the 1928 Book of Common Prayer to explore The Presentation of Christ in the Temple—that quiet, luminous moment when Simeon and Anna behold the infant Messiah and declare Him “a light to lighten the Gentiles.”

This episode is about waiting, fulfillment, and seeing the glory of God hidden in ordinary faithfulness. From the mystery of Christ as both sacrifice and salvation, to what it means for the Church to carry Him into the world today, this conversation is rich, pastoral, and deeply hopeful.

Listen in and rediscover why Candlemas still matters.🎧 Everyday Monks – The Presentation of Christ

Everyday Monks | The Conversion of St. Paul (1928 BCP)

In this new episode of Everyday Monks—the parish podcast of St. Benedict’s Anglican Church (REC) in Rockwall, Texas—we open the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and walk through the Propers for January 25th. With cigars lit (thank you, Becky!), laughter at the table, and deep pastoral reflection, we ask what Paul’s conversion really teaches us about ministry, mission, and the life of faith.

In this episode, we explore:

Preaching as God’s giftThe Collect doesn’t start with Paul’s personality or strategy—it begins with “the preaching of the blessed Apostle” and the astonishing claim that God caused the Light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world through a flawed man.

Conversion as Epiphany and mission to the nationsWhy this feast belongs in January: it’s an Epiphany moment—the Light of Christ breaking in, and Paul sent as a “chosen vessel” to kings, Gentiles, and Israel.

Light, blindness, and resurrectionSaul is knocked down, blinded for three days, and raised up—an embodied drama of death and new life. Even the “scales falling” echoes the stone rolled away.

Belong, Believe, BecomeAnanias welcomes the enemy into the household of faith—“Brother Saul”—and we see how hospitality and mission belong together.

Thankfulness that becomes obedienceThe Collect ties gratitude to action: we show our thankfulness by following the holy doctrine Paul taught—not separating “gospel” from “doctrine,” but receiving both as good news.

The cost of following JesusThe Gospel reading (Matthew 19) is blunt: following Christ means forsaking, suffering, and cross-shaped obedience—yet with a hundredfold promise and an eternal horizon.

This episode is for anyone who’s tired, burdened, or tempted to think ministry is built on charisma and capacity. Paul’s conversion reminds us:God doesn’t simply improve people—He interrupts them, humbles them, remakes them, and sends them.

Listen now and rediscover the foundation of mission: conversion, doctrine, preaching, and the Light of Christ shining through weakness.

#EverydayMonks #1928BCP #StPaul #ConversionOfStPaul #Anglican #ReformedEpiscopal #ChurchPlanting #Revitalization #Epiphanytide

Happy New Year!

Epiphany isn’t an afterthought—it’s the unveiling of the King. In this episode, the Monks walk through the Feast of the Epiphany in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer: the force of the Collect, Isaiah’s “Arise, shine,” and Matthew’s Gospel where nations begin to kneel. We unpack the Magi’s gifts (gold, frankincense, myrrh) as more than ancient tokens—they’re a pattern for Christian worship and mission today: crown Him as King, offer Him prayer, carry His cross. Along the way, we talk about Epiphanytide as a lived season: how the star teaches discernment, how the liturgy forms courage, and why this feast moves us from altar to city with joy.

In this conversation:

* The Epiphany Collect (1928 BCP): why its theology still steadies modern disciples

* Isaiah 60 & Matthew 2: light for the nations, hope for ordinary Mondays

* The Magi’s gifts as a rule of life: allegiance, adoration, self-offering

* Practicing Epiphanytide at home and parish: prayers, blessings, and small, bright habits

If Christmas proclaims God with us, Epiphany proclaims God for the world—and sends us. Follow the Light.

Subscribe and share with a friend who loves the 1928 BCP—or needs a hopeful start to Epiphanytide.

NEW EPISODE — Everyday Monks (1928 BCP): The Nativity of Our Lord 🎙️

Everybody knows Christmas.But do we really know what the Church is proclaiming when she dares to say: God has taken our nature upon Him?

In this episode, we open the 1928 Book of Common Prayer for Christmas Day and follow the Church’s breathtaking logic:

✨ The manger and the throne belong together✨ The Child is not “becoming” God — He is God✨ The Light that made the worlds enters our darkness✨ And if the Word truly became flesh… then nothing about our lives can remain unchanged

Along the way, we tackle the “Facebook theology” objections about December 25th, trace the deep biblical roots of the feast, and linger over the high Christology of Hebrews 1 and John 1—where Christmas is revealed not as sentiment, but as the manifestation of God.

And yes… there’s also a little cigar-and-pipe banter, because it wouldn’t be Everyday Monks without it.

Listen now, and let the Church catechize you with the glory of Christmas:“In the beginning was the Word…” MERRY CHRISTMAS!

#EverydayMonks #1928BCP #ChristmasDay #NativityOfOurLord #Anglican #ReformedEpiscopal #HighChristology #John1 #Hebrews1 #Christmastide