On Saturday, October 8, 2011, the feast day of St. Bridget, Abbess of Sweden, at 8:00 AM, there was a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at The Anglican Church of the Holy Nativity, 2495 North Cole Road, Lima, OH.

  At the service, celebrated by The Rev’d Robert Todd Giffin, Vicar of All Saints Anglican Church of Newburgh, Indiana, Holy Nativity was formally designated the Pro-Cathedral of the Diocese of Mid-America of the Anglican Province of America (A.P.A.), The Most Rev’d Dr. Lawrence Lee Shaver, Obl., O.S.B., Arch-Bishop of the Diocese was enthroned, and The Rev’d Dr. Richard Palmer, Vicar of Holy Nativity, was styled Dean of the Pro-Cathedral.

The designation of Holy Nativity as the Pro-Cathedral is a part of the reorganization of the A.P.A., reflecting its growth nationally. A Pro-Cathedral serves both as the Cathedral for the Bishop and as a mission of the Bishop. The Cathedral for the Province is located in Oveido (Orlando), Florida. The Most Rev’d Dr. Walter H. Grundorf is the Presiding Bishop of the Province as well as the Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Eastern United States.

Holy Nativity is a Traditional or Continuing Anglican Church, meaning that the church has remained constant to the faith delivered by our forebears in the Anglican Communion, from the Early Church established by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself through His Apostles. Its beliefs are based on the teachings of the Bible as explained in the Creeds and Traditions of the Church. Its bishops hold valid consecrations and are in Apostolic Succession to the original apostles who were chosen by Christ Himself.

Holy Nativity uses the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible, the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, According to the Use of the Protestant Episcopal Church and The (1940) Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Holy Nativity has provided traditional Anglican worship to those in Northwest Ohio for more than 20 years.

The 10:00 AM Sunday services are open for all who are interested. Communion is for all who believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Consecrated Bread and Wine.

Delegates to the Provincial Synod

Three members of The Anglican Church of the Holy Nativity returned on July 16, 2011, from the Synods of the Anglican Province of America and the Diocese of Mid-America. Bill Halker, the Church Warden, Barry Cox, the Lay Reader, and Fr. Richard Palmer, the Vicar, attended and were delegates at these meetings. The meetings were held at the Holiday-Inn Perimeter, in Dunwoody, GA. The sponsoring church was St. Barnabas Anglican Church, also located in Dunwoody.

The Diocesan meeting dealt with issues concerning Mid-America, including appointments, elections and presentations. There were 21 delegates and deputies at this meeting. Our Archbishop Ordinary, the Most Reverend Dr. Lawrence L. Shaver, was sorely missed. He was at home recuperating from a fall.

At the Provincial meeting, many activities took place:

An Inter-Communion Agreement between the Anglican Province of America and the Anglican Church in America was discussed and approved. This agreement allows full recognition between members and Clergy of these two continuing Anglican bodies. Three Diocesan Bishops of the Anglican Church in America (ACA), the Right Reverends Brian Marsh, Stephen Strawn and Daren Williams and the Vicar General of the ACA Eastern Diocese, Father John Vaughan, were present for these meetings.

The APA again made history by presenting a cheque in the amount of $100,000 to Operation Mobilization for the building of a Dalit educational centre in India, a vital Christian English-language school that will have the potential, socially, intellectually and spiritually, to liberate hundreds if not thousands of children who otherwise would possess no hope or opportunity for the future. Through intense commitment and sacrifice, our parishes and missions raised the money for the school.

Present also at the meeting was the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in the Philippines, the Most Reverend Frederick Belmonte. Over $5,000 was raised at the Synod for the Philippine Church's proposed theological training centre.

The boundries of the Three Dioceses of the Province were again reorganized, reflecting the growth in membership.

The Provincial meets every third year and the Diocesan Synod meets every year. Last year the Diocesan Synod was held at The Church of the Holy Nativity on North Cole Street in Lima.

The Church of the Holy Nativity is a traditional Anglican Church, using the 1928 Prayerbook and the 1940 Hymnbook. The Mass of the Holy Eucharist is held each Sunday morning at 10:00 AM.

Ordination of the Vicar

On November 29, 2009, at 10:00 AM, the Most Reverend Dr. Lawrence L. Shaver, Archbishop of the Diocese of Mid-America of the Anglican Province of America, ordained The Rev’d Dr. Richard Palmer as Priest at the Church of the Holy Nativity, 2495 North Cole Street, Lima. Fr. Palmer had been the Deacon Vicar of this Anglican Mission. He continues in this assignment as Vicar. Fr. Palmer was made a deacon on May 9, 2009, at St. Matthias Anglican Church in Florence, KY

Holy Nativity is an Anglican Church which uses the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible, the 1928 “Book of Common Prayer. . . According to the Use of the Protestant Episcopal Church” as well as “The (1940) Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church.” Holy Communion or the Office of Morning Prayer are celebrated at 10:00 AM, each Sunday morning. Holy Nativity has been a home for traditional Christians in the Allen County area for more than 20 years. Its style of worship is both Liturgical and formal.

Fr. Palmer comes to Holy Nativity as a “Second Career” Man. After graduating from Miami University in 1968, he served two years in Germany in the U. S. Army and then was a teacher and administrator for the Middletown City School District for 33 years. A “semi-professional student,” he has earned a B.A., M.A.T., and Ph.D. from Miami University and an M.Ed. from Xavier University. In 2008, he graduated from Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin with a “Master of Arts in Ministry.” He was in the first class to earn this degree, which follows two years of work in a “hybird” program, one in which the students are in residence on campus one week each quarter and submit their work and participate in discussions through the internet. Nashotah House is an Anglo-Catholic Seminary of the Episcopal Church. The St. Mary’s Chapel is the center of this campus, with Morning Prayer, Holy Eucharist and Evening Prayer celebrated each day.

Fr. Palmer and his wife Virginia come to Holy Nativity, Lima, from St. Paul’s, Cincinnati. There he served as Warden and as a member of the Vestry. Virginia is a retired Librarian. Their son Rob is a Paramedic.