Dear Servants,
As I mentioned last week in my blog, in October the emphasis will be on the theme of prayer. We have lots of opportunities to pray: Soaking Prayer tomorrow night (Tuesday, Oct. 3, 6:30-8:30pm), intercessory prayer during our liturgy on Sunday, and healing prayer during Communion. But I want to invite you to join me in the new chapel for Evening Prayer at 6:30 pm each Wednesday night in October.
Some are busy with our youth ministry, and others are attending the Boada’s class on financial contentment and that’s great. I was so blessed to walk around the campus last week and see so many of you participating in those discipleship opportunities. I also know of at least one small group that meets on Wednesday nights. Perhaps there are others. Keep meeting just as you are doing. Praise God. But if you are not already involved in one of the above, consider trying out Evening Prayer.
One of the gifts of our Anglican heritage is what we call the Daily Offices. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) website says this about these offices: “Daily Morning Prayer and Daily Evening Prayer are the established rites by which, both corporately and individually, God’s people annually encounter the whole of Holy Scriptures, daily confess their sins and praise Almighty God, and offer timely thanksgivings, petitions, and intercessions.”
It has long been my hope that in time the use of these daily offices might become tools for discipleship in our parish. During my years at seminary, one of my devotional practices was attendance at Morning Prayer each weekday before class. Two of our faithful women have met each Thursday morning for Morning Prayer since Servants began. For years we have used Morning Prayer along with Compline (another Anglican prayer service) at Camp Araminta. The Sunday we cancelled services due to Hurricane Irma, David LaCagnina and a few others led Morning Prayer through Facebook live. During this month-long emphasis on prayer, we want to encourage the parish to try out these resources. You can find liturgies for these and other services at the ACNA website.
At the end of Evening Prayer (usually 30 minutes) I am also inviting you to remain with me in the chapel for conversation. It has been brought to my attention that there have been lots of changes over the last year, and with those changes, plus the prospect of purchasing a new worship space, many of you may have questions. I look forward to a rich time of sharing in “all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2-4
God bless you all in the week to come.
Onward and Upward,
