GAFCON Pilgrims' Spouses and Families
Opening Verse
The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
St. John iv. 23.
A Psalm of Ascent
BLESSED are all they that fear the LORD, * and walk in his ways.
For thou shalt eat the labours of thine hands: * O well is thee, and happy shalt thou be.
Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine * upon the walls of thine house;
Thy children like the olive-branches * round about thy table.
Lo, thus shall the man be blessed * that feareth the LORD.
The LORD from out of Sion shall so bless thee, * that thou shalt see Jerusalem in prosperity all thy life long;
Yea, that thou shalt see thy children's children, * and peace upon Israel.
The One Hundred Twenty Eighth Psalm, 1928 BCP (USA)
The First Lesson
17 When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.
29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD : "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."
32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break."
36 "My father," she replied, "you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry."
38 "You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite custom 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Judges 10 & 11, NIV
Prayer
Deliver us, Lord, from sacrificing our families to our vocations in the church. Teach us and inspire us to love them as the Bible teaches. We pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.
The Second Lesson
1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, " 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'
11 "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
Luke 8, NIV
Prayer
Thank you, Lord God, for your word to spread throughout the world. Thank you also for those who love, support, encourage and refresh us as we do the work you have assigned. Bless them abundantly and always turn our hearts to them, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Collect
ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who settest the solitary in families; We commend to thy continual care the homes in which thy people dwell. Put far from them, we beseech thee, every root of bitterness, the desire of vain-glory, and the pride of life. Fill them with faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness. Knit together in constant affection those who, in holy wedlock, have been made one flesh; turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers; and so enkindle fervent charity among us all, that we be evermore kindly affectioned with brotherly love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Spouse's Perspective
Malcolm and I are pleased and honoured to be a part of the Canadian delegation to GAFCON. A lifelong dream will be brought to life as we visit sacred places, and spend time with brothers and sisters in Christ. The Anglican Network in Canada has become a refuge for us, a place where we can wholly depend on our leaders to live by and speak the Truth of the Gospel, and we expect to experience the same at this Conference.
Marylou Harding, wife of Bishop Malcolm Harding, Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC)
No comments:
Post a Comment