Thursday, March 20, 2008
Maundy Thursday
Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) congregations will remain in their churches through Easter!
"A judge in the Ontario Superior Court in Hamilton, Madam Justice Milanetti, reserved her decision today on whether the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) parishes of St George's Lowville (Milton, Ontario), St Hilda's (Oakville, Ontario) and Church of the Good Shepherd (St Catharines, Ontario) will retain exclusive use of their church facilities while the bigger legal issues of who owns the buildings are sorted out." (ANiC News Release)
Let us continue to pray
for these and all parishes now in dispute with their former diocese regarding property ownership. Pray that this will not distract from their ministries and that they will know God's direction in this matter.
Pray for all ANiC clergy facing canonical charges, and most of all for the spiritual wellbeing of all ANiC members in this time of conflict. As Christ teaches, pray also for those who are set against them.
Scripture:
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32, NLT
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Holy Wednesday
The Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC)
Pray specifically for a court case on March 20 [Maundy Thursday] in Southern Ontario that could be precedent setting. Please pray for the two churches involved - St George's Lowville (Milton) and St Hilda's (Oakville) - and the clergy who must prepare affidavits for this court appearance - the Rev Canon Charlie Masters (also General Secretary of the Common Cause Partnership) and the Rev Paul Charbonneau. Please pray for an unbiased judge; for clarity of thought and presentation for our legal representatives and witnesses; that God would be honoured in all we do; and that the outcome would be to His glory and the building of His Kingdom.
Scripture
The Lord GOD has given me
the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens--
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord GOD has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
The Lord GOD helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
It is the Lord GOD who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Friday, March 14, 2008
Holy Week
Let us pray forAnglican Network in Canada (ANiC)
The Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey (Moderator and Chair)
Anglican Province of the Southern Cone
Prayer and praise items for Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC)
· Praise God for the 15 churches now under the episcopal oversight of Bishop Donald Harvey and the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone
· Pray for the clergy of those parishes who are now facing various canonical charges – this includes charges of Abandonment of Ministry for a number of clergy, including the Rev Dr J I Packer.
· Pray for those parishes now in dispute with their former diocese regarding property ownership. Pray that this will not distract from their ministries and that they will know God's direction in this matter.
· Pray specifically for a court case on March 20 in Southern Ontario that could be precedent setting. Please pray for the two churches involved - St George's Lowville (Milton) and St Hilda's (Oakville) - and the clergy who must prepare affidavits for this court appearance - the Rev Canon Charlie Masters (also General Secretary of the Common Cause Partnership) and the Rev Paul Charbonneau. Please pray for an unbiased judge; for clarity of thought and presentation for our legal representatives and witnesses; that God would be honoured in all we do; and that the outcome would be to His glory and the building of His Kingdom.
· Praise God for a favourable earlier interim court decision on February 29 that allowed these two parishes to remain in their buildings until March 20.
· Praise God for a more amicable approach to ANiC parishes in one diocese.
· Despite the numerous legal and canonical attacks, the real battle is spiritual, so please pray for spiritual protection for our clergy and leadership and their families – as well as for good health. Pray specifically for our bishops, Bishop Don Harvey and Bishop Malcolm Harding.
· Pray for unity in the parishes; pray that satan will not be able to drive in any wedges.
· Finally, please pray for orthodox Canadian Anglicans who remain in the Anglican Church of Canada. Pray for wisdom and courage as they continue to stand for Truth and against the moral and theological decay of the Anglican Church of Canada.
Scripture
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. I Corinthians 1:18
Tradition
'Twas I that shed that sacred Blood,I nailed him to the Tree,I crucified the Christ of God,I joined the mockery.Yet not the less that Blood avails to cleanse me from sin,and not the less that Cross prevails to give me peace within. Horatius Bonar, 1856. #135 in The Book of Common Praise, 1938 (Canada)
Reason
...what Christ bore on the cross was the Godforsakenness of penal judgment, which we shall never have to bear because he accepted it in our place. The appropriate formulation is that on the cross Jesus’ representative relation to us, as the last Adam whose image we are to bear, took the form of substituting for us under judgment, as the suffering servant of God on whom the Lord ‘laid the iniquity of us all’. The two ideas, representation and substitution, are complementary, not alternatives, and both are needed here. J.I. Packer, What Did the Cross Achieve?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Week of V Lent
The Anglican Mission in America (AMiA)
The reclamation of Anglicanism's missionary heritage
The Venerable Bede: The Arrival in Kent of the missionaries sent By Gregory the Great (597)
As soon as they entered the dwelling place assigned them, they began to imitate the course of life practiced in the primitive church : applying themselves to frequent prayer, watching, and fasting; preaching the word of life to as many as they could; despising all worldly things, as not belonging to them; receiving only their necessary food from those they taught; living in all respects conformably to what they prescribed to others, and being always disposed to suffer any adversity, and even to die for that truth which they preached. In short, several believed and were baptized, admiring the simplicity of their innocent life and the sweetness of their heavenly doctrine.
There was on the east side of the city a church dedicated to St. Martin, built whilst the Romans were still in the island, wherein the queen, who, as has been said before, was a Christian, used to pray. In this they first began to meet, to sing, to pray, to say mass, to preach and to baptize, till the king, being converted to the faith, allowed them to preach openly and to build or repair churches in all places.
When he among the rest, induced by the unspotted life of these holy men and their delightful promises, which, by many miracles, they proved to be most certain, believed and was baptized, greater numbers began daily to flock together to hear the word and, forsaking their heathen rites. to associate themselves, by believing, to the unity of the Church of Christ.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
V Lent
Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA)
The Rt. Rev. Charles Murphy (Senior Bishop)
Special Prayer Petitions
The Rt. Rev. Charles Murphy, Senior Bishop
The Mission Networks and their leaders: Lord of the Nations, The Rev. Dr. M. Keith Andrews; Mid West Regional, The Rev. William Beasley; Northeast, The Rev. Mark Booker; Mid Atlantic, The Rev. Dr. Steven Breedlove; Rocky Mountain, The Rev. Phil Eberhart; Gulf Coast, The Rev. Canon Michael Hesse; Heart of North America, The Rev. Canon Doc Loomis; Emmaus, The Rev. Carl Buffington, Jr.; Miletus, The Rev. Dr. Victor Oliver; St. Louis, The Rev. Dr. Paul Walter; Little Rock, The Honorable David Young; Eastern North Carolina, The Rev. H.G. Miller, III; Kings Mission, The Rev. Alan Hawkins; Living Waters, The Rev. Canon Michael Murphy; Michigan, The Rev. Allen Kannapell; First Coast, The Rev. Mark Eldridge; ACiC, The Rev. Barclay Mayo
The Youth Ministry Initiative and the Rev. Christopher Zoephel, National Coordinator of Anglican Mission Student Ministry Initiatives
The Anglican Initiative for Mission and its 2008 Anglican School of Church Planting to be held May 24-June 1, 2008, at Christ Church in Plano, TX
From the Scriptures
"For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'"
O God, who hast made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the whole earth, and didst send thy blessed Son to preach peace to them that are far off and to those who are nigh; Grant that all men everywhere may seek after thee and find thee. Bring the nations into thy fold, pour out thy Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten the coming of thy kingdom; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Week of Lent IV
The Anglican Communion Network (ACN)'s efforts to make disciples.
From the Bible:
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13
Father, we thank you that Jesus Christ gives us gifts to do his work, through the Holy Spirit living in us. We ask you, in Jesus' Name, to make abundant the spiritual gifts and work of the ACN.
We thank you for gathering a variety of gifted ministers to work on the Anglican Catechism, and ask your blessing on their effort.
We thank you for the coming conferences and retreats to build spiritual unity and maturity among your people. Sanctify the hearts of those teaching and learning, and the meeting places they will use.
Praise and honor to you, our Father, who with the Son and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns in glory everlasting. Amen.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
IV Lent
Anglican Communion Network (ACN)
The Rt. Rev. Robert Wm. Duncan (Moderator)
Special Prayer Petitions
The Ministry Development Program
Anglican Relief and Development Fund
The Titus Institute for Church Planting and the Rev. Tom Herrick, Executive Director
Anglican Global Mission Partners
The Regional Anglican Women's Council Retreat, to be attended by about 150 women, April 11-13, In Costa Mesa, CA
Southeastern Convocation Conference: Common Cause--Working Together in Mission and Ministry, April 17-19, Loganville, GA
Anglican Men's Retreat, to be attended by as many as 300 men, May 16-18, in Newport Beach, CA
The Young Anglicans Project and the Young Anglicans Summit, June 11-13 in Pittsburgh, PA
The Good News Initiative and the Sharing Our Faith event, April 11-13 in Bakersfield, CA, and Jenny Noyes, Director of Evangelism
Please pray for the three-day catechism symposium June 10-12 at Trinity School for Ministry. Clergy, academics, and Christian educators will discuss various aspects related to the historic Anglican Catechism as well as the the new Anglican Catechism in Outline (ACIO) recently released Ash Wednesday by the Global South Primates. The event will provide a foundation to better enable contemporary transmission of the historic Christian faith to future generations. The gathering will consist of position papers, seminars, working groups and panel discussions. It will host a variety of Anglican scholars from Nashotah House Seminary, Trinity School for Ministry, and elsewhere.
Objectives
* To relaunch formal discussions between the academy and the church on the Anglican Catechism involving clergy, scholars, and practitioners together, in order to avail more effective faith transmission
* To present the new Anglican Catechism in Outline created under the auspices of the Global South Primates
* To garner feedback on the ACIO with respect to its potential usability at the parish level
* To encourage clergy, scholars, and Christian educators to work to support and equip families as the primary vehicles of faith formation
From the Scriptures
"Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses. And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of kings and Lord of all lords."
A Guiding Prayer
Direct us, O Lord, in all our doing, with thy most gracious favor, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally, by thy mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Christian! dost thou see them
On the holy ground,
How the powers of darkness
Rage thy steps around?
Christian! up and smite them,
Counting gain but loss;
In the strength that cometh
By the holy cross.
Christian! dost thou feel them,
How they work within,
Striving, tempting, luring,
Goading into sin?
Christian! never tremble;
Never be downcast;
Gird thee for the battle,
Watch and pray and fast.
Christian! dost thou hear them,
How they speak thee fair?
"Always fast and vigil?
Always watch and prayer?"
Christian! answer boldly:
"While I breathe I pray!"
Peace shall follow battle,
Night shall end in day.
"Well I know thy trouble,
O My servant true;
Thou art very weary,
I was weary too;
But that toil shall make thee
Some day all Mine own,
And the end of sorrow
Shall be near My throne."