Thanks Be to God

Let us give thanks
Virginia CCP churches keep their property

The court found that there is a real "division" in TEC and the Anglican Communion, and that the CCP churches rightly invoked Virginia law is separating from TEC. Please note May 28th on your calendar and be praying, as there will be a ruling then on TEC's constitutional challenge to the Virginia statute.

Non nobis Domine non nobis,
Sed Nomini tuo da gloriam
Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to Your Name give glory.
Psalm 115:1

Eve of anticipated Virginia ruling

BabyBlueOnline (a lay person in the CCP) renews a call for prayer

Psalm
I will remember the works of the LORD, *and call to mind your wonders of old time.

I will meditate on all your acts *and ponder your mighty deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy; *who is so great a god as our God?

You are the God who works wonders *and have declared your power among the peoples.

By your strength you have redeemed your people, *the children of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw you, O God;the waters saw you and trembled; *the very depths were shaken.

The clouds poured out water;the skies thundered; *your arrows flashed to and fro;

The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;your lightnings lit up the world; *the earth trembled and shook.

Your way was in the sea,and your paths in the great waters, *yet your footsteps were not seen.

You led your people like a flock *by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 77:11-20 Page 693, BCP

Special Prayer Appeal

Please pray
It is anticipated that the judge is about to render his opinion in litigation involving Common Cause congregations in Virginia. Prayers are requested and details of the issues are at the link.

Scripture offered at BabyBlueOnline
So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:"See, I lay a stone in Zion,a tested stone,a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
Isaiah 28:16

Week of II Easter

Let us continue in prayer for
Forward in Faith North America (FiFNA)
The Rt. Rev. Keith L. Ackerman, SSC, DD (Director)
Fr. William H. Ilgenfritz (Convocational Dean)

Pray for Pilgrims
Many FiFNA clergy and people include pilgrimages to holy sites in their rule of life. Please pray for their safe travel and for spiritual refreshment and renewal.

Scripture
O HOW amiable are thy dwellings, * thou LORD of hosts!
My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the LORD; * my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, and the swallow a nest, where she may lay her young; * even thy altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; * they will be alway praising thee.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; * in whose heart are thy ways.
Who going through the vale of misery use it for a well; * and the pools are filled with water.
They will go from strength to strength, * and unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in Sion.
from Psalm 84

Tradition
By this way, then, at the bidding of Christ our God, and helped by the prayers of the holy men who accompanied us, we arrived at the fourth hour, at the summit of Sinai, the holy mountain of God, where the law was given, that is, at the place where the Glory of the Lord descended on the day when the mountain smoked.
From "The Pilgrimage of Egeria"

Reason
Geography too sprang from the same source. Each pilgrim who wrote an account of his travels for the instruction and edification of his fellows was unconsciously laying the foundations of a new science; and it is astonishing how very early these written accounts begin.
Catholic Encyclopedia

II Easter

Let Us Pray For...
Forward in Faith, North America (FiFNA)
The Rt. Rev. Keith L. Ackerman, SSC, DD (Director)
Fr. William H. Ilgenfritz (Convocational Dean)


Special Prayer Petitions
Please pray for FiFNA's Council:
The Rt. Rev. Keith L. Ackerman, SSC, DD, President
The Rev. William H. Ilgenfritz, SSC, Vice President
The Rev. Warren V. Tanghe, SSC, Vice President
The Rev. Michael Brooks, Secretary
Mr. Karl O. Sharp, Treasurer
The Rev. Canon Edward den Blaauwen, SSC, Executive Administrator
The Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker, SSC, Episcopal Member
The Rt. Rev. William C. Watland, Episcopal Member
The Rt. Rev. Donald J. Parsons, Episcopal Member
The Rt. Rev. Richard Boyce, Episcopal Member
The Rev. James Guill, SSC, Clergy Member
The Rev. Lawrence D. Bausch, SSC--Church Office
The Rev. Keith Acker, SSC--Press Officer, Editorial Board
Mr. Robert Shattuck, Lay Member
Mrs. JoAnn Patton, Lay Member
Lt. Col. John F.D. Armstrong, Lay Member
and the many Ex-Officio Adjunct, Episcopal Adjunct, International Adjunct, and Other Adjunct Members.



From the Scriptures
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NKJV)

A Guiding Prayer
Almighty Father, who hast given thine only Son to die for our sins, and to rise again for our justification; Grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve thee in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"The First Sunday after Easter," The Book of Common Prayer (1928, USA)

A Heritage Reflection
"May God, who seeth all things, and who is the Ruler of all spirits and the Lord of all flesh--who chose our Lord Jesus Christ and us through Him to be a peculiar people--grant to every soul that calleth upon His glorious and holy Name, faith, fear, peace, patience, long-suffering, self-control, purity, and sobriety, to the well-pleasing of His Name, through our High Priest and Protector, Jesus Christ, by whom be to Him glory, and majesty, and power, and honor, both now and for evermore. Amen."

The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (c. AD 97)

Easter Wednesday

Let us continue in prayer for
Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA)
The Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, Missionary Bishop
The Anglican Church of Nigeria

Please pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance of the 2008 CANA Council, August 21-23 in Akron, OH.

Ask God's blessing on CANA's mission values:

• Radical Inclusion
• Profound Transformation
• Inspired Service

For Clergy

Pray for The Rev'd Alan Crippen II, who will be made a priest at Grace Chruch and St. Stephen's in Colorado Springs on April 13th.

Give thanks and pray for three new deacons ordained this year: Dan Clark and Marge Marcewicz in Wyoming, and Sheri Graham in Texas.

Pray for all CANA clergy and their families.

Easter

Let us pray for

Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA)

The Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns (Missionary Bishop)

Anglican Church of Nigeria

Adorations:

Praise God for the celebrations of Holy Week..

Praise God for the conversions, baptisms, and recommitments to JesusChrist of youth and adults in several CANA congregations..

Praise God for the fresh surge of emphasis on healing and the powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit in several CANA congregations..

Praise God for the dozens of Burmese immigrants recently confirmed at a church in Tennessee..

Praise God for the courage of a congregation in Texas to help stop a modern child slavery racket.

Confessions:

Sorrow for the slow progress in evangelizing the 10/40 window andunreached people groups in other parts of the world..

Sorrow for the failure of discipleship in the Church at large that has allowed some evangelical Christians in the West to convert to Islam..

Sorrow for the greed that has led to the US economic downturn.

Thanksgivings:

Thanksgiving for the growth of churches in the Majority World, includingthe planting of 300 new churches in the Church of Nigeria in the past year..

Thanksgiving for the effective progress of Anglican ministries in fighting pandemics in the Majority World..

Thanksgiving for the continued leadership of the Church of Nigeria and other provinces in leading a way forward for the future of Anglican Christianity..

Thanksgiving for the straightforward articulations of Bishop Mouneer of Egypt..

Thanksgiving for the life witness of Bishop Cox and Bishop Schofield..

Thanksgiving for the courage and faithfulness of our brothers and sistersin Canada.. Thanksgiving for the emerging ministries of CANA's and AMiA's new bishops..

Thanksgiving for the wisdom and discernment of Virginia Judge Bellows, re the TEC litigation against CANA churches in Virginia..

Praise God for the safe return of Chaplain Rindahl from Iraq.

Supplications:

For peace through Jesus Christ in the Middle East, the Congo, the Sudan,and other places torn by war and corrupt leadership..

For GAFCON: for Godspeed & good health for all participants..

For Common Cause, for wisdom..

For orthodox clergy and congregations discerning the future of their Anglican affiliation..

For the strengthening of clergy marriages and family relationships..

For bi-vocational priests facing difficult decisions about balancing their schedule..

For all clergy and laity who are being pinched by the current state ofthe US economy..

For seminarians seeking open doors to serve God and the Church..

For missionaries having difficulty raising funds; that they may find newopen doors and places to serve.

Scripture, Tradition and Reason:

(Jesus) promised to be not only with these disciples, but also with all who would subsequently believe after them. Jesus speaks to all believers as if to one body. Do not speak to me, he says, of the difficulties you will face, for "I am with you," as the one who makes all things easy. Remember that this is also said repeatedly to the prophets in the Old Testament. Recall Jeremiah objecting that he is too young and Moses and Ezekiel shrinking from the prophetic office. "I am with you" is spoken to all these people.
St. John Chrysostom, The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 90.2