Update about Title IV Disciplinary Board members

We’ve updated our post which has the list of names of the Title IV Disciplinary Board members investigating Bp. Mark Lawrence of South Carolina.

Read the update here.

South Carolina: Prayers for the Title IV Disciplinary Board take on added urgency – Pray for a love of justice

Since the first day we learned of the charges made against Bp. Mark Lawrence of South Carolina, we have focused prayer several times on the Title IV Disciplinary Board.

See:
Praying for the TitleIV Disciplinary Board
Blessing Title IV Disciplinary Board
Title IV disciplinary board

New documents and articles posted by the Anglican Communion Institute, the Anglican Curmudgeon, and the Living Church, make clear that the Disciplinary Board in fact is central to the process against Bp. Lawrence.

Here is an excerpt of how the process seems to be likely to go forward, from the latest article posted by the ACI:

Many in the church had assumed that the Lawrence matter was being processed by the normal intake procedures specified under the new Title IV. Included among these were bishops sympathetic to the national church who assumed that this was the beginning of an extended procedure involving the Reference Panel, subsequent Conference and Hearing Panels, and the normal process of notice and opportunity to be heard inherent in the trial process. We were dubious of that assumption ourselves, but that was one of the questions we raised in our earlier piece on this matter. We are grateful for an answer.

It is now clear that there will be no such process. The matter will be considered by the Disciplinary Board for Bishops, meeting as a whole, which will vote whether to certify Bishop Lawrence for abandonment. If it were to certify that Bishop Lawrence has abandoned the church, his ministry would be restricted immediately (what formerly was called inhibition) and the matter would be sent straight to the House of Bishops at its next meeting (following a period of at least sixty days). If the Disciplinary Board votes by the end of this year, that meeting would be the March meeting of the House of Bishops at which Bishop Lawrence would be deposed if the House so votes by a majority vote.

(emphasis added)

O LORD, We know from Your Word that You love justice (Ps 11:7, Ps 33:5, Ps 99:4). We pray that the Title IV Disciplinary Board would love justice and “DO JUSTICE” as well (Micah 6:8) in submission to You.

May the justice of Bishop Lawrence and the Diocese of South Carolina and their righteousness shine forth as they delight themselves in You and commit their way to You:

Ps 37:4-6
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
(NIV)

May we see Your justice with our eyes, Father, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

-Karen

An update from Abp. Mouneer in Egypt

Yesterday we posted the request for prayer from Abp. Mouneer Anis re: the troubles and violence against Christians in Egypt.

Today there is an update from Bp. Mouneer posted by Jackie at Stand Firm

The cry “Ya Rab (O Lord)” of the Christians in Egypt brought to mind these verses from Psalms 12 and 13:

Ps 12:5-13:6
5 “Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
6 And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.
7 O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever.
8 The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.

Psalm 13

1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.
(NIV)

O Lord, we cry out with our brothers and sisters in Egypt. O Lord, keep them safe and protect them, may Your Word be a precious treasure to them, giving them hope and joy.

O Lord may they know You have not forgotten them, that You see injustice and that the wicked will NOT always triumph. May they know that You are strong on their behalf.

O Lord, give light to the eyes of our brothers and sisters in Jesus, the light of Christ shining in their hearts (2 Cor 4:6), the light that shines in the darkness and that darkness cannot overcome (John 1:5)

O Lord, may all who know You in Egypt be strengthened to trust in Your unfailing love and to sing of Your goodness in these days of struggle. May their hope in You be a bright beacon throughout the land.

- Karen

1 Corinthians 14:13-15,24-25 and Sunday School Lesson

Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. (1 Corinthians 14:13)
Jesus, we pray that all of the gifts of your Holy Spirit will be manifested among us.

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. (1 Corinthians 14:14)
Holy Father, help us pray both in the Spirit and with understanding.

What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. (1 Corinthians 14:15)
Holy Spirit, give life to all our prayers so that we may pray according to mind and heart of Jesus.

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. (1 Corinthians 14:24)
Holy Father, rise up men and women and youths in every parish of this diocese who will use the gift of speaking your word to us.

And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you. (1 Corinthians 14:25)
Jesus, let the words of your Holy Spirit penetrate our hearts so that the secrets of our hearts are revealed and we fall down and worship you. Let our common life of prayer be such that people will report that God is truly among us. Thank you.

A word received: Keep your eyes on me.

Wednesday: 119:1-24 * 12, 13, 14; Jer. 37:3-21 1 Cor. 14:13-25 Matthew 10:24-33
Thursday: 18:1-20 * 18:21-50; Jer. 38:1-13 1 Cor. 14:26-33a,37-40 Matthew 10:34-42

STUDY GUIDE: SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 05, October 16, 2011
Theme Verse: 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
Readings: Matthew 22:15-22; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Isaiah 45:1-7; Psalm 96:1-9
Memory Verse: So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)
Next Week: Matthew 22:34-46; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-20; Exodus 22:21-27; Psalm 1

A word received: You are in my hands. That is sufficient to give you courage and hope.

Gospel: Matthew 22:15-22

A word received: Pray for my image to be reflected in your face and your actions. You are stamped with my image. I have created you — you are mine.

Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

A word received: Don’t be surprised by the present afflictions. Look to me and I will make the gospel shine forth in the face of affliction.

Old Testament: Isaiah 45:1-7

(verse 5) A word received: I want you to know my sovereignty. I AM LORD. There is no other.

Psalm: Psalm 96:1-9

A word received: Come to me. Worship me. Honor me.

Notes from the Front Line

***** Please pray for David Gough, CMS Ireland as he travels to Egypt, South Sudan and, for the first time with CMS Ireland, to 3 Partner Dioceses in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
12th October Wednesday, 05.30, Fly Entebbe to Goma (DR Congo). Stay overnight at the Church Guesthouse, CAA flight, Confirmed

Albany Intercessor

Montana–Francis Sayre

The Very Rev. Francis B. Sayre Jr. (1915 — 2008) was Dean of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. for 27 years.

Lord, this wild and sturdy state we call Montana, let it be Thy place of openness and peace enduring. Lift there man’s little spirit to the infinitude of Thy glory, imprinted upon the glaciered peaks, the glistening streams and arid plains of Thy making.

Let herders by their wagons have Thee for company; men lonely in the mines, and ranchers at their corrals know Thy boundless presence. Forfend that townsmen should be sheltered from the neigh of horses, the coyote’s cry, or the silent respect of furry neighbors; but grant that they, rejoicing in Thy creation, may ever reflect in their own affairs the freedom by which Thou hast surrounded them; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hat tip: The Anglican Digest

South Carolina

“It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. (Revelation 12:10b-11a)

O Father in heaven,

I plead with You to guard Your children in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and their allies across the church from becoming like Satan, the accuser of the brethren.

You are their defense.

Bring justice as they let go of their offenses. Unlock the chains of the past. Let there be jubilee in this land of many rivers. Amen.