Acronymns & Terms used on this site

BCP = Book of Common Prayer

CANA = Convocation of Anglicans in North America

CoE = Church of England

ECUSA = Episcopal Church USA (now generally referred to as TEC, the Episcopal Church)

GAFCON = Global Anglican Future Conference (June 2008)

TEC = The Episcopal Church

For the Prayer Calendar

(posted by KB)

BabyBlue very helpfully reminds us of a number of upcoming events we should be praying for. I note especially tomorrow’s gathering at All Souls Langham Place in London, which will be a key gathering of evangelical CoE clergy and laity in followup to GAFCON.

GAFCON Watch: Timeline of Upcoming Events

GAFCON Primates Council meets in a few weeks – TBA

July 1 – Global Anglicanism Briefing Conference, All Souls Langham Place, London

July 4-8 – General Synod of the Church of England, York

July 21-August 3- Lambeth Conference, Canterbury

August 21-23 – CANA Convocation, Akron, Ohio

Sept. 17-19 – TEC House of Bishops, Salt Lake City, Utah

Oct. 4 – Diocese of Pittsburgh Annual Convention, Monroeville, Pennsylvania

Oct. 22-24 – REC General Council, Victoria, BC

Nov. 17-19 – General Synod of the Church of England, London

Jan. 28-31, 2009 – AMiA Winter Conference, Greensboro, NC

Te Deum for GAFCON

We give thanks and praise for the success of the conference, which was almost more than we had dared hope. 

We praise Thee, O God;
We acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship Thee,
The Father everlasting.

To Thee all Angels cry aloud,
The heavens and all the powers therein.
To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim
Proclaim with unceasing voice:
“Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of Hosts!
Heaven and earth are full
of the majesty of Thy glory.”

The glorious chorus of Apostles,
The admirable company of Prophets,
The army of Martyrs clothed in white,
The holy Church throughout all the world,
Doth acknowledge Thee,
The Father of infinite majesty,
Thine honourable, true, and only Son,
And also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.

Thou art the King of glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.

Thou, in undertaking the freeing of man,
Didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb.
Thou, having overcome the sting of death,
Didst open to believers the kingdom of heaven.

Thou sittest at the right hand of God
In the glory of the God the Father.
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge.

We beseech Thee, therefore, to help Thy servants,
Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood.

Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints In eternal glory.

O Lord, save Thy people,
and bless Thine inheritance.
Rule over them, and lift them up for ever.

Day by day we bless Thee
And we worship Thy Name
On earth and in heaven.
Find it fitting, O Lord,
to guard us without sin on that day.
O Lord, have mercy upon us,
have mercy upon us.

O Lord, let Thy mercy be upon us
Who have hoped in thee.
O Lord, in Thee have I hoped;
May I never be confounded.

Devotional: He gives us His glory

I was very struck by Charles Spurgeon’s devotional from today’s “Morning and Evening” and felt compelled to share it here:

John 17:22
And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them.

Behold the superlative liberality of the Lord Jesus, for He hath given us His all. Although a tithe of His possessions would have made a universe of angels rich beyond all thought, yet was He not content until He had given us all that He had. It would have been surprising grace if He had allowed us to eat the crumbs of His bounty beneath the table of His mercy; but He will do nothing by halves, He makes us sit with Him and share the feast. Had He given us some small pension from His royal coffers, we should have had cause to love Him eternally; but no, He will have His bride as rich as Himself, and He will not have a glory or a grace in which she shall not share. He has not been content with less than making us joint-heirs with Himself, so that we might have equal possessions. He has emptied all His estate into the coffers of the Church, and hath all things common with His redeemed. There is not one room in His house the key of which He will withhold from His people. He gives them full liberty to take all that He hath to be their own; He loves them to make free with His treasure, and appropriate as much as they can possibly carry. The boundless fulness of His all-sufficiency is as free to the believer as the air he breathes. Christ hath put the flagon of His love and grace to the believer’s lip, and bidden him drink on for ever; for could he drain it, he is welcome to do so, and as he cannot exhaust it, he is bidden to drink abundantly, for it is all his own. What truer proof of fellowship can heaven or earth afford?

“When I stand before the throne
Dressed in beauty not my own;
When I see Thee as Thou art,
Love Thee with unsinning heart;
Then, Lord, shall I fully know-
Not till then-how much I owe.”

Matthew 21:12-22

Then Jesus went into the temple and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. (Matthew 21:12)
Jesus, please come into the Episcopal Church with the full power of your Holy Spirit and overturn and drive out everything that doesn’t belong there.

And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.'” (Matthew 21:13)
Holy Spirit, please restore a life of prayer to your people in the Episcopal Church.

Then the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. (Matthew 21:14)
Father, please bless the healing ministry that takes place throughout this diocese.

But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant (Matthew 21:15)
Jesus, even now the leaders and teachers of the Episcopal Church are indignant over what you are doing to restore your church and people.

and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise’?” (Matthew 21:16)
Holy Spirit, please help us teach the children in our parishes and at the diocesan summer camps at Beaver Cross to praise you.

Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and he lodged there. Now in the morning, as he returned to the city, He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:17-22)
Jesus, bring us all to believing prayer so that the mountains that scar the face of the Episcopal Church may be cast into the sea.

Monday: 106:19-48; Numbers 22:1-21; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 21:12-22
Tuesday: 124, 125, 126, [127]; Numbers 22:21-38; Romans 7:1-12; Matthew 21:23-32

A Novena of Prayers for the Increase of Vocations to the Consecrated Life in the Community of St. Mary, Eastern Province

St. Mary’s Convent, 242 Cloister Way
Greenwich, NY 12834-7922
(518 ) 692-3028
http://www.stmaryseast.org
e-mail: melizcsm@aol.com

Having planted a new convent in Malawi, Africa, the Sisters of St. Mary in Greenwich, NY, now invite Associates, parishes, clergy and friends to join them in praying for new vocations in America, waiting on God much as the disciples did in the Upper Room in the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost. The following Prayers and Collects may be used as part of a Novena (a Nine-day Cycle) of Prayer or may be incorporated into daily prayer for C.S.M.

The Sisters of St. Mary are looking for a few good women who are…

* committed to giving themselves unreservedly to Jesus as Lord and Savior in the Anglican tradition;
* between the ages of 21 and 50 and are in good physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual health;
* single and unhindered by familial, financial or other personal obligations,
* seeking to know and serve God alone, first in a life of corporate and personal prayer and then by sharing in the ministries and outreach of the Community;
* prepared to consider a lifelong commitment to personal conversion, sanctification and service within stable community life, under the monastic vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience;
* open to learning responsible, adult obedience, accepting a common Rule and the wisdom and judgment of others in community life.

If this description brings someone to your mind, pray that the Holy Spirit may open her heart to considering religious vocation in the Community of St. Mary, and, if appropriate, invite her yourself to explore this possibility.

A Novena for Vocations to the Community of St. Mary

Prayers to be Said Daily

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
(Matthew 5:8 )

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Collect for the Community of St. Mary:
Almighty God, who chose the blessed Virgin Mary to be the Mother of your Incarnate Son, grant to us your servants who bear her name so to yield ourselves to the operation of the Holy Spirit that we may be acceptable in your sight and may bring forth to you the fruit of good works, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

First Day: For an Increase in Numbers and Sanctification
O Father and lover of souls, pour upon your Church the spirit of religious vocation and grant the Community of St. Mary an increase in numbers and sanctification of Sisters, to your glory and for the benefit of your whole Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Albany Intercessor

Traveling Mercies for GAFCON Pilgrims

We pray for all GAFCON participants returning  to their homes throughout the world. 

Ezekiel 2: 1-7 (from the readings for the transferred Feast Day of St. Peter and St. Paul)

And he said to me, “Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you.” And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels, who have rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them; and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them.  And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit upon scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear; for they are a rebellious house.

Father, send guardian angels to watch over the Anglican pilgrims as they return from the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem.  May their travels be on time.  May they not be beset by lengthy delays, lost luggage, or missed connections.  May they be safe from foul weather and other travel dangers.  May they be faithful witnesses of your Gospel to other travelers they encounter. 

Father, may they speak your word without fear to those who are in rebellion against you.  May they have no fear of those who have turned away from you.  May your Holy Spirit speak through them.  May those who hear their words know that they have heard your utterances. 

Father, thank you for the gift of this conference to these pilgrims, and to those of us back home.  May your name be glorified as a result. 

Amen.