Prayers for CoGS
I preface my prayer request with a prayer found on the Anglican Communion site:
Gracious God,
we give you thanks for the gift of this world-wide Anglican Communion of churches: for our sense of belonging to all the ages, for the gift of thoughtful prayer you have taught us, and for the task of reverent study to which you call us.
We thank you for the love of worship you have stirred up in our hearts, and for the love of justice you have implanted in our wills.
Be with us in times of trouble as in times of joy; give us thankful hearts when we stand together, and send your holy Wisdom into all our disagreements. In dispute, may be we gentle and loving; in unity, may we be humble; in poverty, give us hope; in wealth, make us responsible and generous.
Inflame us with prophetic vision so our fellowship will be the likeness of your kingdom of righteousness, proclaimed for all by Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Later this week the Council of General Synod will make some major decisions. The two which capture the attention of the Anglican Communion, as well as all Canadian Anglicans, is a vote on whether we as a church should withdrawal from the Anglican Consultative Council, as they have requested. The second is whether to have a moratorium on same sex blessings within the Anglican Church of Canada.
for a better explanation see: news on CoGS.
My personal prayers on this have lead me to understand that we should honour the request to withdrawal for these next three years as we have much to contemplate before General Synod in 2007 and Lambeth in 2008; ECUSA, the Episcopal Church in the United States of America has already agreed to withdrawal (though I have heard in sarcasm that they have given in to a conservative "political" agenda within the church due to financial contributions... I pray this is a false perception). My current Diocesan Executive Council, in the Diocese of Quebec, moved support of a plan from some members of CoGS to attend the Anglican Consultative Council (I was the only dissenting vote around the table and spoke against the motion). I also remain quite conservative on the issue of same sex blessings, in spite of my friendship with many much loved gay members of this vast Church of ours. But I keep my prayers open and look for the Holy Spirit's guidance in our Councils and of course in the understanding of Scripture. My prayer always in reading the Word is to hear the voice of Christ Jesus.
As we pray, I invite you not to ask our Lord to move a particular view forward or to squash anyone's firm belief, but to ask for openness and a Spirit of love and humility in the preparations and for the meeting this weekend. Let us keep the same tone of prayer that the above offers for our small part of this great Communion of ours. Let us also recall that we are just a part of a Greater Church, with Christians throughout the world who seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in interpreting the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Word made flesh.
I bid you peace in this traditional time of prayer, in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
Douglas+
Gracious God,
we give you thanks for the gift of this world-wide Anglican Communion of churches: for our sense of belonging to all the ages, for the gift of thoughtful prayer you have taught us, and for the task of reverent study to which you call us.
We thank you for the love of worship you have stirred up in our hearts, and for the love of justice you have implanted in our wills.
Be with us in times of trouble as in times of joy; give us thankful hearts when we stand together, and send your holy Wisdom into all our disagreements. In dispute, may be we gentle and loving; in unity, may we be humble; in poverty, give us hope; in wealth, make us responsible and generous.
Inflame us with prophetic vision so our fellowship will be the likeness of your kingdom of righteousness, proclaimed for all by Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Later this week the Council of General Synod will make some major decisions. The two which capture the attention of the Anglican Communion, as well as all Canadian Anglicans, is a vote on whether we as a church should withdrawal from the Anglican Consultative Council, as they have requested. The second is whether to have a moratorium on same sex blessings within the Anglican Church of Canada.
for a better explanation see: news on CoGS.
My personal prayers on this have lead me to understand that we should honour the request to withdrawal for these next three years as we have much to contemplate before General Synod in 2007 and Lambeth in 2008; ECUSA, the Episcopal Church in the United States of America has already agreed to withdrawal (though I have heard in sarcasm that they have given in to a conservative "political" agenda within the church due to financial contributions... I pray this is a false perception). My current Diocesan Executive Council, in the Diocese of Quebec, moved support of a plan from some members of CoGS to attend the Anglican Consultative Council (I was the only dissenting vote around the table and spoke against the motion). I also remain quite conservative on the issue of same sex blessings, in spite of my friendship with many much loved gay members of this vast Church of ours. But I keep my prayers open and look for the Holy Spirit's guidance in our Councils and of course in the understanding of Scripture. My prayer always in reading the Word is to hear the voice of Christ Jesus.
As we pray, I invite you not to ask our Lord to move a particular view forward or to squash anyone's firm belief, but to ask for openness and a Spirit of love and humility in the preparations and for the meeting this weekend. Let us keep the same tone of prayer that the above offers for our small part of this great Communion of ours. Let us also recall that we are just a part of a Greater Church, with Christians throughout the world who seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in interpreting the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Word made flesh.
I bid you peace in this traditional time of prayer, in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
Douglas+
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