Posted on 07/26/2005 12:49:59 PM PDT by sionnsar
I attended the Prayer Service held at Trinity Church in Bristol last Sunday, July 17th. It was a prayer and praise service in support of St. John’s Bristol to show our solidarity and intercede for them. At the same time Bishop Smith was meeting with the parishioners of St. John’s at their church. The Prayer Service was not widely announced beforehand and I heard that at least one of the CT-6 churches was not aware of it.
Regardless of how many knew about the service, the church was filled! I think it is important to know that there were pastors from other denominations there, as well as a large contingent from Trinity and Christ Church since we are close-by. I was amazed at the amount of support for the CT-6 not only from within our own parishes but also from others far and wide. It made me think afterward that sometimes we feel the ACN or other churches do not support us – but in reality they DO. We are not alone. We may not know all the “behind the scenes” work that is going on, but it is there and we must trust that God is working in all of this.
Most of the service centered on praise music and time for prayer for Rev. Mark Hansen and also for the other 5 pastors. We also prayed for the leadership in each of the CT-6 parishes and specifically for the meeting between St, John’s and the Bishop. There was much joy and worship. We read again the New Testament passage for that Sunday, Romans 8:18 - “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” In addition, Rev. Don Helmandollar read from the book of Jude and preached about how it still applies to us today.
Two points were emphasized during the prayer service and afterwards as well when some St. John’s members came over after the meeting with the Bishop. They are - “Unity in the Body” and “Mission”. We are all united in the body of Jesus Christ and there shall be no division amongst us. This past week one of the readings I have come across is Mark 3:24-27 “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered”. I believe this applies to us today as well. As a house (parish) we must be united so that we are able to stand.
The second point that was brought up was mission. Our one true mission is to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”. At times during these past months many of us (including me) have focused on the issues surrounding ECUSA and forgotten what our mission is in the greater church – the body of Christ. This includes building up the members of the body, equipping us for ministry, and sending us out into the world to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ who has come to save us.
We can not forget to be unified as One and that our purpose is for His Kingdom to come and dwell in each of us.
To His Glory,
Christ Church Parishioner
CT-6 Member
Anglican Church Member
His Kingdom Member
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.