From the Rector

Dear Friends in Christ,

This past Sunday, in the annual meeting sermon, I talked about a new initiative focused on prayer and devotion at the beginning of our parish meetings and gatherings. The first draft of those devotional guides is done and printed and in the rooms.

The intent is for us, beginning this Sunday, February 4, to utilize those devotional guides whenever we gather—wherever two or three are gathered together in Christ’s name. All that we do here is centered on the life and ministry of Christ and his saving work and by beginning our deliberations and meeting with time set aside for him first, we can better seek his will in all that we do. 

We hope that you’ll take a devotional home with you to use if you like, as well.

A disciplined life of prayer was at the heart of the Anglican experiment—and it was and is that: an experiment. When the monasteries were abolished in England and the Book of Common Prayer and Bible were published in vernacular English, the expectation was that every English Christian would make their home a kind of monastic outpost.

The monastic prayers offered throughout the day were now put in the hands and language of every believer with the expectation and hope that they would take on the work of prayer and devotion that had been seen as the job of the professionals in the monastery and the church. It was a radical expectation and met the stated desire of many faithful people to be able to pray and study Scripture in the home—to shape their daily lives with God’s Word.

So we’ll do our small part here with these daily devotions to honor that intent and hope, and I pray that you’ll consider taking on some of this at home too.

Assessing these kinds of spiritual practices, and many others, is the purpose of the RenewalWorks survey I mentioned in the annual meeting address video. RenewalWorks is designed to offer a snapshot of the spiritual vitality of a congregation and map its spiritual practices and attitudes. This gives us a sense of our strengths and opportunities and helps guide our decision making around programming and formation in the years ahead.

Bible studies, Daily Bread reflections, and more came out of the last round of RenewalWorks and your participation will help guide us in determining where our efforts and energy will go in the future. In some ways, just like we use your pledges to build a budget, we will use your survey answers to build our programming. Both depend on your participation and both are crucial to our planning in the months ahead.

I encourage you to take the anonymous survey. Use it as a time to reflect on your own practices.

All of this is about the deeper encounter with Christ and the opportunity for us to grow in faithful witness together. Thank you for being a part of all that we do here and for your own commitment to deepening your life of prayer, devotion, and service in Christ. 

Yours in Christ’s Love,

—Fr Robert