The day opened with Eucharist. Bishop Skilton was the officiant. He knows both the Dean and Terence--and sends his love.
Bishop Howe preached on the Fruit of the Spirit--noting that All the Fruits are given to All Believers. The Fruit of the Spirit gives us a character pleasing to God because it is taking on Christ's character.
Love, Joy, Peace, etc. (all the fruits) are not a matter of feelings or circumstances--they are choices! Looking at Jn. 15, the Bishop noted that God wills that we are fruitful and produces fruit when we abide in Him. He commands that we love one another in order to express the Love He gives us. Lastly, while pruning is not fun--it produces greater fruit.
Mary McGregor's talk was on Eyes to See, A Mind to Know, and Heart to Understand. She had us do an exercise where we used I AM statements to explain who we are to another Daughter (i.e. I am a mother, author, wife...etc.) She again reminded us that we are part of the Story of Faith and should find disciplines to help us stay connected to our faith and our God.
The business meetings today were intense. Feelings are high about the inclusion or non-inclusion of non-Episcopal Daughters. Today one revision of the By-Laws did not pass--meaning we are still back with the same old definition of Daughter membership (Sec. 3, 1--if you want to look it up.)
Tonight is a healing service and tomorrow we will move on to more sections of the proposed by-laws revisions. Keep those prayers coming!!
A blog by Cynthia Davis, author and retreat leader. Thoughts about faith, the world, and life.
