Lent: Pray for the Church

 During Lent, here on the blog, I’m looking at the Prayers for World, Church, Nation, Social Order, Natural Order, and Family as found at the end of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and borrowing from the Episcopal Church’s 2021 Lent curriculum: Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, which is exploring the seven disciplines of the Way of Love. We’ve already seen that Turn is a perfect way to start Lent and that Pray is our entry into faith-filled Lenten practices. Prayer for our World is especially important in this COVID-tide as we are so closely linked with all our sisters and brothers around the globe.

Today we will see how the Way of Love tenet “Learn” can inform our prayers and interaction, esp. with the Church universal. The Lent curriculum tells us, “Lent has always been the traditional time of study and growth for those who seek to follow Jesus’ way and LEARN his life and teachings. As Christians, we are invited to continue to grow in our knowledge and love of God. Remember, Episcopal tradition holds that we never really “arrive” in our journey with God…However, gaining wisdom is not simply studying a book or memorizing a few facts. Wisdom goes beyond mere knowledge into action. We cannot be considered wise if we do not act in accordance with what we have learned. Wisdom demands integrity.”

Intentional prayer for the church, your local congregation, diocese, province, national and international benefits from learning about the beliefs and about the needs in and of the church. The Lent study notes, “When we are dedicated to learning more about God’s wisdom through relationship with Jesus and with others, we open ourselves up to God’s holy word made manifest in all with whom we come in contact.” The same is true when we learn more about our own church and even about other faith traditions. We begin to see and learn where we agree, what we don’t always agree about, and how our worship styles are the same or different.

Learning about the church beyond our own parish can really enrich our lives. In this COVID-tide, many are virtually attending church services from more than one parish or even denomination. My husband and I have developed the habit of Sunday worship at both the Washington National Cathedral and our home church. On a couple of Sundays, we’ve “attended” Baptist services when my granddaughter was doing a solo. Nearly every day I find time for Morning Prayer from Washington National Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, or my own parish.  

Seeing how other places worship and hearing different preachers is enriching and helps us learn and grow in knowledge. Often the Washington National Cathedral invites guest speakers who I would not have heard otherwise. These women and men give new insight into scripture from their lives, culture, and faith traditions.

You might want to take time this week to find out what your faith community professes at a local and national level. For instance, the Episcopal Church website states: The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ, in 111 dioceses and regional areas in 17 nations. The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The mission of the church, as stated in the Book of Common Prayer’s catechism (p. 855), is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” As part of that mission, we’re following Jesus into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, with each other and with the earth as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.  We seek every day to love God with our whole heart, mind and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40)."

"As the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, and followers of Jesus’ Way, we seek to live like him. We’re serious about moving out to grow loving, liberating, life-giving relationships with God (evangelism); to grow those relationships with each other (reconciliation); and to grow those relationships with all of creation (creation care). [This is done via]:

EVANGELISM: Listen for Jesus’ movement in our lives and in the world. Give thanks. Proclaim and celebrate it! Invite the Spirit to do the rest.

RECONCILIATION: Embody the loving, liberating, life-giving way of Jesus with each other.

CREATION CARE: Encounter and honor the face of God in creation."

The Episcopal Church website suggests: "TRY THIS:  Look around and notice wherever you see people nurturing relationship 1) with God, 2) with each other and 3) with creation. What’s happening? What’s helping people to heal and live in sync with God, with each other and with the earth? What are the fruits of these relationships?"

As you learn about your church, you might ask yourself if you accept the tenets of your faith community. If so, why? If not, what do you disagree with?

Do you feel called to act more deeply in your city or church, or in your Diocese or Province or beyond?

At the end of the BCP, there are Prayers for the Church, including for parishes, diocese, etc. I’ve chosen the first one for this week.

Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.

And from the Lent curriculum:

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 216)

Lent: Pray for the World

 Welcome to Lent. A lot has been talked about regarding the idea that because most (all?) of us went into some kind of social distancing, lock-down, quarantine scenario about this time last year, that we have been in Lent for a year. There have certainly been times when it felt like a never-ending period of upheaval, and even penitence.

On the other hand, I think we may have also found some new insights (some painful) about our corporate lives as Christians, as Americans, as neighbors across the globe. We’ve discovered how inextricably linked we are to each other and how a little virus in China can impact the entire world. We’ve seen how the actions or inactions of a few can have devastating impacts on populations. We’ve also seen people of all ages, creeds, cultures, and skin-tones step up to work for solutions and be on the front lines and work food pantries and advocate for change. We’ve discovered ways to make technology, like Zoom, our friend and ally in reaching one another, virtually.

And now we are in Lent again. In this Lent blog journey, I am focusing on praying for the World, Church, Nation, Social Order, Natural Order, and Family. There are prayers in the back of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP) for each of these topics. This week we are focusing on the World.

My Lent blog this year will also borrow from the Episcopal Church’s 2021 Lent curriculum: Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent. I’ve used the Way of Love disciplines in other blog series since 2019, and in my most recent book, The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love. The seven disciplines or tenets offer a blueprint for living faith-filled lives. Last week, for Ash Wednesday, we looked at TURN. The curriculum suggests writing a letter to yourself detailing what changes you hope to make in Lent. You can still do that this week, then put it away safely until Easter.

This week, we are looking at PRAY, a very basic cornerstone for any journey with God. Exodus 14:10-15:1 is the familiar story of the Crossing of the Red Sea (depicted in this The Crossing of the Red Sea by Nicolas Poussin (1633–34)). It “one of the most important baptismal stories in the whole Bible. In the blessing over the water, which we PRAY at every baptism, we remember that the Hebrews were liberated from bondage in Egypt through water….[In] this powerful story…prayer has been woven through every step the Israelites took in their path to liberation. When they were afraid and even doubted, their prayer was heard by God who told them that he would not abandon them. When they were about to be overtaken by the Egyptians, their prayer for deliverance was answered. Moses was given the power to part the sea, and they crossed on dry land. Finally, when they were safe, the prophet Miriam led a prayer of rejoicing and thanksgiving with song and dancing. Each of these prayers is important to the story and to the relationship built between God and God’s people.”

If you want to, you can watch the short video of this week’s lesson on the Life Transformed page. S

The Life Transformed curriculum notes that there are seven types of prayer:

1. “Adoration: We lift up our hearts and minds to God, asking nothing but to enjoy God’s presence.
2. Praise: We praise God, not to obtain anything, but because God’s Being draws praise from us.
3. Thanksgiving: We offer gratitude to God for all the blessings of this life, for our redemption, and for whatever draws us closer to God.
4. Penitence: In penitence, we say we are sorry, confess our sins, and make amends and life change wherever possible.
5. Oblation: We offer ourselves, our lives and labors, in union with Christ, for God’s purposes.
6. Intercession: We bring before God the needs of others.
7. Petition: We present our own needs, that God’s will may be done.”

There are many ways to do each of these types of prayer. Using written prayers, movement, music, silence, or art are just some of the ways to pray. I’m sure you have your own favorite way of praying. Perhaps this week is a time to try out a different method. If you usually read prayers, try writing your own or drawing your prayer. If you have never tried praying with music and movement, why not now? If you think silence isn’t ‘your thing’, Lent is the perfect time to attempt to sit silently with God for a minute or two. (Don’t try a long, long time to start!) If you’ve never done lexio divino or lexio visio research and try that.

Our topic of PRAY is especially suited to the WORLD at this time. Because we are so closely linked with one another due to COVID19, we can and should bring all the world to God in prayer. The easiest way to pray for the world is to use the prayers in the BCP starting on page 814 or online (click on Prayers and Thanksgivings in the menu).

You could pray for the world using a different type of prayer each day and/or using an unfamiliar method. For instance, on Sunday, Pray for the countries of the world with Adoration. Use movement to do so, like envisioning walking around the globe, praying for each country you ‘visit’. For Monday, offer Praise for the world using music or art. Find a piece of music or art from various countries and focus on them while praying.

The Life Transformed curriculum homework suggests taking “a small piece of paper and write down the different types of PRAYER listed in the catechism. Post these somewhere you can see them every day. Some good places might include your steering wheel, your mirror, or your computer screen. At least once a day, commit to offering up one prayer from each type, paying attention to what the Holy Spirit might be teaching your heart.”

In closing, I offer this prayer from the BCP for The Human Family:

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And this one from the curriculum:

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 231)