A Season of Prayer: For an Election - October 29th

Join us in our novena (9 days of prayer) for an election as found at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z5lre39QHq_dBixV9yIehYZN0o-HQ1hO/view?usp=sharing

A Litany For Sound Government

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth.
Lord, keep this nation under your care.

To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

And finally, teach our people to rely on your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve you faithfully in our generation and honor your holy Name.
For yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Amen.

OCTOBER 29th Pray for those who influence public opinion

Almighty God, you proclaim your truth in every age by many voices: Direct, in our time, we pray, those who speak where many listen and write what many read; that they may do their part in making the heart of this people wise, its mind sound, and its will righteous; to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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A Season of Prayer: For an Election - October 28th

Join us in our novena (9 days of prayer) for an election as found at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z5lre39QHq_dBixV9yIehYZN0o-HQ1hO/view?usp=sharing

A Litany For Sound Government

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth.
Lord, keep this nation under your care.

To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

And finally, teach our people to rely on your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve you faithfully in our generation and honor your holy Name.
For yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Amen.

OCTOBER 28th Pray for every human heart

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Season of Prayer: For an Election - October 27th

Join us in our novena (9 days of prayer) for an election as found at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z5lre39QHq_dBixV9yIehYZN0o-HQ1hO/view?usp=sharing

A Litany For Sound Government

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth.
Lord, keep this nation under your care.

To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served.
Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

And finally, teach our people to rely on your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve you faithfully in our generation and honor your holy Name.
For yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Amen.

OCTOBER 27th Pray for the nation

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Stewardship Reflection - Freely Giving our All to God

Freely Giving our All to God
By Rob Townes

PDF for printing

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’….
And … ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” – Matthew 22:36-39

There’s a saying that the chicken who lays an egg makes a contribution, but the chicken who makes a sandwich offers a sacrifice. One could say that Jesus was alluding to the latter when he responded to the question as to which was the greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all of who you are.” He was asking for more than a contribution; he was asking for the sacrifice of our all.

As the Latin root of the word suggests, a sacrifice — a sacrum facere — makes one holy. Giving generously of that of which you are a steward — your heart, soul, mind and all your possessions — is life giving. And it is countercultural. As the bumper sticker declares, “S/He who dies with the most toys wins.” That’s a powerfully seductive statement. Only with God’s help can we avoid being allured into thinking that it is in acquiring possessions that our life gains meaning. May we grow in the wisdom that a rich life results in trusting that it is in God we live and move and have our being. 

This reflection is written while visiting Green Bough House of Prayer in Scott, Georgia. Here the three residents, with the company of 77 associates, have dedicated their lives, their all, to God and have taken on a Rule of Life to embrace silence, prayer, simplicity and living in the present moment, and accept all as coming from God. Do all for God. Offer all to God. This to me is a beautiful example of Faith-Filled Generosity.

Very few members of the Church dedicate themselves to full-time contemplative living, but all of us are invited to learn to live Jesus’ greatest commandment, trusting that in so doing, Faith-Filled Generosity will flourish in our lives.

As we move back into our church buildings, remembering only too well the COVID-19-caused absence of normalcy, may we re-enter with a renewed commitment to freely giving our all to God and faithfully loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Rob Townes received his Master of Divinity degree from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and has spent his professional career as a nonprofit and church fundraising consultant.

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Stewardship Reflection - Give to God the Things that are God's

Give to God the Things that are God’s
By The Rt. Rev. Diane M. Jardine Bruce

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Once again in today’s gospel the Pharisees are trying to trip up Jesus. If Jesus supports the paying of the tax, his Jewish siblings who are rebelling against the Roman occupation will shun him. If Jesus says it’s unlawful to pay the tax, he’ll be in trouble with the Roman authorities. What does Jesus do? He asks them to look at the coin. It is a Roman coin. Pay the tax – meaning give the Emperor back his own coin! Then Jesus adds that wonderful line — give to God the things that are God’s.

What exactly IS God’s? Well, we are! Our Christian faith in God points us always to live a life of gratitude and generosity. God showed us how we are to live and how to give to God the things that are God’s: God gave us God’s son, God’s first fruit, and we are asked to do the same, remembering that everything we have, everything we do, everything we are is a gift from God — and it is a gift that is meant to be shared. When we share from our first fruits, as God shared God’s first fruit with us, we are modeling the same generosity God has shown us.

Remember, we have two sets of three legged-stools in our Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement: scripture, reason and tradition, and time, talent and treasure. The first shapes our faith; the second is how we use the gifts we have been given to live out our faith.

The Rt. Rev. Diane M. Jardine Bruce is the Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Los Angeles. Her ministry focuses heavily on stewardship, financial sustainability and New Community development.

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News from the Red Doors - October 16, 2020

This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker

Dear St. Paul's Family,

As our nation prepares for one of the most controversial elections we've likely seen in our lifetimes, regardless of the outcome, we must be deeply in prayer.  The election process will continue to be foremost in the news and social media through election day and beyond.  Again, regardless of who is elected, it will be contentious.  There will be winners and losers.  How we handle our reaction to "winning" or "losing" is critical.  As believers, we must be prepared to shine the light of Christ in our words and deeds.  We must be deeply in prayer.

As your priest, you are loved regardless of how you vote.  I respect that you have opinions and perspectives either similar to or different than mine.  It is my desire for you to feel loved and accepted regardless of your personal voting preference.  St. Paul's has room for a wide variety of beliefs.  We all love and worship the same God!

To that end, I would like to offer the following items:

  • Beginning October 27th, I urge you to join me in a novena of prayer for the election called "A Season of Prayer: For An Election".  The novena (9 days of prayer) we will use has been gathered from the Book of Common Prayer and shared in conjunction with The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations and Forward Movement.  These will be posted to our Facebook page daily.  Handouts from this website will be available for you to pick up over the next two Sundays at church.
     

  • On election day, Tuesday November 3rd, the church will be open for prayer from 9am-4:30pm.  At 9:15am, 12:15pm, 4:15pm we will offer a said Morning, Noonday, and Evening prayer.  Stop by for those offerings, or slip in for your own time of private prayer.  (Masks are required.  Please maintain social distancing.)
     

  • The Presiding Bishop's Office recently shared a resource entitled “With Malice Toward None”.  It is a program designed for churches and groups to provide a way for understanding and healing for all sides of our political divisions, both before and after the November election - https://braverangels.org/what-we-do/with-malice-toward-none/. 

    While I don't intend to implement the whole group study aspect of this, please visit the website and review their intention and pledge and consider how you will also love _even_ the neighbor who voted differently from you and wants to argue about it with you!

Friends, this is a time for us to be in prayer and to shine Christ's light.  We are uniquely positioned to do so in our faith tradition.  Let us lead by example and share Christ's light brightly over these next few weeks! 
Blessings!

Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 

A Sermon Not to Miss …

Please take 15 minutes and enjoy last Sunday's sermon which discussed tithing, pledging, and has an entertaining twist of lots of dead batteries for the speaker system!  (With special thanks to our organist John for always being prepared and ready to help!)