May, June, July 2012
To the Reader:
As we head toward July, many clergy and lay leaders in The Episcopal Church will be thinking about General Convention and the triennial gathering of Episcopal Church Women (ECW) in Indianapolis. Please keep the bishops, deputies, and ECW delegates in your prayers—that our church might seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our deliberations and fellowship.
Since its founding in 1935, Forward Movement has worked to form true disciples. We believe that The Episcopal Church will be vibrant when its congregations are healthy—and that congregations will be healthy when our pews are filled with disciples rather than habitual Christians. Please pray for the whole church—The Episcopal Church, your diocese, your congregation, and your own life as a disciple. The world has great need, and our vitality is important so that we can do the work we’ve been given to do.
If you find sustenance in the pages of Forward Day by Day, I hope you will urge your friends to form a daily practice of prayer and contemplation. Perhaps they too will find Forward Day by Day to be a useful resource. To meet individual needs, we offer Forward Day by Day on the web, by email, and as a mobile app for some smartphones, in addition to several print formats.
All three authors in this issue are priests. May’s is a woman who works in Native American ministry. June and July feature men who serve in southeastern states.
Scott Gunn
Executive Director
Prayers included in the Forward Day by Day print edition:
For the Church
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.
For a Church Convention
Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel at General Convention for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For the Parish
Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Guidance
Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
