Saturday September 20th, 2014 Philippians 1:21-30
I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit? for the faith of the gospel? (verse 27b)
It seems we get an email from the synod office saying that another church is closing its doors at least once a year now. In one of the towns in which I am serving, a United Church across the street closed its doors in 2004 and was turned into a museum. In the words of Alanis Morissette, “Isn’t it ironic?”
The national joint assembly in Ottawa in 2013 reenergized me for the faith of the gospel. Yes, statistically we are still closing churches, but as we gathered with our Anglican brothers and sisters, I could see that the church is still very much alive.
We filled the parliament grounds when calling on our government to provide clean water for our First Nation friends in the north. When we put our diffferences aside and stand firm in one spirit we can shine a greater light in our communities.
In the other town in which I am serving, four different church leaders get together to talk about what we can do together for the love of the world. Our congregations are building relationships with one another through this work. You can really see that in this town, God’s light shines brightly.
Unifying God, help us put our differences aside for the faith of the gospel. Amen. — WHB
Contributed by We Stand Together for the Love of the World
It seems we get an email from the synod office saying that another church is closing its doors at least once a year now. In one of the towns in which I am serving, a United Church across the street closed its doors in 2004 and was turned into a museum. In the words of Alanis Morissette, "Isn't it ironic?"
The national joint assembly in Ottawa in 2013 reenergized me for the faith of the gospel. Yes, statistically we are still closing churches, but as we gathered with our Anglican brothers and sisters, I could see that the church is still very much alive.
We filled the parliament grounds when calling on our government to provide clean water for our First Nation friends in the north. When we put our diffferences aside and stand firm in one spirit we can shine a greater light in our communities.
In the other town in which I am serving, four different church leaders get together to talk about what we can do together for the love of the world. Our congregations are building relationships with one another through this work. You can really see that in this town, God's light shines brightly.
