Thy Kingdom Come - an introduction - April 23, 2017

As announced last week from the pulpit, we will be participating in The Archbishop of Canterbury’s program Thy Kingdom Come.

The official dates of the program are May 25 to June 4.  These are the days beginning with The Feast of the Ascension (Fortieth Day after Easter) and Whitsunday, also known as Pentecost.  We will begin with a special evening Holy Communion Service on May 25th to celebrate the Feast Day, and then for the 9 days following we will have daily Communion and a special Evening Prayer session out at the Prayer Wall (weather permitting, or inside) with an opportunity to have a parishioner give a testimony to their faith in Jesus Christ. 

The daily Communion Service is important because it is primarily who we are - a Christ-centered, Bible-believing community that takes Jesus at His command to eat His flesh and drink His blood under the species of the bread and wine of His Sacrament.  The Catechism defines a Sacrament as “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us; ordained by Christ Himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof” (p. 581 - Book of Common Prayer).  Jesus has commanded and given it to us with the promise of His Grace.

The other daily event, Evening Prayer, is also something that helps to define us as faithful Christians in the Anglican Tradition.  This tradition has for centuries molded the lives of holy men and women in a regular systematic form of Scriptural reading and worship.

Common to both these daily events is that they are forms of PRAYER.  Prayer is the vehicle for Thy Kingdom Come.  But our praying is not confined to just these two Prayer Book formularies.  NOW is the time for all of us to START PRAYING!  Every day ask God to bless the upcoming program, bless this parish, and pray that He will help us to know Jesus better so that we can share Him with others.  LET US PRAY - every day, starting right now!