Tag Archives: Episcopal

Forward Today: You CAN make a difference

Dear friends in Christ,

As I mentioned last week, there’s been a lot of heartbreaking news lately. Images and stories out of Haiti and Afghanistan are challenging. The pandemic continues its deadly spread. How can we respond?

I’ve heard people say, “There’s nothing I can do.” Perhaps it’s true that no one of us can single-handedly solve any of these global problems. But it’s just not true that there’s nothing to do. As I said last week, prayer is always a good act. For those of us who are Episcopalians, there are other concrete steps we and our churches can take.

If, like me, you would like to see a serious commitment to welcome Afghan refugees in the US and other nations, you can take action. For people living in the US, the Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations has a simple way to help you contact your Senators and Representatives. Just fill out a brief form to advocate for action to welcome more refugees.

While you’re on that page, notice the link at the bottom if you’d like to make a financial contribution to Episcopal Migration Ministries to support their work in settling refugees. You and your congregation can also indicate your interest in volunteering to help settle refugees. It’s rewarding work, and I hope you will consider doing this Gospel work.

Earthquake damage in Haiti

The people of Haiti have suffered more than most of us can comprehend. It’s been one disaster after another for more than a century. In response to the recent earthquake, you can donate to Episcopal Relief & Development’s relief work there. As you may know, the Diocese of Haiti is part of the Episcopal Church, so Episcopal Relief & Development has a good network through which to do its work.

If you are concerned about the continued spread of COVID, there are several steps you can take. Episcopal Relief & Development has a COVID relief fund that will be especially important for developing nations where a lack a resources may make vaccine campaigns challenging. The Office of Government Relations has a vaccine toolkit to support your work in encouraging vaccination among those who are hesitant. If you have influence over policy, you can create incentives or requirements for the vaccine in your organization, whether church or secular.

Don’t accept “there’s nothing I can do” as reality. There’s work for you. And there’s work for your church. Jesus commands us to love our neighbors, and our neighbors around the world need our love.

And let us never cease to pray.

Almighty God our heavenly Father, you declare your glory and show forth your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth: Deliver us in our various occupations from the service of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in truth and beauty and for the common good; for the sake of him who came among us as one who serves, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

Scott Gunn
Executive Director


More from our ministry:

Online Course: Civil Conversations in Uncivil Times with Ray Suarez

From Grow Christians, our family blog: A Summer Morning, Broken Glass and the Bus Stop

Reading suggestion: Book ideas for churches and small groups!

Last minute ideas for Easter

Easter Sunday is only 13 days away! We have book club ideas, reading for individuals and families, a colorable calendar to follow the 50 days of Easter, downloadable resources, and more formation tools to inspire you and your congregation.

Shipping notice: Order soon to get your materials in time, and be sure to select a shipping option based off your delivery needs. Due to ongoing postal delays that are out of our control we recommend calling for any rush shipping information and charges. Call 800-543-1813 Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30pm ET and one of our helpful customer service team members to walk through options with you.

 


 

Alleluia! 50 Days and 50 Ways to Celebrate Easter

Easter is more than a day—it’s a season! Unbury the alleluias and shout with joy, celebrating the risen Christ.

Illustrated by award-winning cartoonist Jay Sidebotham, this calendar poster invites spiritual reflection and is a wonderful companion for the Easter season. This poster is just right for hanging on the wall or keeping on a table for daily coloring. Share these with your congregation, youth group, friends, and family, and keep them on hand for coloring fun.

Buy now!

Print your copies locally! Can’t wait for shipping on this calendar? Check out the downloadable version for printing at your local print shop! *Please note this digital download product is Copyright 2021 Forward Movement and only licensed for local printing, and not for any other distribution method. All applicable copyright laws apply. Print as many as you’d like, but the contents may not be shared through other channels, such as email/social media, or any other distribution channel.

 


 

Celebrating the 50 Days of Easter

Celebrating 50 Days of EasterThe fifty days of Easter offer an opportunity to practice living as a resurrected people- and then to take that practice into the rest of the church year.

In this pamphlet author Nancy Hopkins-Greene explores ways let go of fear, cultivate signs of new life, read the Bible, bring new life to others, and invite God into your questions.

Pamphlets come in packs of 10 and make great additions to care packages!

Buy Now!

 


 

Easter and Holy Week Infographic Bundle

This downloadable series is comprised of five compelling visuals that explain much of the history, traditions, and practices surrounding Holy Week and Easter in the Anglican tradition of Christianity. Created by designer and Episcopal priest Chris Corbin, these infographics provide a contemporary way to engage and teach people of all ages about their faith.

The Easter & Holy Week Evangelism Bundle includes Holy Week, The Triduum, The Way of the Cross, Easter, and Pentecost, and is intended for print and digital distribution.

You’ll receive a download link to the high resolution PDF, JPEG, and PNG versions of each infographic; suitable for printing in-house, taking to a local print shop, sharing on your website or social media channels, and/or incorporating into a publication. Files print nicely on standard ledger paper (11” x 17”) or could be taken to a local print shop to be made into posters.

Download now!

 


 

50 Day Bible Challenge Series

The Way Of Love Bible ChallengeYou and your community can easily take a deep dive into one of the four Gospels, the Book of Acts, or see how scripture connects with the Way of Love practices.

Our 50 Day Bible Challenge books are perfect for the Easter season, with daily scripture, meditations, and prayers written by dynamic spiritual leaders from across the United States and around the world.

These titles, edited by the Rev. Marek Zabriskie, are part of The Bible Challenge, a global initiative to encourage daily engagement with scripture and an exploration of the Word of God.

Explore 50 Day Bible Challenge books now!

 


 

Explore Bible stories from the inside out, with the Bible Spy Series!
Perfect for children and families!

The Spy On Noah's ArkFrom author Lindsay Hardin Freeman, The Spy on Noah’s Ark and The Spy at Jacob’s Ladder bring the Bible to life, with collections of popular stories told from the inside out. Each page is sure to stir up your heart and mind as you read along, meeting old friends and making new ones.

You are invited to be a spy too at some of the most beloved stories of the Bible, placing yourself as participant and witness to God’s unfolding and unfailing grace and love. For ages 7-12. Perfect for emerging readers as well as for adults and children to read along together.

Buy one or the set!

 


 

Take a personal spiritual journey with My Way of Love, powered by RenewalWorks

My Way of LoveMy Way of Love, powered by RenewalWorks is a personal guide for the spiritual journey, providing coaching to help individuals grow along the seven practices for Jesus-centered life: turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, and rest. It begins with a brief online survey which assesses where you are in your spiritual life.

Created in partnership with the Office of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, this online assessment and coaching tool provides tips for improving your own spiritual journey, based on research from hundreds of thousands of Christians.

You can complete the initial assessment and stop there, or sign up for an eight-week series of emails that will offer some suggestions, coaching for how you can grow spiritually, and ways you can go deeper in love of God and neighbor.

Get started now!

 


 

Explore our interactive eCatalog for more ideas!

2021 Spring and Summer eCatalogOur online catalog provides many more ideas for individuals, families, and congregations.

Watch videos from our authors, browse our online courses from ChurchNext (our online learning platform), and learn about subscription options to Forward Day by Day, our iconic daily devotional.

View our interactive eCatalog here!

 

 

Watch: Presiding Bishop Curry’s Invitation to the Good Book Club

We’re getting really excited about the Good Book Club, the churchwide initiative to read together from the Gospel of Luke and Book of Acts next Lent-Easter.  But don’t listen to us tell it… Here’s Presiding Bishop Curry offering an invitation to the GBC!

Want to learn more? Like the Good Book Club Facebook page for updates during the leadup to the initiative, and head to goodbookclub.org for details on getting your church involved.

Meeting Jesus on the Margins: Ash Wednesday

2381 Meeting Jesus on the Margins

One of our most powerful meditation resources this Lent is Meeting Jesus on the Margins: Meditations on Matthew 25.

These reflections look at Jesus’ mission with the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned—the marginalized.

Today, Ash Wednesday, we’re posting the first reflection from the volume, written by Mike Kinman. It’s part of a first section that focuses on the matter of hunger in its myriad forms. We hope you find meaning in Mike’s words, and share them as you see fit.

 


 

February 10 Ash Wednesday

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith. —The Book of Common Prayer, pp. 264-5

The simplest question is the most useful: Why?

We need always to be asking “Why?” and not letting our quickest answers, which are most deeply rooted in our prejudices, be our final answer.

When we see someone using the steps of a public library as a bed at night, we need to ask “Why?”

When we read a story about a transgender teenager committing suicide, we need to ask “Why?”

When we go into a grocery store in an impoverished neighborhood and see a fully stocked liquor shelf and no fresh produce, we need to ask “Why?”

When we learn we incarcerate a higher percentage of our citizens than any nation in the world, we need to ask “Why?”

When we see young people of color burn down the Quik Trip convenient store in Ferguson, Missouri, we need to ask “Why?”

And as we embark on our Lenten journey, we need to ask “Why?”

Our first answer, rooted in what we’ve always been taught, might be that we observe Lent as an exercise in self-flagellation, so that, in Paul’s words, we might not “think of ourself more highly than we ought” (Romans 12:3). We might think our Lenten observance is grounded in our unworthiness. But we need to dig deeper.

The prayer at the beginning of our Ash Wednesday liturgy gives us the answer. We observe a holy Lent to remember Jesus’ gospel of “pardon and absolution.” Lent is not about confession and repentance as punishment but as a profound, grace-filled unburdening so that we might encounter the living Christ in all Christ’s abundant joy.

This book sets our Lenten journey in that context of meeting Christ…meeting Christ right where he tells us he will be…in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner. It is a journey of seeing all those people as Jesus. Of asking “Why?” and not being satisfied by our first answer. Of realizing that those whom the world of power and privilege label as “them” are really the deepest and most sacred portion of “us.”

—Mike Kinman

Click here to get a copy of Meeting Jesus on the Margins, or to download the book to your e-reader.