Welcome to the latest In Case You Missed It, a.k.a. ICYMI, our weekly blog roundup of the latest stories around the @fwd_mvt and #Episcopal world.
We saw several excellent articles on nonpartisan offerings from churches this week. Writing in ECF Vital Practices, Richelle Thompson described churches opening their doors for simple prayer on Friday. Key quote:
“What if the doors were simply open and all were invited to spend time in prayer? Isn’t our God bigger than all of this Sturm und Drang?”
This Episcopal News Service article made a similar point:
“We Episcopalians call ourselves people of common prayer, and that usually means worshiping together using the words of the Book of Common Prayer. But, shared silence can also be a form of common prayer.”
If you or your parish is looking for a resource for reconciliation in divisive times, we recommend Living Reconciliation, which offers tools for finding common ground. It’s an excellent book, with a foreword by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
Of course, daily prayer and reflection is always an excellent resource. Our Question of the Week on social media this week focused on Forward Day by Day. Here’s what we asked:
We heard some great responses to this one, with start dates ranging from “over 50 years ago” to “last month”! A few favorites:
“St. Francis Episcopal Church in Moab Utah provides these booklets. First time I took one, been hooked ever since. I find forward day by day very inspirational.”
“A lady in my bible study group. I now read it everyday.”
“In 1995 we were living in Stuttgart Germany, my Husband was in the US Army I attended The Episcopal Church St Catherine’s the Church’s Atrium was a little table that had the little Booklets Foward Day by Day I took one and I have been reading them ever since!”
“Been a part of my life for so long I cant recall.”
“It was only a month ago that I became hooked, reading 📖 all the scriptures daily. It was at Trinity Episcopal Church, Easton, Pa. THANKS 🙏 to you & God. You make my day!😊”
You can read more responses on the Forward Day by Day and Forward Movement Facebook pages. Are you a faithful (or occasional) Forward Day by Day reader? Who first introduced you?
On a related note, Forward Day by Day will soon be launching a new feature called Moving Forward. Starting in February, meditations will end with an extra action readers can take—and we hope you’ll join in these and connect with fellow readers using the hashtag #ForwardDaybyDay. Stay tuned!