Category Archives: Forward Today

Forward Today: Praying without ceasing

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A white woman's hand holds a prayer book open to a psalm labeled "Monday Morning." A firepit and stone pavers in the background.Dear friends in Christ,

Today could be a demanding day for a follower of Jesus. The anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 will no doubt bring out a range of reactions, some helpful and others less so. As the US presidential election draws near, we may at times alternate between hope and despair. What is a person of faith to do with all this?

Prayer is never the wrong answer.

The scriptures call us to pray without ceasing. When Jesus was met with great challenges, he turned to prayer. So prayer is a very Christlike response to challenges.

In terms of the election, I invite you to join Forward Movement in a season of prayer for an election. We are encouraging individuals and churches to pray during the nine days leading up to this November’s election, but you can use the prayers we’ve assembled any time. Let us all pray for wise discernment for voters and for courage, clarity, and compassion in all those who seek public office.

As the news media remind us of the horrors that were visited on the US 23 years ago, let us pray for those who died, for their loved ones, for those who carry scars from their work as first responders, but also for those whose hearts are filled with hatred, that they may be led from acts of violence to a place of mercy and grace instead.

I’m here to witness to the fact that prayer can bring about miracles. Let us pray for nothing less than a miraculous change in our world, one life at a time.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Follow us on Facebook, where we’ll post for the Season of Prayer

Keep prayer in your pocket all the time: Prayers for All Occasions

Scripture and essential Christian practices: The Way of Love Bible Challenge

Reflect on the prayer Jesus taught us: Bold to Say

Forward Today: When things don’t go according to plan

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Sagrada Familia in Barcelona (Photo: Scott Gunn)

Dear friends in Christ,

I’ve just come back from a three-week solo travel adventure. On this trip, I visited five countries that were new to me: Comoros, Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, and Spain. It was amazing. And it didn’t all go according to plan.

There are lots of reasons I love traveling to see the world. But one of the big reasons is that nearly every trip ends up serving to remind me of a crucial lesson for the Christian life: sometimes our plan doesn’t happen. It may be that our plan and God’s plan are different, or sometimes it may just be as simple as “stuff happens” and we must adjust to new circumstances.

When I travel, I usually have a list of things I want to see or do, with the most important ones at the top of the list. I read about how I will accomplish all these things, and then I set out. But sometimes things happen: a flight is late, a site is unexpectedly closed, there’s a traffic jam, or some other problem.

As I watch my plans evaporate, it can be tempting to get frustrated or even angry. On a good day, I remember that the point of travel is to see new things, not to execute a plan I made back home. Sometimes disruptions or last-minute changes improve my travels in ways I couldn’t imagine. Other times, I miss seeing things I really wanted to visit, and there’s no way to repair the plan.

Perspective is everything. Earlier this year, I was in Japan to see cherry blossoms. I started to get myself worked into a state because the sky was a dull gray instead of the bright blue I had hoped for. And then it clicked: “Scott, you’re in Tokyo seeing amazing cherry blossoms, and they are stunning regardless of the weather.” That’s all I needed. I went back to being delighted in God’s creation.

This lesson from travel applies to larger life, in big and small ways. We can become angry or frustrated that our plan isn’t working. Or we can adjust to the new plan, whatever the cause, and give thanks for God’s presence with us on life’s turns and twists.

I don’t believe the gospel promises that the Christian life will be easy, but the gospel does assure us that God abides with us throughout life’s journey. It’s a lesson I need to learn over and over.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

P.S. Travel photography is a hobby of mine, so if you’d like to see photos from Comoros, Egypt, Morocco, or Spain, have a look.

More from our ministry:

On sale now: The Disciple’s Way: Daily Reflections for Lent

Pray on the go with this portable Daily Office book: Hour by Hour

A new perspective on Christian life each month: Forward Day by Day

Celebrate the Season of Creation: The Creation Care Bible Challenge

Forward Today: Thinking about fall in the heat of summer

While Scott is traveling this summer, we bring you a rerun post from August 2019. Hope you enjoy it!

Dear friends in Christ,

It sure seems like the cool weather of fall is a world away. And yet, we’re only a couple of days away from the change. At Forward Movement, our summer “half-day Fridays” come to an end with the start of September. The point is, you’d better enjoy the last little bit of summer life!

Whether or not the start of September makes much of a difference in your home, it does make a difference to lots of people. This time of year is one of those times when plenty of people think of finding a new church. Is your church ready for an influx of guests?

We at Forward Movement offer lots of resources to help guests learn more about the Episcopal Church, but it’s not just about having a fresh pile of books and pamphlets. Now is a great time to check your signage, make sure your website is up to date, and clear away clutter in the hallways and entries.

I frequently hear that we need to provide a clear path for guests. How do they learn more? How do they get involved? How are they invited into membership? For small and large congregations, it’s a challenge, though the challenge is different. Larger congregations with loads of programs need to provide a roadmap (“Start here, this is next, and finally this is how to become members.”). Smaller congregations won’t have a dizzying array of programs, but they still need to provide a path. Here the solution is probably an individual meeting between guests and either lay leaders or clergy.

Our church is shrinking, and one of the reasons is that we don’t always do a good job of inviting people through our doors. And when they arrive, we’re not often good at welcoming and connecting them into ministries. Check out Invite Welcome Connect to help with this process.

Lots of people are yearning for a community with purpose. They’re waiting on you to invite them and to offer them a place.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

In case you missed it: AdventWord announces words for 2024

Send guests home with a pocket-sized gift: Forward Day by Day

Committed to growing your church in faith? RenewalWorks can help.

Forward Today: Are you ready?

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A small church, with red shingles covering its walls and a small white cross atop its a-frame roof, against a backdrop of evergreen trees.
Photo by Jim Witkowski on Unsplash

Dear friends in Christ,

In the midst of a warm, muggy summer, it might seem odd to be thinking of autumn. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking on my part. But I’m already leaping ahead to September.

In the old days, that is, just before the pandemic, autumn was a common time for seekers to go looking for churches. Lots of guests would arrive on Sunday mornings in September, people looking for a church home. We don’t have enough post-pandemic years under our belts to know if there’s a new pattern, but I suspect we’ll still see an influx of guests in our churches this fall.

Are you ready? While an Episcopal Church Welcomes You sign is a good start, a warm welcome requires warm greeters. A hospitable church will look at its signage to make sure it’s clear which door to enter, how to find the worship space, and where to use the restroom. Children will be welcomed with kid-friendly materials and perhaps a comfy space to worship alongside their grownup siblings in Christ.

Summer is a good time to look at our churches through guests’ eyes. Ever better, invite a friend who’s never been to your church to come and look around—and tell you what they see.

Jesus taught that welcoming strangers is really important. That’s especially true in our churches, where we have the opportunity to offer the blessing of hospitality to people who may be going through lots of transition.

Forward Movement offers Invite Welcome Connect with a list of ideas, but most of what we need to do only requires common sense and intentionality. The warm days of summer are the perfect time to prepare for the cool days of autumn. Now is the time for us to be ready to welcome the next seeker, to offer them the hospitality that Jesus wants us to share.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Introduce newcomers to our prayer book tradition: Inwardly Digest

Brush up on Episcopal basics: Walk in Love

Welcome new Episcopalians with a beautiful BCP Gift Edition

Sign up today for our Renewing Discipleship conference in September

Forward Today: Clinging to the rock of our salvation

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A large, dark gray slab of rock in the foreground, with the ocean and blue sky in the background. A wave crashes on the slab of rock, spraying white foam in the air.
Photo by Caio Arbulu on Unsplash

Dear friends in Christ,

Nearly every day, reading the news brings disappointment, anger, or worry. Whatever our political persuasion, I think we can agree that we wish our political situation were transformed. It would be easy to be consumed by the worries of the world.

Lately I’ve been profoundly grateful for the Psalter. Reading the psalms does not make the problems of the world vanish, but the Psalter does give me hope. The psalms remind me that my hope is in God, not in earthly things. Psalm 62 begins:

For God alone my soul in silence waits; *
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, *
my stronghold, so that I shall not be greatly shaken.

Our salvation comes not from earthly rulers or shiny things, but from God’s eternal love for us and for the whole creation.

My point today is not to minimize the sorrow and injustice of the world. Rather, my hope is that we will be strengthened by our trust in the rock of our salvation so that we may dwell in God’s presence. And from there, perhaps we will be emboldened to confront injustice and to offer consolation to the sorrowful.

Chasing the news cycle alone is a surefire path to despair. I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t stay informed! But when my first focus is on my daily prayer practice, I can take in the news and balance it alongside the Good News of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.

A good practice is to spend as much time with the Psalter as we spend in the news. Then we can rest in God’s strength, the God who loves us so very much. And our God equips us to be bearers of grace and mercy in the world.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Lament and pray with the Spirituals: Face to the Rising Sun

A simple prayer practice that renews each day: Forward Day by Day

Pray the Psalms in the Daily Office: Hour by Hour

Sign up today: Renewing Discipleship conference, September 24-26

Forward Today: Joining the work of prayer

Several Forward Movement staff members sitting in a circle of chairs in a small chapel.
Morning Prayer at the Forward Movement staff retreat

We welcome back Margaret Ellsworth, Forward Movement’s Marketing Coordinator, as our guest author this week.

Dear friends in Christ,

I’m writing you this message from the Forward Movement offices in downtown Cincinnati. Which probably sounds like the most normal thing in the world to you – but for me, it’s a novelty and a blessing. Usually I do my work for Forward Movement from my home office in Boise, Idaho. But this week (or last week, as you’re reading this), I got to join my colleagues in-person for a Forward Movement staff retreat.

We dreamed about what Forward Movement might look like in ten years, living out our mission and thriving in new ways. We got to know our colleagues as people, not just folks in the next cubicle or faces in a Zoom window. We brainstormed and we laughed and we prayed.

Something I noticed here in Cincinnati, for this rare moment when we were all gathered together in one place, is how everyone here at Forward Movement knows prayer to be part of their work. Not just helping our readers to pray. But praying for our readers, for each other, and for Jesus’ presence among us, all along the way.

Every member of this team – editors and fundraisers, email experts and data-gatherers, folks who ship the books and answer the phones – is holding you up in prayer, on a regular basis. Today I ask you if you’ll pray for us as well. As we dream about Forward Movement’s next projects and how we can support you in your discipleship and ministry, keep us in your prayers. And thank you for being part of this community.

Yours faithfully,

Margaret Ellsworth
Marketing Coordinator

More from our ministry:

On sale now: Our newest Advent devotional

A prayer book portable enough for any situation: BCP Gift Edition

Data-driven insights for spiritual growth: Signs of Life

Pray with us every day: prayer.forwardmovement.org

Forward Today: Renewing prayer

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Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Dear friends in Christ,

I’ve just come back from leading a prayer retreat. Forward Movement offered this time to folks as a pilot event as we consider offering spiritual practice retreats. But this wasn’t just a test: the time together with real people doing real prayer led to real results.

Over three days, we spent time in conversation and prayer. We practiced several kinds of prayer, and there was plenty of time for quiet and reflection along with group time. I was inspired hearing people share their prayer practices and the impact of a life of prayer. God really is amazing.

As I reflect on our time, several things stand out. One is that every person’s journey is different, and it’s not uncommon to have a “dry spell” in which one feels less connected to God. Over the course of our lives, our prayer practices will almost surely need to change with us.

Even a seasoned person can learn new ways to pray, and I think most folks at the retreat were stretched in some way or found some new accent in their practice. In other words, we all do well to stay attentive as God calls us into new practices.

If you have not yet developed a daily prayer rhythm, it’s not too late! Forward Movement offers several resources to help you discover or new a daily habit of prayer. Rhonda Lee’s excellent book, Seek And You Will Find, offers a guided introduction to several ways to pray. Our prayer website offers the Daily Office and Forward Day by Day, and that same content is available as a free app. We have podcasts. And plenty more!

Do you feel like you could go deeper in prayer? You probably can. If you’re not sure where to start, talk to a wise spiritual friend or to your priest. Or reach out to us at Forward Movement. Prayer changes the world, one life at a time.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Take prayer with you in your pocket: Prayers for All Occasions

Take the pressure off with Devotions for People Who Don’t Do Devotions

The Prayer Book as training for a spiritual life: Inwardly Digest

Get ready to start the new quarter: Subscribe to Forward Day by Day

Forward Today: Changing church for a changing world

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Evening session in the House of Deputies. Photo: Scott Gunn

Dear friends in Christ,

If you follow news of the Episcopal Church, you will know that leaders from across the church gathered recently in Louisville, KY for our triennial General Convention. Just about 1,000 lay leaders, deacons, priests, and bishops from 16+ nations spent a little over a week deliberating matters important for our common life as Episcopalians.

We also worshiped together and enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones in fellowship time. There was much joy.

For the first time, I was dreading General Convention before I went. I was worried that the bitter and angry discourse of our wider cultures would permeate our conversations. But I am pleased and inspired to report that, though at times we sharply disagreed on important things, all the conversations I heard met the standard to which we hold ourselves, to “respect the dignity of every human being.”

Perhaps this is because we spent plenty of time in prayer. It turns out that when we open ourselves to God’s presence, the Holy Spirit really does lead us. It’s a good lesson to ponder.

The President of the House of Deputies, Julia Ayala Harris, asked me if I would take photos for the House of Deputies, since I was sitting there with my camera anyway. I was glad to play my small part in the process, and you can have a look at some photos of General Convention (mostly the House of Deputies) on my flickr album.

Some of my Forward Movement colleagues came to staff our booth in the exhibit hall, and I know they had some wonderful time with lots of folks. We always learn so much when we listen to one another.

But the thing that excited me the most about this convention is our willingness to embrace our calling in a challenging time. We’ve chosen a new Presiding Bishop who has said he will lead our church to realign its resources for the mission God has given us in this time and place, not for an age that no longer exists. We chose new ways of doing things at several points.

It won’t be easy. But the Gospel is never about making our lives easy. Just when we need him, Jesus always shows up. And if we can have the strength and courage to embrace our calling, we can offer our Lord’s saving message of mercy and grace to the whole world.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

A practical guide for church stewardship: Finance Resource Guide

Are your lay leaders tired? Give the gift of Revive

Pray in new ways with our newest podcast: Compline

Simple devotions for hard times: Forward Day by Day

Forward Today: The gift of the Holy Spirit

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A crowd of people in seats at the Louisville Convention Center. The stage at the center is draped with red and yellow banners. An altar stands at the center of the stage, with candles on either side.
Opening Eucharist at General Convention in Louisville, KY. (Photo: Scott Gunn)

Dear friends in Christ,

I write this from Louisville, KY, where I am serving as a deputy to the 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church. About 1,000 bishops and deputies gather every three years to worship together, enjoy fellowship with one another, and deliberate on matters that affect our common life as a church.

Sometimes it looks messy. Debate gets heated. Mistakes are made. Coffee queues are lengthy. Results may go differently than we hoped.

But, despite all these things, the Holy Spirit shows up.

My hope always is that when any group gathers to make decisions, we pray for guidance and listen attentively for the still, small voice of God. It’s never easy, but sometimes— despite ourselves—it happens.

At our service of Holy Eucharist this morning, the Rev’d Yejide Peters-Pietersen preached a brilliant sermon about how we can trust God to be present. Yejide is Associate Dean and Director of Formation at Berkeley Divinity School, and she’s a former Forward Movement board member. She reminded us all that the world does not depend on our striving but on God’s providence and action.

Please pray for the General Convention and our work. Pray today, especially, for the bishops who are voting to select our next Presiding Bishop as I write this. Pray for the laypeople and clergy in the House of Deputies who will discern whether to confirm the the bishops’ vote.

The Spirit does amazing things when we make room, whether at the local, diocesan, or churchwide levels. And this is true for our daily lives, too. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

P.S. I’m posting some photos from the floor of the House of Deputies throughout the convention. Have a look if you want to see what our governance looks like.

More from our ministry:

Announcing our newest podcast: Compline: Late Evening Episcopal Prayers

Visit this form by Friday 6/28 to help us choose the words for AdventWord 2024

Pray with us every day: prayer.forwardmovement.org

Forward Today: Celebrating freedom, lamenting captivity

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A spherical candle, brown with white etched patterns on it. The candle's light is the only light in the image,
Photo by Andrew Itaga on Unsplash

Dear friends in Christ,

Every year on June 19, the people of the United States celebrate Juneteenth. As a 2022 General Convention resolution puts it, this day is a way to “lament the historic evil of slavery and celebrate the emancipation of enslaved peoples.”

We can hold two things together in tension. We lament the evils of slavery, past and present. We celebrate freedom. We can celebrate today’s commemoration of the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865, and we can mourn the fact that it took so long after the Emancipation Proclamation for these people to receive their freedom.

Sadly, slavery of various forms continues in our world, today, both far and near. I hope that we Christians—who follow the liberating Lord Jesus—can work to end the enslavement of people. But today, we celebrate freedom. It’s a core message of the Gospel. In Jesus Christ, we are all set free. We are freed from our captivity to sin and death. And, God willing, I pray all people are freed from any other captivity.

On this Juneteenth, I encourage us all to read and study Exodus 14, the story of the Crossing of the Red Sea. This chapter, and the ones just before it, center God’s desire to free his people. May we work so that all are freed. May we lament enslavement past and present. May we celebrate freedom.

A blessed Juneteenth to you.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

P.S. At the end of next week, Forward Movement will be at General Convention. If you’re there, come visit us in the exhibit hall.

More from our ministry:

Pray with us every day: prayer.forwardmovement.org

Lament and celebrate with the Spirituals: Face to the Rising Sun

Follow the story of God’s liberating love: The Path

Bridge the gap between knowing and living the Bible:
The Social Justice Bible Challenge