Category Archives: Uncategorized

This series was made in partnership with Trinity Institute in 2016 based on their 2016 conference, Listen for a Change: Sacred Conversations for Racial Justice. Courses are built on lectures by some of our leading teachers on the subject of race in America.

Spirituality and Racial Justice with Michael Curry
Whiteness and Racial Justice with Kelly Brown Douglas
Theology and Racial Justice with J. Kameron Carter
Racism and Racial Justice with Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Reparations and Racial Justice with Jennifer Harvey

This series is for those looking to deepen their understanding and conversations on racial injustice.

A season of loss | Grow Christians

Listen to today’s Forward Day by Day reflection on the Forward Day by Day podcast. Find morning prayer on the Morning at the Office podcast and end your day with the Evening at Prayer podcast. Available anywhere you listen!

In case you missed it…

Justice as the work of the Church | Earth & Altar

Next Forward Day by Day issue begins in August…order your subscription!

Forward Today: Their delight is in the law of the Lord

July 1, 2020Forward Today, scott gunn

Dear friends in Christ,

This morning, I gave thanks that this is the first day of a new month. I didn’t used to pay much attention to the changeover from one month to the next, but that changed a few years ago.

Almost every morning, I pray morning prayer. Several years ago, I started using the 30 day psalter. This is a plan to read all the psalms over the course of a month. You can see it spelled out in your Book of Common Prayer if you turn to page 585. Right there above Psalm 1, it says “First Day: Morning Prayer.” So we read the first five psalms this morning. Then this evening, we’ll read starting at Psalm 6, where it says, “First Day: Evening Prayer.” Tonight’s portion is three psalms. By the end of the month, we’ll have prayed all 150 psalms.

So every month, my morning starts off

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful!

Their delight is in the law of the Lord, *
they meditate on his law day and night.

Day in and day out, I am reminded that a life patterned on God’s commandments is how we are meant to live. The psalms are infused with a sense of praise and gratitude for God’s commandments. They are understood not as things which constrict us, but as ways to live the abundant life that God desires for all people.

Sometimes people mistakenly believe that following Jesus means we do not have to follow commandments. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus himself gave commandments, and they are all rooted in the law. His own Great Commandment, to love God and love our neighbors, is of course a quotation of Deuteronomy and Leviticus. Jesus gave this Great Commandment as the lens through which to do all that he commanded and all the law that he himself followed.

Perhaps you’ll join me this very day in reading the psalms this month. You can do this with a prayer book, where the whole psalter is found starting at page 585. Or you can find the psalms online. You can also use the Forward Movement prayer website to pray the daily office. If you go to the preferences page, you can switch to the 30 day psalter and say morning and evening prayer. Our app (for Apple or Android) also has a setting to allow you to use the 30 day psalter.

Try it out. I hope you find the same blessing I have enjoyed in delighting in God’s law.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

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Image: Pixabay

Spirituality and Racial Justice with Michael Curry
Whiteness and Racial Justice with Kelly Brown Douglas
Theology and Racial Justice with J. Kameron Carter
Racism and Racial Justice with Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Reparations and Racial Justice with Jennifer Harvey

This series is for those looking to deepen their understanding and conversations on racial injustice.

Pre-order | The Way of Love: A Practical Guide to Following Jesus

In case you missed it…

Blessing for LGBTQIA+, Woes to the Privileged: Pursuing Allyship in the Days of Pride and Beyond | Earth & Altar

Responding to Racist Violence | The Episcopal Church

Forward Today: In the tender compassion of our God

June 24, 2020Forward Today, scott gunn

Dear friends in Christ,

Today the church commemorates the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. We always enjoy a couple of weeks with this singular figure each Advent when the appointed Gospel invites us to remember his work as a prophet. But today we recall his birth.

At John’s birth, his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaimed the words we now sing in the canticle Benedictus Dominus Deus (Canticle 16). Zechariah foretells the important work his son will do, “You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.”

I wish we remembered this more often. We gain the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of our sins. In other words, we can understand that we need a redeemer when we learn that we can’t fix our broken selves. By God’s gracious gift in Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven, we are made new, and we can be saved. It’s very good news, the Gospel itself.

Knowing that God loves me, a sinner, helps me love other people too. There is always more than enough grace.

The news these days doesn’t seem to have much good news, let alone Gospel. But Zechariah has made another promise: “In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

God has great compassion for us, meaning that God knows our suffering, our pain, and our deepest needs. And God loves us through all our sins, all our failings, and all our struggles.

If we who follow Jesus want to know the peace that passes all understanding in our own lives, we can find it in Jesus Christ. And if we can find the peace of Christ in our own hearts, we might have the clarity, the grace, the mercy, and the courage to proclaim peace and Good News in this world.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.

Spirituality and Racial Justice with Michael Curry
Whiteness and Racial Justice with Kelly Brown Douglas
Theology and Racial Justice with J. Kameron Carter
Racism and Racial Justice with Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Reparations and Racial Justice with Jennifer Harvey

This series is for those looking to deepen their understanding and conversations on racial injustice.

Pre-order | The Way of Love: A Practical Guide to Following Jesus

In case you missed it…

Responding to Racist Violence | The Episcopal Church

Most Honored Greening Force: Contemplative Ecology and the Living World | Earth & Altar

Forward Today: Prayer and action

June 17, 2020Forward Today, Prayer, scott gunn

Dear friends in Christ,

To say there’s a lot going on in our world would be an understatement. Between politics, the pandemic, the economy, and protests over racism, it can seem overwhelming.

On Twitter, I asked for suggestions for topics for today’s Forward Today. One person responded, “It seems like calm in a time of chaos might be something readers need now.” Well, yes, I think that’s it. We need to know the peace that passes all understanding, especially in a world that seems unbearably chaotic.

Every now and then, I’ll hear someone say, “Prayer is not enough. We need action.” I reject the dichotomy. Prayer is action. Praying changes my heart, for sure. And I think prayer can change the world.

Sure, we need actions beyond just prayer. In the past, I have joined protests, written letters, made donations, and much more. But it is prayer that sustains me and keeps me focused on God and on God’s kingdom of righteousness and justice. My hope is that, for Christians, our lives are steeped in prayer. Otherwise, we run the risk of setting our minds on earthly things rather than heavenly things.

Yesterday morning, as I said morning prayer, I was struck by the refrain in Psalm 80, “Restore us, O God of hosts; * show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.” We don’t save ourselves by endless striving. God restores us. God has accomplished our salvation in Jesus Christ. Our task is to proclaim God’s love, mercy, righteousness, and justice.

Last Sunday I went to a community-wide service of lament and prayer held in one of our parks. One of the speakers said this: “Our hope comes from the Lord, but we need to be people who bring hope. Christ is not coming out of the sky right now to bring us hope. You have to be the voice of hope. Do not stay silent!”

Let us pray. Let us pray every day. Let us pray every day for the wisdom, courage, and strength to be bearers of Jesus Christ’s hope, mercy, and grace in the world.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

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Photo: Unsplash

Spirituality and Racial Justice with Michael Curry
Whiteness and Racial Justice with Kelly Brown Douglas
Theology and Racial Justice with J. Kameron Carter
Racism and Racial Justice with Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Reparations and Racial Justice with Jennifer Harvey

This series is for those looking to deepen their understanding and conversations on racial injustice.

Pre-order | The Way of Love: A Practical Guide to Following Jesus

In case you missed it…

From Bishop Jennifer: A Reflection of Personal Experience, Hope and Challenge for the Church on Dismantling White Supremacy and Racism | Diocese of Indianapolis

I’m Still in Lent: On Ash Wednesday and Being Unequivocal | Earth & Altar

Women and Angels of the Bible—Podcast Series

June 15, 2020podcast

This special podcasts series includes conversations between Lindsay Hardin Freeman, author of the popular book Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter, and Kate Moorehead, author of the newly released Angels of the Bible: Finding Grace, Beauty, and Meaning.

Listen to Eve and the Angel at the Gate on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify. (January 16, 2020)

Listen to Hagar and the Angels in the Desert on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify. (March 26, 2020)

Listen to Mary Magdalene and the Angels on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify. (April 4, 2020)

Listen to Sarah and the Angels on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify. (May 7, 2020)

The Forward Day by Day podcast—including these special episodes–is available on all streaming platforms!

Forward Today: Where there is despair, hope

June 10, 2020Forward Today, hope, scott gunn

Dear friends in Christ,

My friend Furman Buchanan posted a photo on his Facebook last week, and I’m still thinking about it. You can see the photo: a lovely labyrinth with “hope” written in stones at the center.

I love this, because the labyrinth is, itself, a symbol of pilgrimage, or perhaps a pilgrimage in miniature. We pray and walk along, twisting and turning until we reach the center. Sometimes we find ourselves going back away from the center, even though we know our final destination. We press on.

Life is like that, isn’t it? We pray and we move along. We find ourselves in twists and turns, sometimes moving away from where we want to be. Like the labyrinth, there are no shortcuts.

Hope is one of those words that we toss around a bit too casually sometimes. “I hope there is racial healing” is easy to say. That kind of hope isn’t worth much, frankly. It’s an idle expression that seems to cost nothing and mean little. But if we truly believe that racial healing is possible—that is, if we have hope—we will be empowered to work toward it. The only reason not to work for something is if we believe it will never happen.

Christian hope is fierce. Christian hope is not only for the life to come, but for seeing glimpses of God’s kingdom and God’s radiant glory in this life. We are meant to have hope that the world can be better, filled with God’s love and showing forth God’s kingdom of righteousness, justice, mercy, and grace. When we have that hope, we will want to proclaim God’s kingdom and work for a world with righteousness, justice, mercy, and grace.

Too often, political leaders and media fill us with the cynical idea that there is no hope. They say the world cannot be better. We who follow Jesus should know better. We should know that God’s love is stronger than death, stronger than sin, and stronger than our fears. This is why the church must speak in the public square and shout from the rooftops: there is hope.

Hope is not shallow, cheap, or easy. Having hope does not deny the suffering and adversity of this world. Instead, Christian hope says that suffering, adversity, sin, and death do not have the last word.

I try to remember all this as I watch the news. The pandemic, racism, violence, economic divides, white supremacy, and degradation are all present in this world. They are real, and we must turn against them as we turn away from Satan and toward Jesus. Evil does not have the final say. The final say is our Christian hope, shown in an empty tomb on Easter Day, that God’s love reigns triumphant.

So how do we defeat evil and the forces of wickedness in our time? The first step is hope.

Let us pray.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (BCP page 833)

Blessings to you as you press on, moving always toward the hope of Jesus Christ.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.

Photo: Furman Buchanan

Spirituality and Racial Justice with Michael Curry
Whiteness and Racial Justice with Kelly Brown Douglas
Theology and Racial Justice with J. Kameron Carter
Racism and Racial Justice with Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Reparations and Racial Justice with Jennifer Harvey

This series is for those looking to deepen their understanding and conversations on racial injustice.

Pre-order | The Way of Love: A Practical Guide to Following Jesus

In case you missed it…

When the Cameras are Gone, We Will Still Be Here | The Episcopal Church

Saint Columba, the Ascetic Life, and Black Lives | Grow Christians

Forward Today: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend

June 3, 2020Forward Today, justice, scott gunn

Dear friends in Christ,

As I write this, Cincinnati has been participating in protests the last few days, as people demonstrate following the killing of George Floyd. But the protests go way deeper than that. The United States was founded with the original sin of racism, as slavery was built in to our constitution. All men were created equal, but African-Americans were only three-fifths equal. And I don’t need to recount for you the ways in which white people have profited from the exploitation of black people since then. The median weekly wage for African-Americas was, at last report, about 65% of white people’s wages. That’s just over 3/5, so in some ways, we haven’t made much progress in the original sin of racism. I encourage you to learn more.

What we are seeing in our cities across the country is the expression of accumulated rage, grief, and frustration, not just from George Floyd’s death, but from decades and even centuries of sinful racism. Before anyone objects to rage, I remind you that righteous anger is absolutely a valid and good biblical response to injustice. Read about Moses destroying the tablets and golden calf (Exodus 32:19-20). Read about Jesus cleansing the temple (John 2:13-16). Read the words of the prophets in the Old Testament (for example, Isaiah 58 or Amos 5:21-24). Read the psalms.

I don’t know about other cities, but here in Cincinnati, the protesters’ demands are largely reasonable. Mostly they have to do with police oversight and criminal justice reforms. Substantively responding to these demands would be a better response than riot gear and circling helicopters. In other words, I think we—as a nation, as a church, and as individuals—need to listen to what’s behind the protests. We cannot let our views or our reactions be shaped merely by incendiary news coverage, which is always going to gravitate toward the most violent, most sensational moments.

Earlier this week, I went to one of the protests and marched with people. This particular event was organized by young people, high school and college aged. News coverage of the protest I attended focused on visually captivating scenes: angry gestures, militarized police. But what, in fact, happened was that hundreds or perhaps thousands of young people, most under 30, marched peacefully to demand that their elected officials do a better job. Specifically, of course, they want to end the discrimination and violence directed at black people. I have trouble imagining how anyone calling themselves a Christian could object to most of what really happened or to what was really said.

This is long-term work. Acknowledging the long history of racial discrimination in the nation and in the Episcopal Church, our Presiding Bishop said, “We are not slaves to fate but people of faith. Our long-term commitment to racial justice and reconciliation is embedded in our identity as baptized followers of Jesus….That work of racial reconciliation and justice—what we know as Becoming Beloved Community—is happening across our Episcopal Church.”

If you are, like me, a white person, know that dismantling white supremacy and systemic racism is our work. Our church is now, thankfully, offering many resources to help us all carry out a Christian response to the sins of racism and white supremacy. You might consider ways to get involved with Becoming Beloved Community. Learn more about The Union of Black Episcopalians and follow them on Facebook. If you are scandalized by the “political” nature of this week’s Forward Today, check out the Social Justice Bible Challenge to see that there is nothing partisan or “political” about racial healing; it is part of God’s desire for justice, mercy, love, and grace.

Our Presiding Bishop offers encouragement and hope for the hard work ahead. “Opening and changing hearts does not happen overnight. The Christian race is not a sprint; it is a marathon. Our prayers and our work for justice, healing and truth-telling must be unceasing. Let us recommit ourselves to following in the footsteps of Jesus, the way that leads to healing, justice and love.”

I leave you with a prayer from page 260 of the Book of Common Prayer.

Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Each night, as protests continue, I also pray that protesters and police will be kept safe, and I pray mightily that cries for justice will be heard.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.

Photo: Unsplash

Racism and Racial Justice
by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

In this course, activist, author, and Duke University professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva discusses the continuing plague of racism in this country and how to address it with these four presentations:

The New Racism
Colorblind Racism
Race and Class
Action

This course is ideal for individuals and congregations looking to deepen their understanding and conversations on racial injustice.

Presiding Bishop Curry calls for justice and love | The Washington Post

In case you missed it…

We Live Here Now | Earth & Altar

Downloadable addition to Hour by Hour | Forward Movement

Forward Today: Vitality in your church

May 20, 2020Best Practices, Forward Today, RenewalWorks, scott gunn, Spiritual growth

Dear friends in Christ,

I’ve been thinking about church vitality lately, especially in this time of pandemic. Some churches seem to be getting stronger, while others are struggling mightily. It might seem like we need to reinvent everything about church for this time. But I’m not so sure. Maybe the core principles stay the same, but the way we carry them out changes.

Forward Movement’s RenewalWorks program has done extensive research on spiritual vitality in congregations. There are five best practice principles to increasing spiritual health and vitality in a congregation. Maybe this time of pandemic is an opportunity for each church to ask whether it is doing these things and whether it might be necessary to change how we’re doing them.

Get People Moving. Complacency is a huge challenge in the Episcopal Church. Too many of us do not expect transformation, and we run our churches so as not to rock too many boats. Disturbing complacency and starting each person in a journey of growth is exactly what we need to do.
Embed the Bible in everything. Scripture engagement changes lives. Making sure that every meeting starts with Bible study—and framing all activity at the church through the lens of scripture—will lead people to read and to study the scriptures.
Create Ownership. As one pastor used to say, “I can’t read the Bible for you or say your prayers. You have to do that.” We cannot outsource our discipleship work to someone else. Each one of us needs to take on habits of prayer, study, worship, and service.
Pastor the Community. What does the community outside our church need? This might be a different question than, what do we want to do? Is there a need for tutoring? Shelter? Food? Meeting space? If we can learn to know and to love our neighbors, the world will be transformed one life at a time.
Heart of the Leader. If the person who preaches is faking it, everyone can tell. Lay leaders can work to ensure that their clergy leader is refreshed and renewed. And clergy can make sure that their lay leaders are called to vital work, not carrying the millstone of institutional maintenance.

You can learn a lot more about the Best Practice Principles on the RenewalWorks website. How is your church doing? Have you seen success? Do you face challenges?

The reason for us to do this work is not to earn God’s love or our salvation. That has been accomplished on the cross. No, the reason to become effective disciples is so that we might grow into the full stature of Jesus Christ and share his love with a world in need.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.

Illustration by Jay Sidebotham.

Make Me an Instrument of Peace:
A Guide to Civil Discourse

Make Me an Instrument is a free, 5-week course designed to help us bridge the divides that keep us from moving forward. Taught by a team of experts in civil discourse, this course includes these five classes:

Civil Discourse in Context with Ranjit Matthews
Tenets for Civil Discourse with Shannon Kelly
Values-Based Conversations with Alan Yarborough
The Complexities of Policy with Rebecca Linder Blachy
Sacred Space for Debate with Marcus Halley

Make Me an Instrument is ideal for those who want to take dialogue between polarized people or parties seriously.

Downloadable addition to Hour by Hour | Forward Movement

In case you missed it…

Giving Away the Church: Reflections on Fresh Ecclesial Expressions | Earth & Altar

Slightly Frantic Liturgy | Grow Christians

Learn more about Revive

Forward Today: Who’s gonna save us now?

May 13, 2020Forward Today, scott gunn

Dear friends,

I am grateful to be Facebook friends with Howard Helvey, a renowned church musician who lives here in Cincinnati. He often posts photos from his walks around the city. This week, he posted a photo that is beautiful, poignant, and not a little provocative.

The photo was taken at the site where Calvary United Methodist Church is being demolished. Someone has written graffiti on the wall of the nave, partly still standing in defiant glory and partly razed into rubble. “Who’s gonna save us now?”

I have no idea what was in the mind of the person who painted this cry. Was it intended sympathetically, in sorrow over a church that will no longer stand? Was it hostile, mocking faith in Jesus? Was the writer channeling a couple of recent popular songs that include this phrase or ones close to it in their lyrics? Was the message a cry of anguish over the church and perhaps the state of our world?

When I initially saw the writing, my first thought was to recall the cries of Palm Sunday. Hosanna! Save us! The desperation of people groaning under the yoke of imperial oppression is palpable in the anguished shouts of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The miseries that bind us now are different, but they are no less real—pandemic, economic disparity, systemic racism, rampant violence—and it is absolutely righteous to shout out, “Who will save us?”

Salvation is a word that I wish we spent more time with in the Episcopal Church. Thinking of salvation as “getting into heaven” is only a tiny slice of what the word means, and even that is a bit of a distorted view. The scriptures use salvation to mean deliverance, health, wholeness, and redemption. Salvation is something that most certainly begins in this life and continues into the life to come.

Who’s gonna save us now? God’s salvation is surely front and center. We yearn to be transformed by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. And salvation might involve each one of us as we choose to be means of health, wholeness, deliverance, and redemption for others. Wearing a mask, offering a word of hope, showing mercy, striving for justice, praying without ceasing, proclaiming Good News—these are all ways we share the saving love of Jesus Christ with a world in need.

Who’s gonna save us now? Jesus, without a doubt. And that’s why our work as disciples and evangelists matters now and always.

Who’s gonna save us now? Jesus, without a doubt. Thanks be to God.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

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Yes, We’re All Called to Mission

By Kate Gillooly

Jesus didn’t just call 12—he called us all.

And he called us to discern and unleash our gifts, playing our part in bringing God’s kingdom to earth. Congregational development expert Kate Gillooly unpacks this in four video presentations, titled:

We Are All Called to Mission
The Work of Discernment
Spiritual Gifts for Mission
When It Works

This course is ideal for anyone looking to explore mission, especially as it relates to congregational development.