Forward Today: Making room for the Holy Spirit

, , ,

Dear friends in Christ,

This Sunday is the Day of Pentecost, when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit.

My experience of this feast day is that it’s often accompanied by gimmicks. People make cakes and sing happy birthday to the church. The red balloons come out. And so on.

Now I have no objection to any excuse to enjoy a good cake. And if balloons liven up your worship, you’ll get no complaint from me!

Still, I wonder if we are doing these things to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit or precisely because the Holy Spirit makes us a bit uncomfortable. As one who has a habit of making jokes in awkward situations, I know what it’s like to try to distract away from serious topics.

If we read the Book of Acts, we’ll see that the Holy Spirit led the church into all sorts of amazing new ministries and opportunities. The Gospel was spread in places that would have been inconceivable without the Spirit’s leading. The Spirit is not something that made folks smile so much as the force that compelled people into terrifying but fruitful directions.

In the days leading up to Pentecost, I encourage you to sit down and read the whole Book of Acts. It won’t take too long. It’s filled with amazing stories about what happens when the church lets the Spirit lead.

I wonder what would happen if we let the Holy Spirit lead us as a church? What if we used the Day of Pentecost as an opportunity to open ourselves up to what God wants, not what we might personally prefer? What are the places in our world that need Gospel witness, and how might the Spirit lead us there?

Let us pray that the fire of the Spirit animates our hearts to take us where we could not go on our own.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

 

 

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.
Image: Ted, Pentecost Icon, Flickr

Tune in!

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…

The Way of Love | A Practical Guide to Following Jesus

Browse the ChurchNext library | ChurchNext

50 Days | Celebrating Easter with Daily Reflections

5 Spiritual Growth Strategies for the New Normal | RenewalWorks

Job Opening: Marketing Coordinator

Marketing Coordinator
Position Description

Forward Movement seeks a part-time Marketing Coordinator, 20-25 hours per week. This role will be responsible for product maintenance on our eCommerce website, creation and planning of promotional content for blogs, emails, and social media campaigns, and execution of special projects and initiatives to support the overall sales and marketing goals of the organization. Duties will include creative work, such as product photography and graphic design for digital promotions, maintenance of customer facing web pages, and building regular email marketing campaigns.

Inspiring disciples and empowering evangelists worldwide every day, Forward Movement produces excellent, innovative resources to encourage spiritual growth in individuals and congregations for more than eighty years. Our flagship offering is Forward Day by Day, a quarterly devotional with a circulation of 300,000. Forward Movement is a non-profit ministry of The Episcopal Church based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

  • Maintain the Forward Movement eCommerce website, using a custom content management system which interfaces with other departments within the organization.
  • Maintain several WordPress websites and blogs, serving as support for staff and contractors who utilize these systems.
  • Plan email marketing campaigns to promote Forward Movement offerings and products, including ongoing newsletters, seasonal campaigns, and one-time promotional opportunities.
  • Create visual content for digital and print product promotions, with photography and basic graphic design.
  • Update Forward Movement blogs with regular new title announcements, press releases, author interviews, and special announcements.
  • Work with the Marketing Director to plan annual promotional campaigns based on strategic business objectives and missional goals of the organization.
  • Research the current and future needs of various targeted interest groups, and present regular ideas to reach and engage through digital and print marketing.

 

Skills/Qualifications: The ideal candidate for this role with be a creative thinker, as well as disciplined in execution and time management. Organization and attentiveness to details are critical, along with flexibility to respond to the changing needs of the department and organization.

The successful applicant will be knowledgeable about The Episcopal Church. Must be comfortable working in a faith-based environment. Demonstrated work in a creative field of study and/or past work experience, including some graphic design, photography, and email communications and marketing. General technical aptitude to learn new systems and troubleshoot web and email problems and hurdles. Working with strategic plans for the organization will require existing knowledge of, or a willingness to learn and adapt to, the historical context and current needs of the Episcopal Church and the Christian faith. Bilingual candidates, fluent or proficient in Spanish, are encouraged to apply, however this is not a requirement. Occasional travel may be requested. Location is flexible for this position.

Forward Movement hires without regard to race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, marital status, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disabilities, or age.

Email cover letter and resume to tjones@forwardmovement.org by June 9, 2021.

Forward Today: Don’t look for a magic elevator

, ,

Dear friends in Christ,

Tomorrow is Ascension Day. It’s one of the Principal Feasts of our church right along with Easter and Christmas, and most churches won’t even celebrate it. It’s a pity. Ascension Day is worth celebrating for lots of reasons, and not just because our prayer book tells us to.

On Ascension Day, we celebrate the day that Jesus left us to carry on his earthly ministry. As he was departing, he blessed his followers to carry on. Instead of sorrow, they were filled with great joy.

I think Jesus blesses us, too. Jesus trusts that you and I will carry on his earthly ministry of proclaiming the kingdom, teaching, healing, truth-telling, and reconciliation. We should be filled with joy at the honor to do this work.

So why don’t we celebrate Ascension Day? I think people get hung up on the physics of it. Too many bad teachers have undercut the faith by saying this feast day is an intellectual embarrassment, an old-school way of looking at the world. Jesus can’t go up, they say, because heaven isn’t really “up”.

So don’t look for a magic elevator. To do so misses the point of this day. It’s all about Jesus trusting his followers to carry on, and that includes us. It’s all about joy. It’s all about the promise of the Holy Spirit.

If your church isn’t celebrating Ascension Day, find one online. Or you can at least say prayers of the day on the Forward Movement prayer site.

A blessed and joyous Ascension Day to you.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

 

 

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.
Image: Pixabay

Tune in!

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…

The Way of Love | A Practical Guide to Following Jesus

Browse the ChurchNext library | ChurchNext

50 Days | Celebrating Easter with Daily Reflections

5 Spiritual Growth Strategies for the New Normal | RenewalWorks

AdventWord finds new home at Forward Movement

,

Beginning in 2021, the multilingual, interactive online Advent calendar known as AdventWord will be offered as part of the ministry of Forward Movement, whose mission is to inspire disciples and empower evangelists.

The project has grown for the past several years under the stewardship of Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), having originated from the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE) in 2014.

Forward Movement will continue to work with current AdventWord project manager, Sarah Stonesifer Boylan, and VTS is excited to continue its participation and support of the project.

“Since its origins, the AdventWord hosts have brought unique strengths to the devotionals during the Advent holy season. As I enter to my fifth year shepherding this ministry, I look forward to collaborating with Forward Movement to bring their commitments discipleship and story-sharing into this multimedia initiative,” said Stonesifer Boylan. “The AdventWord prayer-filled community has been made possible by coordinating efforts from the committed organizations of SSJE, VTS, and now, Forward Movement.”

Gathering a worldwide community, AdventWord provides a daily meditation, visual image, and invites personal reflections via social media to share in a community-driven Advent journey. Thousands have participated each year, responding to the words with photos, written responses, crafts, drawings, poems, found art, and Holy Spirit-filled posts. Short daily meditations are sent out each day through Advent via email, social media, and as a podcast, in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language videos. Sign up for email updates at www.adventword.org and follow AdventWord on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and use #AdventWord in your own posts.

AdventWord is now an offering of Forward Movement

For the second year, Forward Movement will be releasing an Advent devotional to coincide with AdventWord, with each daily reflection drawing inspiration from that day’s selected word. The book, Promise & Praise: Advent Word Reflections, will be available at www.forwardmovement.org in early fall.

“Daily prayer and reflection are a central values at Forward Movement, and we try to show that through our resources and offerings,” said the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, executive director at Forward Movement. “AdventWord offers a stirring way for disciples to practice daily reflection with others around the world as we all prepare to meet Jesus Christ in the season of Advent.”

Sign up for email updates about AdventWord!

Forward Today: Love one another

, ,

Dear friends in Christ,

This coming Sunday, we hear verses from John 15 in the Gospel reading. Jesus says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

I know I say this a lot, but we Christians really have to work at understanding what Jesus means when he talks about love. It’s not a feeling. It doesn’t come with a Hollywood soundtrack. It’s not just being extra-nice to people.

Christian love is work. It’s not always easy. It doesn’t care about our preferences or convenience. Christian love takes practice. A lifetime of practice.

Think about what Jesus is saying when he tells us we are to love one another as he loves us. He loved us perfectly. He loved people who convention said should be unloved. He always told the truth. He challenged assumptions. He loved us sacrificially.

That means we are called to do the same. We are called to love the unlovable. We are called to speak the truth always. We are called to challenge assumptions. We are called to love others sacrificially. We are called to love perfectly.

It’s an impossible commandment to keep. After all, we are not Jesus Christ! But Jesus sets our direction, the way we should orient our lives. Our baptismal liturgy challenges us to grow into the full stature of Christ. Part of that is growing toward perfect love. We’ll never make it, but it is our hope.

How can we do this? Left to our own devices, we can’t. But we have two secret weapons.

First, Jesus promised us that the Holy Spirit would abide with us. We are not left on our own.

Second, we have the church. We have a bunch of other disciples who are stumbling along with us trying to figure out what it means to love others as Jesus loved us. We can celebrate when we get it right, and we can hold each other up when we get it wrong.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

 

 

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.
Image: Pixabay

Tune in!

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…

The Way of Love | A Practical Guide to Following Jesus

Browse the ChurchNext library | ChurchNext

50 Days | Celebrating Easter with Daily Reflections

5 Spiritual Growth Strategies for the New Normal | RenewalWorks

Forward Today: Hope and reality

,

Dear friends in Christ,

The last week or so has brought strange weather to Cincinnati where I live. We’ve had some gorgeous, sunny spring days of almost 70 degrees. And we had snow. It’s almost cruel to experience the glory of spring and then have to wear full-on winter garb.

As I was walking around some gardens downtown lately, it occurred to me that the weather isn’t so different from my engagement with other parts of my life.

On the one hand, we have vaccines and in many places COVID numbers are going down. On the other hand, variants are spreading, people engage in reckless behavior, and COVID cases are surging in some places. Should I be filled with hope? Or despair?

More people are broadly aware of systemic racism now, and George Floyd’s murderer was held accountable. On the other hand, I know that racism abounds and we have so very much work to do to create an equitable, just society. Should I be filled with hope? Or despair?

Mainline churches were in decline before the pandemic, and it’s likely that these tough times will cause many churches to close. On the other hand, I think more leaders are gaining clarity on what the church is here for in the first place, so perhaps we’ll actually get to the business of making disciples. Should I be filled with hope? Or despair?

It can seem naïve to cling to hope when the immediate picture is grim. I don’t blame people who get worn down by life’s circumstances and lose hope. But I think hope is where we’re called.

Things looked grim for Jesus and his followers on Good Friday. But Easter was coming. It wouldn’t have been wrong for Jesus’s disciples to shed tears and bemoan their situation while also hoping for something better. Hope does not deny our experience of pain and grief.

In fact, I think hope can be exactly what allows us to take an honest look at the challenges in our lives, in our church, and in our world. We can see where we are. We can dwell with all the pain we experience. And, at the same time, we can be filled with Christian hope.

There’s no better time than Eastertide to practice Christian hope. Let us all take an honest look at where we are. Name the difficulties. Experience the grief. And then let us look toward the day when God will wipe away every tear and all will be made right.

As for me, I’ll try not to grimace if I have to put on my winter coat again. It’s part of the journey, after all. Summer is coming.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

 

 

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.
Image: Scott Gunn

Tune in!

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…

We’re hiring a part-time Development Assistant | Apply now

Bible Women | All Their Words and Why They Matter

Raising Young Philanthropists | ChurchNext

50 Days | Celebrating Easter with Daily Reflections

Forward Today: Move every human heart

,

Dear friends in Christ,

I was just sitting down to write this week’s Forward Today when the news brought word of the guilty verdict in the trial of George Floyd’s murderer. Almost a year ago, Mr. Floyd was murdered by a police officer while being arrested on suspicion of having committed a fairly minor crime.

Mr. Floyd breathed his last on May 25, 2020. His death unleashed protests across the nation. People took to the streets demanding justice for Mr. Floyd but also seeking justice in a legal system that is demonstrably and unequivocally racist.

Black people are arrested in higher numbers than white people. Black people are more likely to suffer violence at the hands of police. Black people are more likely to be incarcerated—and with longer sentences—than white people.

All of this was true before a police officer knelt on Mr. Floyd’s neck for several minutes last May. But in the wake of protests, more people became aware of systemic racism in society and especially in the legal system.

No justice, not even today’s guilty verdict, gives Mr. Floyd’s daughter her father back. No justice erases the unspeakable cruelty of kneeling on an immobilized man’s neck. No justice erases the loss in countless cases like Mr. Floyd’s where people died but without someone who bravely recorded the unfolding scene on video.

I pray that Mr. Floyd is redeemed in heaven, because there isn’t really a way to redeem the loss of life on earth. But we can do more than pray.

This paragraph is written for white people like myself: The time is long past when we white people can look the other way or pretend we don’t see the systemic racism that benefits us. We must work to change systems. We must yield our privilege. We must, as Jesus commanded us, love our neighbors.

Just this week, church leaders released the findings of a racial audit of our beloved Episcopal Church’s leadership. The results are sobering, but there are also recommendations for concrete steps we can take to help our church become the beloved community as the Gospel demands.

Racism, the original sin of the United States of America, harms all of us. People of color suffer discrimination, economic deprivation, physical harm, and the constant burden of being treated without respect. White people suffer too, albeit differently, because our complicity in evil systems prevents us from being the people of love, grace, and mercy that Jesus calls us to be.

The racial audit recommends steps for our church. We can all advocate for justice where we see injustice. We can look carefully at our own lives and see what changes might be needed in our hearts. We can learn more. We can build relationships. We can be the brave person who records video or intervenes when we see a risk of discrimination or harm to anyone.

I don’t know what you’re called to do. I’m still seeking to understand my own work in the area of racial justice. But I do know that I cannot claim to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ if I ignore the sin of racism in our nation or in our church.

Let us pray.

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP 823)

As we pray, let us speak and work. We cannot restore Mr. Floyd’s life, but I pray that the outrage at his death moves people toward justice and mercy.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

 

 

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.

Tune in!

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…

We’re hiring a part-time Development Assistant! | Apply now

Using Minecraft in Christian Education | ChurchNext

50 Days | Celebrating Easter with Daily Reflections

Good Book Club to start 2022 with Exodus

, ,

Start the new year with a renewed spiritual practice of reading God’s Word. Forward Movement, with support from partners from around the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion, will celebrate the time of Epiphany with a new round of the Good Book Club by reading the first half of the Book of Exodus.

Exodus recounts the journey of the Israelites from slavery to freedom. We hear the great stories of Moses, from his discovery by Pharaoh’s daughter on the bank of the river to the burning bush to his presentation of the Ten Commandments. Along the way, we encounter God’s covenant and explore the grand theme of redemption.

This year, we have a bonus time of scripture engagement: the Good Book Club will dive into the first twenty chapters of Exodus from Epiphany, January 6, to Shrove Tuesday, March 1. For those who want to keep reading, we’ll offer a daily reading guide and an overview of the second half of Exodus. That reading period will conclude on Easter.

The full schedule, including the list of daily readings is available at www.goodbookclub.org.

Sign up to receive updates on Exodus.

Joining the Good Book Club is easy: Open your Bible and start reading!

For those looking for more structure, a plethora of resources from Forward Movement and partners will be available in Fall 2021 to help individuals, small groups, and churches take part in this church-wide initiative.

This is the sixth series of the initiative to encourage scripture engagement, led by Forward Movement. Past partners include the United Thank Offering, Episcopal Migration Ministries, Episcopal Church Foundation, The Living Church, Forma, GrowChristians.org, ChurchNext, the Episcopal Church’s communication, digital, and evangelism ministries, the Hive, Invite Welcome Connect, the Consortium of Endowed Parishes, Montreal Diocesan Theological College, Episcopal Asset Map, Building Faith, RenewalWorks, and the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast. If your organization is interested in being a partner and developing resources for the Good Book Club, please contact Richelle Thompson at rthompson@forwardmovement.org.

For archived reading lists and resources from the past five series, please visit the Good Book Club website. There you will find helpful tools and inspiration to run your own Bible study while awaiting Epiphany 2022. Past series included the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts (2018), the Book of Romans (2019), the Gospels of John and Matthew (2020), and the Gospel of Mark (early 2021).

Forward Movement is a ministry of the Episcopal Church that inspires disciples and empowers evangelists. With offices in Cincinnati, Ohio, Forward Movement has been serving the Episcopal Church since 1935 by producing resources such as Forward Day by Day, books, apps, pamphlets, conferences, courses, and more. Visit www.goodbookclub.org to learn more.

Forward Today: Thinking about the post-pandemic church

, ,

Dear friends in Christ,

I’ve been thinking a lot about what church might be like when we emerge from this time of pandemic. Of course, we aren’t going wake up one morning and everything’s “back to normal.” First, ending this strange time will happen gradually, by fits and starts, over time. It might be months or longer. Second, I don’t think we want to go back to “normal” because that would imply everything was fine.

Instead of thinking about getting “back to normal”, I hope we’ll talk about post-pandemic life. We have a mandate for change unlike any other in our lifetimes. What do we treasure about our churches and our world that we want to sustain? What are the things we can finally let go of? Where should we be looking for change?

My colleagues at RenewalWorks recently published a wonderful blog post, “Now What? 5 Spiritual Growth Strategies for the New Normal”. There are some solid, practical tips on how your church might take stock of its spiritual well-being, along with some recommendations for how to nurture spiritual growth.

It has been too easy to forget why churches exist. There are a lot of good things churches do, but the fundamental reason Jesus commissioned us is to make disciples. So maybe this is the perfect time to figure out where we excel and where we need to improve.

In the RenewalWorks best practices, pastoring the community is an important part of our life together. This practice invites us to get to know the communities around our churches and to find ways to serve the needs of the community. In some ways, Episcopalians are often quite good at this work. But in other ways, we have room for growth. I very much hope we will use the lens of anti-racism to scrutinize our work in communities and our churches themselves. Do our churches reflect the diversity of people in our area?

It’s not just the post-pandemic world we need to talk about, but the post-Christendom world. Most people in our society simply don’t know Jesus. How will they learn about him if we don’t practice evangelism? Let’s try to do better at sharing the amazing news of God in Jesus Christ with our neighbors.

If you need a fresh dose of inspiration, I invite you to visit 50days.org, which I wrote about last week, too. I’m writing reflections every day of the Easter season to remind us all of the joy and wonder that is made possible by Christ’s resurrection. You can visit the site daily or sign up for emails.

Let us at Forward Movement know if there are ways we can support your church in the post-pandemic world. We have some ideas, but we’d love to hear from you.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

 

 

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.

Tune in!

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…

We’re hiring a part-time Development Assistant! | Apply now

Pre-order your Golden Halo mug | Forward Movement

Using Minecraft in Christian Education | ChurchNext

50 Days | Celebrating Easter with Daily Reflections

Forward Today: 50 Days of Hope, Joy, and Reflection

, , ,

Dear friends in Christ,

Happy Easter to you! I’ve celebrated Holy Week and Easter all over the world, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to celebrate Easter Day than this year.

After what seemed like an endless Lent and an interminable winter (at least here in Cincinnati), I was greatly heartened by the glorious spring day and the thrill of gathering with people outdoors to offer Easter praise, sing our favorite resurrection hymns, and shout some joyous alleluias.

Despite my joy, I must also acknowledge this year’s Easter wasn’t the one we might have hoped for. We couldn’t be inside a packed church. The music was a bit different from usual. Elbow bumps had to replace hugs.

Still, we cannot deny Easter joy coming forth any more than a large stone could contain Jesus from emerging from his tomb.

For several years, Forward Movement has offered Eastertide reflections on a blog called 50 Days. This year, instead of inviting a company of bloggers, I decided to write 50 reflections myself. Partly this was because in a complicated time of pandemic, doing this simply seemed better.

But also, I must confess, I thought it might be good for my soul to write 50 reflections on Easter. Turns out I was right. Diving deep into Easter has been just what I needed to help me re-center my life as we start to imagine what it might be like in a post-pandemic world.

So, friends, I invite you to join me over on 50 Days for Easter reflections. We’re just getting started! You can sign up for daily emails on that website, if you like.

May Easter joy fill your heart and your life. And may it spill over in those around you as you proclaim Good News and share Christ’s love.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

 

 

Subscribe to receive Forward Today in your inbox.

Image: Pixabay

Tune in!

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…

Download and print locally: Easter Calendar | Forward Movement

Pre-order your Golden Halo mug | Forward Movement

Citizenship as a Spiritual Calling | ChurchNext

My Way of Love | The Episcopal Church and RenewalWorks