Note: As we continue to pray for healing for the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, this weekly message will feature guest writers from the Forward Movement staff and board of directors. Today’s message comes from Richelle Thompson, Forward Movement’s Managing Editor.
Dear friends in Christ,
Like so many of you, I postponed a lot of things during COVID—a long-dreamed-about vacation, trips to see family and friends, tickets for concerts and plays—and most of my routine medical visits. In the midst of the pandemic, the annual check-up didn’t seem critical. Neither did bloodwork, dental cleanings, mammograms, and eye exams. Two-and-a-half-years later, I’m trying to play catch-up. You probably are too. Lots of us—for plenty of justifiable reasons—made the same decision, cancelling or postponing these types of appointments. But ignoring these preventative measures comes with a cost, including missed chances for early detection or mitigation of various medical issues.
To be honest, I’ve sometimes treated my spiritual health the same way, quick to skip out on important commitment to worship, Bible study, and service. Sometimes I’ve had really good reasons (hello, pandemic, motherhood, stress, etc.), and sometimes I’ve offered sad excuses. But the result is the same: ignoring these routine practices comes with a cost.
That’s one of the reasons I’m excited about some of the new offerings from Forward Movement, including Kate Moorehead Carroll’s book, Vital Signs of Faith: Finding Health in Your Spiritual Life. As dean of the Episcopal cathedral in Jacksonville, Florida, Kate approaches spiritual health like a doctor does physical health. Just as oxygen flows to the heart, helping us live and breathe, time spent with God in prayer and service helps us to live faith-filled lives. In thoughtful and compelling prose, Kate explores four vital signs of faith and offers practical ways to monitor and improve our spiritual health.
Another diagnostic—and prescriptive—tool is the Book of Common Prayer. Most of us are familiar with the pages for Holy Eucharist and perhaps baptism, but the Book of Common Prayer holds a trove of riches. The Daily Office provides a pattern for prayer from morning to evening. The collects and prayers and thanksgiving sections offer ways to talk with God, and in the psalter, we find comfort, challenge, and connection that span the centuries.
Forward Movement’s new gift edition of the Book of Common Prayer has a special feature: the rubrics (or directions for liturgy) and principal feasts and holy days are printed in red, offering helpful cues for individual and corporate worship and prayer. The book is smaller than the ones in the pew, making them a great size to carry or have on a nightstand, and the leather cover, gilded edges, and ribbon make them feel both special and personal. (If you want to see these features and more, check out this “unboxing” video by a couple of our staff members.)
These are two fantastic resources offered by Forward Movement, but there are thousands more, both on our website and from other publishers and organizations throughout the church. Just as I’m back to monitoring my physical health in regular ways, so too am I recommitting to tending to my spiritual health. I invite you to join me. Call your doctor. And your priest. And spend some time checking in with God today.
Yours faithfully,
Richelle Thompson
Managing Editor
More from our ministry:
From Grow Christians: A prayer practice for ordinary days
Help lay leaders renew their strength for ministry with Revive
Sign up for a live course on Vital Signs of Faith at ChurchNext
There’s “new year” energy in the air right now – not a new calendar year or liturgical year, but rather that unofficial holiday known as back-to-school. For many of us this is a time of new beginnings and new routines. Perhaps you or your kids are headed back to school. Or some ministries at your church might be resuming at the start of a new program year. Maybe you’re just noticing the change of seasons as summer winds down and fall draws near. 
Like Saint Paul reminds us in Corinthians, the Church needs each one of us to thrive and be whole. The Church needs your wonder in worship to serve on the altar, passion for gardening in the flowerbeds, love of baking for coffee hour, and writer’s pen for the church newsletter and social media. We need your vision, hope, and voice. Most of all, we need your presence! If you have not yet returned to church and are able to do so safely, please prayerfully consider doing so this fall. We miss you and the Church is not complete without you. You are a blessing.
A couple of Sundays ago, we heard in our churches the beginning of chapter 11 in Luke’s Gospel in which an unnamed disciple asks Jesus to teach them how to pray. It’s the only time in the gospels that a disciple asks Jesus to teach them something; every other time, Jesus initiates the lesson himself.
About a year ago, my spouse and I bought a new house. We spent months looking for just the right home for us. Our real estate agent would sometimes talk with us about “curb appeal.” What does the house look like as you drive by?
As I write this, I am on a plane on my way home from the 80th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, where I was honored to serve in the House of Deputies. Normally, I would have spent some time in a Forward Movement booth in the exhibit hall, too, but the convention was downsized and shortened this year due to the pandemic.
