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Forward Today: Savoring Lent

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Dear friends in Christ,

It’s hard to believe, but Lent begins two weeks from today. From many conversations over years, I know that some people really look forward to this season and others dread it. A long time ago, I didn’t love the subdued season of Lent, but I grew to love it.

Lent can be a joyful time. Shocking? It shouldn’t be—even the Book of Common Prayer speaks of this season as a time to “prepare with joy for the Paschal feast.” With joy!

How can this be? Lent is a time to turn back toward God’s ways, to repent. Lent is a time to grow closer to Jesus. Lent is a time to live the life that God intends for us. What could be more joyful than that?

In its wisdom, the church suggests several ways to use the season of Lent for our good. We are encouraged to practice fasting and self-denial, to realize that our health and happiness doesn’t come from things, but only from God’s grace and mercy. We are urged to spend time in prayer and in studying the scriptures. We are commended in giving alms.

I encourage you to take advantage of whatever opportunities your local church offers. It is good to spend this time in the company of others. Forward Movement also offers a wide array of resources to support your Lenten journey. We have published Lenten daily devotions. We have a website and an app with resources for daily prayer. We offer a joyful practice in Lent Madness—learning from the saints.

With just two weeks until Lent starts, now is the time to make a plan. How will you savor this season, this time to return to the Lord?

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

P.S. Your church might want to order copies of our colorable Lent and Easter calendar posters. These engaging posters are fun for all ages—to color in the pictures and to find ways to engage these seasons.

More from our ministry:

Follow along with Lent Madness with this 2024 Bracket Poster

Meet Amanda Perkins McGriff, the author of this year’s Lent devotional

Look ahead to Easter: Easter Triumph, Easter Joy

Savor God’s word with this bite-sized devotional: Forward Day by Day

Forward Today: Full of grace and truth

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Saint John’s Bible exhibit, St. Mary’s Abbey, Morristown, New Jersey. Photo by Randy Greves (CC BY 2.0)

Dear friends in Christ,

Ready or not, Christmas is almost here! An occupational hazard for those of us who “work” at church— as clergy, altar guild, choir, lectors, staff, whatever — is that we get so busy with the details that we miss the mystery and awe of Christmas. I suppose that same hazard exists for all of us, between gift-giving, meal preparation, decorations, parties, and all the traditions of the season.

Consider this message your invitation to spend a few moments in quiet contemplation of the awe and wonder of Christmas. And then if you can manage that awe again at church in a few days, so much the better!

I encourage you to find a quiet spot. Grab a Bible or a connected device. Read Luke 2:1-20 and John 1:1-14. It might be helpful to read them in a couple of different translations, perhaps a familiar one and a less familiar one. Read them several times.

What is God doing? How is the birth of Jesus like any other, and how is his birth different from all others? What does the way his birth unfolds teach us about God? How might we be inspired to live more faithfully because God loves us so much that he was willing to live as God-with-us, fully enfleshed?

I love Christmas carols and festive traditions. But what gets me every year, if I make time for it, is the fresh realization of God’s great love for us all, both in its simplicity and in its majesty.

Have a joyous AND contemplative Christmas, friends.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Spend the last days of the season with AdventWord

A guide to “good news of great joy” in the Bible: The Path

Explore these gospels with the Bible Challenge series

Pray every day with us: prayer.forwardmovement.org

Forward Today: Most affecting and majestic manner

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Dear friends in Christ,

Advent offers us an invitation to renew our study of scripture and our life of prayer. As an Episcopalian, I naturally think of the Book of Common Prayer in this season of repentance and growth. Given that this is a time of year when I buy Christmas gifts, I find myself wondering who I know who might enjoy the gift of the Book of Common Prayer at Christmas.

In the larger sense, the prayer book is a gift for all of us. The preface to the 1789 edition, which is reprinted in our current 1979 book, ends with this flourish:

And now, this important work being brought to a conclusion, it is hoped the whole [book] will be received and examined by every true member of our Church, and every sincere Christian, with a meek, candid, and charitable frame of mind; without prejudice or prepossessions; seriously considering what Christianity is, and what the truths of the Gospel are; and earnestly beseeching Almighty God to accompany with his blessing every endeavor for promulgating them to mankind in the clearest, plainest, most affecting and majestic manner, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Savior.

Isn’t that lovely? I’ve always loved the Book of Common Prayer since I first encountered it, but thinking of it as a means of transmitting our faith “in the clearest, plainest, most affecting and majestic manner, for the sake of Jesus Christ” really hits home.

Forward Movement publishes the finest personal edition of the Book of Common Prayer you can buy. The rubrics are, as the name would suggest, printed in red ink. This edition features a leather cover and gilt-edged pages with a ribbon. It’s an ideal size for holding. You’ll love it. And I’m happy to say it’s on sale this week for just $39.95, discounted from the usual retail price of $55.

You might like this lovely book for your own use, or it makes an excellent gift. It has a gift plate inside the front cover. What better Christmas gift than the gift of prayer? If a prayer book isn’t right for your recipient, Forward Movement also publishes Hour by Hour and Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book, both also with leather covers and gilt pages.

Of course, you don’t have to buy books to have a rich life of prayer. However you choose to pray in this Advent season, I encourage you to talk to God and to listen for God’s still, small voice in this noisy world.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Pray each day of the season with words of scripture: AdventWord

Explore the spirituality of the Prayer Book: Inwardly Digest

New this year: Calendars for the Twelve Days of Christmas

See more gift items: Devotionals, prayer books and more

Forward Today: The counter-cultural season of Advent

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Photo by KaLisa Veer on Unsplash

Dear friends in Christ,

This Sunday the season of Advent begins. Two thousand years ago, John the Baptist was a voice crying in the wilderness to call people to repentance. Today, Advent is a voice crying in the din of our time that salvation comes not from shiny things, but from Love Incarnate. In other words, the subversive call to repentance has not changed much in 20 centuries.

December can seem overwhelming. Custom demands that we spend vast sums on gifts. Invitations to parties and festive gathering might stack up. In church, folks are working hard preparing for Christmas celebrations. One might be left wondering how there will be any time for Advent.

And this is the point. Keeping Advent isn’t easy, and that is exactly why we do well to try to keep this season of preparation and repentance.

I’m not here to yell at you for playing Christmas carols or putting up a few decorations. Avoiding Christmas festivity isn’t the fundamental point of Advent. Though I think waiting to celebrate Christmas until it’s Christmas has virtue, I also think people can do two things at once. We can enjoy some holiday festivity and find ways to keep Advent.

What does this look like? Presumably, your church celebrates the liturgy a bit differently this time of year—Advent music and a different focus. This season might be a good time to curl up with the scriptures. As we’re beginning Year B in the three-year lectionary cycle, you might want to read the Gospel of Mark in its entirety. Maybe you’ll spend a few more moments in prayer each day. An Advent wreath can help to create a prayerful environment at home.

Mostly though, the point of this season is to prepare our hearts to meet Jesus. One day, we will all meet him when he comes in glory to judge the world. Will we, as the Advent preface suggests, be ready “without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing”?

What parts of your life need to change? What practices in your life do you want to increase or decrease? Who can you invite to know the Good News of Jesus Christ, who offers redemption to all? These are the matters for us to focus on this Advent season, and I hope you’ll find practices that aid in your reflection and repentance.

A blessed Advent to you.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

P.S. Forward Movement offers a new seasonal devotional book with practices and reflections for Advent and Christmastide. You can get the book in paper or as an ebook (Amazon Kindle or Apple Books).

More from our ministry:

Explore Mark’s Gospel in Year B: A Journey with Mark Bible Challenge

Get ready for the 12 Days of Christmas: Christmas Calendar

Practical ways to follow Jesus: The Way of Love Practical Guide

Give the gift of prayer with a gift subscription to Forward Day by Day

Forward Today: Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest

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Dear friends in Christ,
Each year, I look forward to the Sunday nearest November 16. This Sunday we pray one of my very favorite collects:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Thomas Cranmer originally wrote this one for Advent, but I like its new placement in our liturgical year. I am grateful for this annual reminder of the purpose of scripture. We love the scriptures not just for the texts themselves but for the hope to which they point: everlasting life given to us in Jesus.
Forward Movement’s RenewalWorks data tells us that not very many Episcopalians read the Bible regularly. I’m not here to shame anyone or make you feel guilty! One of the core messages of the Gospel is that it’s never too late. So why not make time in your life for regular reading of scripture?
If you’re not sure where to start, there are chapters about the Bible and how to read it in two books I co-authored with the Rev’d Melody Shobe, Faithful Questions and Walk in Love. Or you can ask your priest or a wise spiritual friend for guidance. If you want a suggestion of what to read when you pick up a Bible to read on your own for the first time, I suggest reading the psalms or maybe one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John).
At Forward Movement, we offer several tools to help you read the Bible regularly.
  • You can use any of our Bible Challenge books for companion reflections as you read some part of the Bible.
  • Bible Women offers every word spoken by women in the Bible along with the back stories.
  • This January, you can join the Good Book Club (for free!) to read Genesis with folks from around the world.
  • Forward Day by Day offers a reflection on the assigned readings of the Episcopal Church each day.
The Bible is perhaps the most important and most misunderstood book. But the good news is that you can read the Bible for yourself and discover its wonders and the hope to which it points.
Happy reading!
Yours faithfully,
Scott Gunn's signature
Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Last chance: Get your copy of Preparing the Way before Advent begins!

Find practical tips for following Jesus: The Way of Love

Discover scripture in the Book of Common Prayer: Inwardly Digest

Get ready for the Good Book Club: A Journey through Genesis

Forward Today: Obedience and sacrifice

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Dear friends in Christ,

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the Philadelphia area for a meeting. Since I had some time, I paid a visit to the Rev’d Clarke French, a friend, who is serving as interim rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. It’s a thriving congregation meeting in a colonial-era building.

There are many things I appreciated about the lovely and ancient worship space, but I was particularly struck by the lights for illuminating the scriptures as the lectors proclaim them. The lamp shades say (facing the people and also facing the lector) SACRIFICE and OBEDIENCE.

These powerful words are central to the Gospel and alien to our consumer culture. In the world that says “get what you can and be your own person,” the Gospel calls us to another way. We are called to give freely—for the glory of God, for Christ’s sake, for the good of others, and for the wellness of our souls. We are called to obey our Lord Jesus, who calls us to take up our cross and follow him—to die to old ways and be alive in the new creation of Jesus Christ.

This coming weekend brings us to November 11, kept in the US as Veterans Day, when we remember the sacrifice of many for their country. Christian sacrifice can surely be seen in the lives of martyrs, but it can also be seen in more mundane expressions—forgiving others, in sharing what we have with those in need, in turning the other cheek, or in yielding our own privileges for the well-being of others.

Then there’s obedience. This is positively counter-cultural! For those of us to say we follow Jesus, we need to obey him as our leader. The Gospel loses its power if we try to fit it into the gaps of a comfortable consumer lifestyle. Jesus knew this when we said you can’t serve two masters. We either serve the gospel of consumption or the Gospel of grace and mercy. We either orient our lives around greed and self-determination or toward sacrifice and obedience.

I invite you to consider the wisdom and power of OBEDIENCE and SACRIFICE. What do they mean in your life?

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Countercultural teachings on wealth and service: The Unjust Steward

Order your 2023 Advent Calendars today

Christian practices for Advent: Preparing the Way

Learn about heroes of the faith this Lent: Lent Madness

Forward Today: Getting our armor ready

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Dear friends in Christ,

In a few weeks, we will begin our annual walk through the season of Advent. On the first Sunday of the season, we pray a lovely collect in which we ask God to give us grace to “put on the armor of light.” This phrase comes from Romans 13, which sets out the meaning as putting on Jesus Christ and not the ways of the world.

Every year I think I say the same thing: I’ve never needed Advent more than this year. With the world seemingly tearing itself apart at the seams, I need the anchor of Jesus Christ in my life. Maybe you do, too. Advent invites us to turn away from the evil and distraction of the world and toward the most important things: a life transformed by God’s grace and mercy.

Of course, you can observe Advent on your own and with your church. But you may want some support for yourself, and your church may want to provide some resources for groups and individuals. With Advent coming, now is the time to make a plan and get ready.

Forward Movement offers several ways to enrich your Advent experience. Families may especially enjoy the Advent calendar poster with cartoons by Jay Sidebotham, ready for you to add color and your personal touch. (They’re sold in bundles of 25.) Individuals or book groups may find this year’s new Advent devotional, Preparing the Way: Christian Practices for Advent, helping in navigating the seasons of Advent and Christmas with daily reflections and invitations to go deeper in Christian practice. We have plenty of other Advent resources, too. Order soon to make sure your Advent help arrives in time!

You don’t need to spend a penny to savor Advent. You can enjoy our free podcasts of Forward Day by Day or the Daily Office. But sometimes printed resources really hit the spot.

Part of my point today is to encourage the sale of the materials Forward Movement has printed. But my bigger point is to invite you to think about how you’ll enjoy the gift of Advent and to be ready to dive in to this season.

Jesus is our light. And I’m so grateful for this time to remember that and give thanks.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

P.S. With the arrival of Advent, we enter a new liturgical year. Year B draws extensively from the Gospel of Mark, so you might like to read A Journey with Mark to hear this gospel afresh.

More from our ministry:

Try our online Advent devotional: AdventWord

Get your calendars for Christmas as well: Christmas. It’s a Season

Pray beautiful collects from the Book of Common Prayer, Gift Edition

New on our blog: A review of Devotions for People Who Don’t Do Devotions

Forward Today: Discipleship made accessible

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Dear friends in Christ,

Over the last few years, Forward Movement has been working with hundreds of congregations and tens of thousands of Episcopalians to understand spiritual growth. What works? What nurtures growth?

What we have learned is clear and unsurprising. If you want to grow spiritually and stay renewed as a follower of Jesus, there are three key practices:

  • Go to church every week and hear the Word proclaimed and receive Jesus Christ in the sacrament if possible.
  • Pray every day. Talk to God, and listen for God.
  • Read the Bible regularly. This reminds us of the great, cosmic story of God’s love for us and helps us find our place in it.

It’s not always easy, but it’s not complicated. For almost 90 years, Forward Movement has offered an accessible, inviting, affordable way to sustain daily discipleship. Forward Day by Day isn’t just a book of meditations. Rather, it’s an encouraging way to be nurtured in daily prayer and supported in reading scripture.

If you are a regular reader of Forward Day by Day, I hope you’ll urge someone else to give it a try. It’s available in print, as a podcast, as an app, and on our website. You can read in English or Adelante dìa a dìa in Spanish. And plenty more ways!

If you’ve never given it a try, please do. It might just be the thing that helps you in a habit of daily prayer and regular scripture.

Blessings on the way.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Now shipping: Devotions for People who Don’t Do Devotions

Dive deeper into research on spiritual growth: Signs of Life

From Grow Christians:

Take common prayer with you with our lightweight BCP Gift Edition

Forward Today: We too have seen the Lord

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Ted, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Dear friends in Christ,

This Saturday, the church keeps the major feast of Mary Magdalene. She is rightly commemorated with the same importance as the other apostles who knew Jesus. Mary Magdalene is, after all, the apostle to the apostles.

It was Mary Magdalene who proclaimed the glad news of Jesus’ resurrection to the disciples. She is the first person to share the most important news in the entire history of the world. Her message must have been startling: “I have seen the Lord.”

I could write thousands of words on what we can learn as individuals and as a church from the commemoration of Mary Magdalene and the assigned readings. Here are a few quick lessons:

  • The scriptures clearly affirm the effectiveness, the giftedness, and the importance of women leaders in the church.
  • Sometimes we will have to look outside the “official channels” for Good News. God didn’t choose one of the members of the inner circle—Peter, James, and John—for the task of proclaiming the resurrection. Sometimes the inner circle needs to be told what’s what!
  • Mary has her quite understandable doubts and confusion, but she’s ready to believe when she sees Jesus. We too may have our doubts and confusion, but let us never delay in proclaiming the Good News when we see Jesus. And, let’s be clear, we do see Jesus. He has promised that he is present when the church gathers, and he has promised that he is present in the sacraments he gave us. He is here. We have seen the Lord.

Sometimes we overthink it. We do well to emulate the apostle to the apostles. When we are unsure, let us rush to where to we might find Jesus and then be eager to run to others and say that we have seen him.

And let us be ready to look at how our church is organized and realize that the inner circle is often going to need a surprising herald of grace to speak the truth. And we can all urge our church leaders, especially our bishops, to see themselves as apostles with Good News to proclaim, not as middle managers with assets to keep.

There is Good News that we must urgently share! Sin is defeated. Death is put to flight. Jesus lives.

Can we all say it now with Mary Magdalene? “I have seen the Lord!”

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Pray with Mary Magdalene and other women of scripture: Bible Women

From the Grow Christians archive: Mary Magdalene’s bold hope in the resurrection

Pre-order today: A Journey through Genesis

Meet Jesus in the sacraments: Gifts of God for the People of God

Forward Today: A year of growth

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Dear friends in Christ,

Day-to-day life can be overwhelming. There’s too much to do. Keeping up with the news sometimes seems impossible. It might be tough to find inspiration amidst the noise and chaos.

At Forward Movement, we’ve spent lots of time pondering this. I’m delighted to say that we’ve just put thousands of copies of “Inspiration Throughout The Year” into the mail. You might receive one soon! If you want to check out our year-round guidebook of inspiration now, it’s online for you.

The idea is simple. If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve organized things so that you can find inspiration, whether it’s a Bible study or a prayer resource or something else, for every season. Are you a church leader? We have you covered.

Our little guide includes plenty of free online resources and courses, as well as books of all kinds. I hope it’s helpful. In just a few minutes, you can make a plan for inspiration through the fall, for Advent and Christmas, for the Epiphany season, for Lent, for Easter, and that gets you through a year in your journey with Jesus.

While our little guide might look like a catalog at first, our hope is that it’s much more: we hope you find ways to stay renewed in God’s love for you and to share that love with our world.

Blessings to you – today, this whole year, and forever.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

365 days of inspiration: Subscribe to Forward Day by Day

From Grow Christians: Summer at the Pool – Remembering Our Baptisms

Pre-order today: Devotions for People who Don’t Do Devotions