Dear friends in Christ,

As you read this, I have gone on a bit of summer holiday. I love seeing new places, so we’ve gone to explore a couple of countries that we’ve never seen. Perhaps you will have some holiday time, too, as summer continues.

One of my favorite things to do when I’m away is visit churches on Sunday mornings. Usually I try to find Episcopal or Anglican churches, but I’ve visited many other denominations over the years. Of course, it’s always a joy to offer thanks and praise to Almighty God for his grace and mercy. And I enjoy seeing what feels familiar and what feels strange when worshiping away from home.

Some of my most memorable experiences in life are connected to receiving the gift of hospitality from churches when I was a first-time guest. People have been welcoming in all sorts of ways.

If you are traveling, I encourage you to visit churches. For one thing, setting aside the Lord’s Day for worship is the duty and delight of all Christians. But beyond that, in our seemingly divided world, it never fails to bring joy when people offer hospitality to me, a stranger, in the name of Jesus Christ. I always leave inspired to offer hospitality myself, when I have the opportunity to welcome strangers.

If you have a story to tell of receiving or giving hospitality in Christ’s name, please share it with us on social media. You can find and tag Forward Movement on Twitter or Facebook.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

From Grow Christians: Experiencing Thin Places as a Family

Pocket-sized inspiration for travel: Forward Day by Day

Create a spirit of hospitality at your church: Invite Welcome Connect

Welcome newcomers to the Prayer Book tradition: Inwardly Digest

Dear friends in Christ,

Today we celebrate the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We remember the time that St. Mary visited her cousin St. Elizabeth and St. John the Baptist leaped in St. Elizabeth’s womb. You can read the account in Luke 1:39-57.

The scene with these two strong women coming together after God had given each of them a miraculous pregnancy must have been something to behold. And Mary’s very presence was a blessing to the child Elizabeth was bearing. Such grace!

In light of their very palpable awareness of God’s power to act in the world, it’s inspiring to contemplate what it might have been like when Mary proclaimed her song, the Magnificat. It’s a song that extols God’s deeds in the past as a way of celebrating God’s promises for the future. Unlike the advice given by financial planners, when it comes to God’s power to act in the world, past performance is a guarantee of future returns!

This is a rich festival with many facets on which we might focus our devotion. Maybe you’ll ponder these strong women stepping forward in faith. Perhaps it’s Mary’s beautiful proclamation of God’s deeds of old. Or you might like to step back, imagine the scene, and give thanks for an almost incomprehensible abundance of God’s grace.

I invite you to join me in praying the collect for today:

Father in heaven, by your grace the virgin mother of your incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping your word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Pray with Mary and Elizabeth in the new edition of Bible Women

Delve deeper into this Gospel narrative: A Journey with Luke

Reflect on God’s promises and invitations: A Generous Beckoning

From Grow Christians: Love your enemy. Love your neighbor.

Dear friends in Christ,

I hope you’re still basking in the glow of Easter! We are just four days into the great fifty days of the Easter season. That gives us all plenty of time for more basking and rejoicing.

Sometimes I wonder what our church would be like if all our members and all our church leaders fully embraced the world-shaking truth of Easter. Jesus Christ was totally, stone-cold dead, and then he was raised to new life. This isn’t a trick or a metaphor. The earliest Christians wouldn’t have gone to their martyrdom for a metaphor.

So what does it mean that death, evil, and sin have been utterly and decisively defeated?

To be clear, Easter doesn’t render suffering obsolete. The news websites assure us of that. But Easter ought to change our understanding of what defines our world. Our world is not defined by evil and death. Rather, our world is fundamentally defined by God’s grace and mercy. When anyone suffers from this sinful world, they can be assured of God’s steadfast love in this life and the promise of life to come.

In this vein, I am still reeling from something I heard a few weeks ago. At the Episcopal Parish Network conference in March, Jon Meacham told attendees to “stop lamenting and start leading.” In other words, as a church, let’s stop acting as if evil and death rule! Let’s move forward in hope and love. Let’s point the world to a greater truth. And, yes, let us absolutely join with others to defeat every manifestation of sin we see, whether in our lives or in the world around us.

Many seekers don’t bother with church, and I don’t blame them. Too often, our vision is no bigger than the talking points of the chattering class. We should know better. Our vision should be radiantly beautiful, a world in which grace and mercy abound. It’s the vision of the Gospel, and it’s contagious. There’s a reason the earliest Christians changed the world, and it’s time for us to do it again.

Happy Easter! And now let’s get to work, joining with Mary Magdalene as we shout to the ends of the earth, “I have seen the Lord.”

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Get Easter meditations in your inbox every day: Subscribe to 50Days.org

Explore Mary Magdalene’s words – and others – in the new edition of Bible Women

Live course on Healing and Hope for God’s Good Creation begins April 26