Epiphany 2021: A Call to Prayer for our Nation from Presiding Bishop Curry

 

Epiphany 2021: A Call to Prayer for our Nation from Presiding Bishop Curry

Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs

[January 6, 2021] On this day of the Feast of the Epiphany, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites Episcopalians and people of faith to turn and pray on behalf of our nation.

Watch the video of the Presiding Bishop’s statement here.

A transcript of the statement follows:

Today is January the 6th, 2021. It is the Feast of the Epiphany. And on this particular day at this particular moment, even as our nation’s capital is being endangered and assaulted, we pray that the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray that God, in his Way of Love, might prevail in all of our hearts.

The events at our Capitol today are deeply disturbing. We believe the actions of armed protesters represent a coup attempt. We are a democracy, with long-standing institutional norms that must be honored, foremost among them, following the processes laid out in the Constitution and Federal statute to facilitate the peaceful and orderly transition of power.

Today’s protesters pushed through police barricades and forced their way into Congressional chambers, and the Capitol building are now threatened, and threatening the safety of lawmakers, their staff, and others who work in the Capitol complex.  This threatens the integrity of our democracy. The national security of our nation, the continuity of government, and the lives and safety of our legislators, their staffs, law enforcement, and all who work in the Capitol.

I, therefore, ask you now to join me in prayer for our nation, praying first from the prayers that accompany Morning Prayer:

Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
Govern and uphold us now and always.

Day by day we bless you;
We praise your name forever.

Lord, keep us from sin today;
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. 

Lord, show us your love and mercy;
For we put our trust in you. 

In you, Lord, is our hope;
And we shall never hope in vain.
-Morning Prayer II, Book of Common Prayer, p. 98

Let us pray:

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered together under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God and Creator of us all; to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever.

• For Peace, Book of Common Prayer, p. 815

Oh God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your son. Look now with compassion on the entire human family; and particularly this part of the family, in the United States, and those in our nation’s capital; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

• For the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, p. 815

On this day and at this moment, we pray for our nation. We ask God to heal us, to show us the way to healing, to show us the way to be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory,
forever and ever.
Amen.

And now, may the peace of God which passeth all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The blessing of God Almighty the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be on you and on this nation and on the entire human family and all of creation this moment and forevermore.
Amen.

Bishop Curry becomes the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop

See his sermon HERE

Bishop Curry becomes the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop

See his sermon HERE

Need inspiration? Watch & listen to Bishop Curry's sermon at General Convention

Ok ok, maybe I will go to General Convention someday, if I could hear and see this kind of preaching!



The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry preaches at the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church from The Episcopal Church on Vimeo.

Archbishop George Carey at Duke University (from Feb, 2007)

On my way driving down from NYC to Virginia I listened to the podcast (available on itunes) of this excellent and interesting lecture given in February by Archbishop George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, at Duke University back in February.

While I disagree with some of his thinking, and his approach to scripture differs from mine, I thought this lecture to be very very interesting, and make sure to listen to it online, because both Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and Dr. Stanley Hauerwas of Duke University make comments and ask questions.

When Archbishop Carey came to VTS to speak in the spring of 2006, I was not all that impressed, and thought he dodged some earnest and probing questions. In this lecture I appreciate his take on the issues and the situation in which we find ourselves ... well worth the time to listen ... check it out and let me know what you think!

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Speaks at Duke Divinity School

Read text and see video of the Feb. 7 address by Lord Carey of Clifton, "Anglican Communion: Past Blessings, Present Challenges and Future Hopes"

February 7, 2007

I must begin this address by thanking Jo Wells for her welcome and all those who have made it possible for Eileen and myself to make this trip to North Carolina. We are especially delighted to be here at Duke University and gain a flavour of the life and vitality of this place.

View video of Lord Carey's address

Duke’s Methodist roots are well known, of course, and remind us of the debt that both Anglicanism and Methodism owe to each other. I served my Title as Curate at St.Mary’s Islington in London and recall noting with delight on my first day there, that the great Charles Wesley had been a curate at the same church in the 18th century. Episcopalians are indebted to our young sister’s commitment to evangelism and social action.

However, the 18th century Church of England did not take too kindly to Methodism’s enthusiasm and direct spirituality. An ironic and somewhat bizarre witness to this is found in a church near Cambridge where a memorial plaque records the ministry of the Rector, of whom the plaque states ‘served for 38 years in this parish without the slightest trace of enthusiasm.’

That astonishing memorial was not erected by disgruntled parishioners but actually delighted ones who were clearly pleased that, during their Rector’s time the ‘enthusiasts,’ that is the Methodists, were kept at bay. Sadly, the division between our two churches today is due to that kind of attitude which prevailed all too often at that period.

Both John and Charles Wesley were disappointed by the reception given by the Established Church to the fledgling ‘methodistical’ preachers of their day. They died priests in the Church of England, even though both knew with reluctance that it would be only a matter of few years before the inevitable split between mother and daughter came about.

Dr.Wells invited me to speak about the Anglican Communion today, and I offered the title of: “The Anglican Communion; Past Blessings, present Challenges, future Hope.” I do so with some hesitancy because I run the risk of some telling me, yet again, that I am interfering and that I am undermining the work of Archbishop Rowan Williams.

My response is twofold; it is difficult to accept the accusation of interfering when I am speaking of my own Communion, to which I gave so much in eleven exhausting and fulfilling years. I love this Communion and I love the Episcopal Church of the United States. One only ‘interferes’ if the matter has nothing to do with one. This is scarcely the case.

Secondly, I fully support the present Archbishop of Canterbury in his desire to hold the Communion together and to find a way out of the present serious situation we are in. The Windsor Report, if accepted by all, would strengthen the Communion and heal our brokenness. Alas, it has already become clear that its strong medicine does not please parts of our body and has been rejected by some. The coming Primates Meeting in Tanzania should be in all our prayers as the leaders of the Communion seek a way forward to hold the family together.

So, let me reflect with you from this place, Duke University, a former bastion of Methodist life. What would the Wesley brothers have made of the Anglican Communion; indeed, would it have been a reality in their day?

read the rest HERE....or, ... HERE.