The Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer are found in the Book of Common Prayer or online:
Morning Evening
Ephesians 4:4: There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
This verse may sound familiar to you: it forms the opening words of our baptismal liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer. It is the reminder that we are all one, sharing in one Spirit, with one faith, in one God, through our one baptism.
We Anglicans tend to value a diversity of opinions, and we never expect that we will all agree. Historically Episcopalians have appreciated differences of opinion in our "via media" approach. And yet we embrace the call to hold on to the clear sense of being "one" in Christ. In other words, we value unity in the midst of diversity. Sadly in our culture today we are becoming more and more divided, not just by differences of opinion but by hatred for those who disagree with us. And, perhaps more distressingly, we are beginning to lay claim to different versions of reality itself. We are quickly moving into a position in which "unity" as a culture is becoming less and less possible, even as we face a common threat in this pandemic.
As people of faith, we are called to be witnesses to the wider world: it is essential that we model what unity in diversity can look like because we live this out as the Church every day. This is a gift we have to offer our world right now. But we have to be intentional and prayerful about it ... we have to think before we speak, write, share, post, text, etc.
How might we model unity in diversity to the wider world? How can we "speak the truth in love" as verse 15 of this passage enjoins us? What are some concrete ways we can demonstrate what it looks like to be "one" while disagreeing? Let's share this gift!
~Rebecca+
Morning Evening
Ephesians 4:4: There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
This verse may sound familiar to you: it forms the opening words of our baptismal liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer. It is the reminder that we are all one, sharing in one Spirit, with one faith, in one God, through our one baptism.
We Anglicans tend to value a diversity of opinions, and we never expect that we will all agree. Historically Episcopalians have appreciated differences of opinion in our "via media" approach. And yet we embrace the call to hold on to the clear sense of being "one" in Christ. In other words, we value unity in the midst of diversity. Sadly in our culture today we are becoming more and more divided, not just by differences of opinion but by hatred for those who disagree with us. And, perhaps more distressingly, we are beginning to lay claim to different versions of reality itself. We are quickly moving into a position in which "unity" as a culture is becoming less and less possible, even as we face a common threat in this pandemic.
As people of faith, we are called to be witnesses to the wider world: it is essential that we model what unity in diversity can look like because we live this out as the Church every day. This is a gift we have to offer our world right now. But we have to be intentional and prayerful about it ... we have to think before we speak, write, share, post, text, etc.
How might we model unity in diversity to the wider world? How can we "speak the truth in love" as verse 15 of this passage enjoins us? What are some concrete ways we can demonstrate what it looks like to be "one" while disagreeing? Let's share this gift!
~Rebecca+
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