Monday, April 19, 2010

The global church matters

The Daily Office lessons for today included this from Peter's First Letter,

Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. (5:8-9)

We learn from one another's struggles and in fact can "borrow faith" and other qualities from one another. In his Second Letter to Corinth, Paul pushes affluent Christians there to give money for the needs of the impoverished church in Macedonia, noting that the Macedonians are exporting "joy" and "earnestness" to help other churches (Chs.8 & 9 NRSV).

The potential break up of the worldwide Anglican Communion is poignantly sad from this perspective.

The 4th Global South Encounter is underway in Singapore thru Friday. It unifies the most vibrant and numerous Provinces of the Anglican Communion, which might be on the way to separation from the tin-earred and hard-hearted machinations of cash-rich, people-poor and theologically bankrupt Northern Hemisphere Provinces and bureaucracy (tragically represented by The Episcopal Church).

Other prayer and informational links for the GS4 are at the Lent & Beyond prayer blog.

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