Convocation and synod for the Diocese of Christ our Hope are approaching! Although we will not be meeting in person this year, everyone who is able is still encouraged to attend online from Nov. 5-7th. For those who haven’t attended in the past, “convocation” is the yearly gathering of the entire diocese for the purpose of growth, worship, and encouragement. The theme this year is “The Gospel of Sabbath Rest.” There will be three talks given from Thursday evening through Friday afternoon (Nov. 5-6th), as well as Q&A time and prayer services. It should be excellent, as all three speakers have deep perspective on the topic of Sabbath rest. On Saturday morning (Nov. 7th), the synod will occur. “Synod” refers to the yearly governance meeting of the diocese. All are invited (and encouraged!) to attend over these three days. More information and registration can be found at the diocesan website (adhope.org).
Steps Forward - Prayer Walks
Thank you to everyone who participated last Saturday in the prayer walk. If you couldn’t participate, but were interested, talk to someone who did to find out what you missed. I have heard from a number of people that it helped them begin to think and pray concretely about the community.
Because of the feedback I have heard and the success of the two Saturdays, we are going to continue to do this once each month for the remainder of the year. Katherine will be putting together a schedule so that you can sign up. My hope is that this becomes “normal” for the people of Incarnation. If you haven’t been able to participate yet, please sign up for one of the Saturdays in the future. We will continue to remind you in the newsletter and in announcements at church.
We live in a culture of instant gratification. Prayer walks don’t fit that mold, and it is easy to spend our time on something else, because it offers a faster “return on investment.” But in order to do ministry in our community well, we need to lay the foundation. The foundation, in the most basic sense, is prayer. We shouldn’t expect a fruitful ministry in our community if we aren’t praying for the people in our community. And as most of us already know from personal experience, we won’t pray for it unless we schedule times to pray for it. Consider these prayer walks as your scheduled time to lay the groundwork for the future ministry of the church!
Prayer Walk!
It isn’t too late to participate in the prayer walk scheduled for this Saturday, August 8th! We would love for as many people as possible to join us. Our plan is to simply walk the neighborhood around Cambridge as we pray for the people and pray that God’s kingdom would grow in that area.
It is sometimes hard to believe that God works through the prayers of his people. We long to see an instant impact, and want to see God work with fireworks and miracles. He does do this sometimes, but God usually moves more subtly and quietly than we expect. As Jesus said, the kingdom of God is like leaven, slowly and silently transforming the places where it has been established. That short parable sheds light on the Lord’s Prayer, where we are taught to pray, “Thy kingdom come.” The parable and the Lord’s Prayer together reveal that we are to be praying actively that God would send his kingdom, yet we should expect it to transform our world like leaven, not gunpowder. Come join us in praying “Thy kingdom come” in neighborhood where we worship!