Wait, Rise, Walk and Run
Dear Saints,
The last Friday of the month. Time for our monthly overnight Vigil Chain Prayer. At our Parish Council meeting Dr Seipati described the vigil as a happening in our Parish moving like a well oiled machine. We are grateful for the effort and commitment the organisers of and the participants in the vigil put into this activity in order for it to be described in the above fashion.
Our theme for the prayers tomorrow is based partly on the Isaiah text which encourages us in the following way:
“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall rise up like wings on eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not grow faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
The theme is Wait, Rise, Walk and Run. The theme fits with the season we are entering into as a Church. The Advent season which is steeped into the Spirit of waiting. Thanking God for Jesus’ entering into our historical reality and awaiting the second coming of our Lord.
As Christians our daily living is rooted in this Spirit of expectant waiting. Like waiting to exhale. So how do we wait? Our text from Isaiah informs us that all our waiting is towards perfect and gracious execution of God’s purpose for us.
We are therefore constantly waiting in order to effortlessly and graciously rise up like an eagle to effectively do good and ensure justice is served, in order for the Kingdom of God to be manifested in our midst.
And this Sunday we start the last month of 2019. St Monnica’s Anglican Church is Midrand is challenging you to read the whole Bible in one year in 2020. Yes, the whole Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, cover to cover. In one year.
The readings will start on Wednesday 1 January 2020 and end on Thursday 31 December 2020. The daily readings are guided by comments from over 100 priests and biblical scholars of the Anglican Communion from around the world, including our own Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.
Please join with us in taking The 2020 Bible Challenge – a way for anyone to read the entire Bible in one year.
We will start the journey during Advent 2019. On the four Advent Sundays 1 December, 8 December, 15 December and 22 December 2019, the Bibles which we will be using can be brought to the church, so they can be blessed at the Altar. If you want to use your own new Bible, you can buy it at the Welcome Desk.
The clergy and lay ministers and other leaders of the parish will support you in every way that we can along the way. The 2020 Bible Challenge is a program suitable for ALL Christians (regular worshippers, the un-churched, as well as your friends who are from other denominations). I hope you will invite them to join you.
All you need to do is complete the form. Place your completed form either on the Altar on one of the Advent Sundays, hand it to the Welcome Desk or our parish office or email it to rector.pa@stmonnica.org.za.
Will you take the 2020 Bible Challenge with us while we are waiting?
Yours in Christ as always,
Revd Jacque