Don't worry - pray! The First Sunday in Lent

Today's Epistle reading (Liberal Catholic Liturgy) gives us some indications as to what we must do to be accepted by Christ, which has to be a good starting point to someone like me, looking to find my way back into a more active ministry, looking for the way forward.

Give no offence in anything, in all things approving yourself by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.

II Corinthians 5

I have had a couple of days of reading scripture (coming to my phone in a daily portion from an online reading plan) without attempting to write, as my daughter came home for the weekend and it is pretty hard to get any undisturbed time when she's here! And so far, the message I seem to be getting is two-fold... One is that whatever I do needs to be based on prayer...

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. 

Philippians 4:6-7 (MSG)

 

Now this is the one thing that I have continued during my illness this year, trying to be an active prayer warrior (for want of a better term) presence on Facebook, praying for everyone who has asked for assistance. And, especially because I suffer from depression and anxiety, I need to keep placing all that I do in God's light, and to ask others to pray for me, that I may feel an increasing sense of God's wholeness, rather than worry, as I move forward on this new path...

 

I do have some ideas where my efforts would best be directed, as, as well as doing work the LCAC may ask of me as Episcopal Vicar in the North-east of England and serving on the faculty of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Seminary, I had been approached by someone to begin an LCAC parish here in the NE before my illness. Previous to that I had said Mass in my home and welcomed anyone who wished to attend, but this had not attracted many visitors. Now I have someone to work with who is keen to build something, which seems as good a sign as any that God now wants me to work in this direction as it fits the second part of what I feel I am being told - to work with the poor:

 

Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them...

Philippians 4:5 (MSG)

I have always felt called to work with those on the margins; of society (we live in an infamous street on a council estate), of the church (I offered for ordination through MCC). Now I have a chance to do both. The people who want to work with me feel rejected by mainstream churches because of their sexuality and/or gender indentity. Many also live on benefits due to poor health, disabilty or "simply" the lack of work here in this deprived part of the UK. Those that do work receive the Statutory Minimum Wage. I know what that is like as I now receive disabilty benefits and my partner is on carers benefits since losing her job due to cutbacks, in September.

The good-hearted understand what it is like to be poor; the hard-hearted haven't the faintest idea.

Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.Proverbs 29:7,14 (MSG)

So, we are not a rich group; we are all the voiceless poor in one way or another, but we are motivated by love of God, of each other, and of catholic christianity. I have seen churches where many if not all of us would not be accepted, so I feel privileged to say that over the next months and weeks we will begin to work together to see what we can build here in the NE!

And I will try not to worry but to pray - I hope I can rely on your prayers for me and for us...

Stay blessed!

PS If you would like me/us to pray for you, please leave a comment or contact me via our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/LCACNEEngland