World Evangelical Alliance - Join Us in Prayer: Feb. 14

WCC NEWS: God’s Creation is celebrated in a gathering of waters

Recalling believers’ mandate to act as stewards and beneficiaries of God’s creation, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly gathered in morning prayer on the first day of September, the Orthodox Day of Prayer for Creation and the start of an ecumenically observed Season of Creation. At the heart of the liturgical action was a combining of vessels of water from each inhabited region of the earth, a “gathering of the waters” reflecting the earliest act of creation in Genesis 1:9. The choir sings during morning prayer at the World Council of Churches' 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany. The assembly takes place August 31 to September 8 under the theme "Christ's Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity." Photo: Mike DuBose/WCC 01 September 2022 As the regional waters were intermingled, the congregation prayed, “We are nourished, sustained and connected. We depend on all life on our planet. We are united in Christ in baptism. We are purified. We are blessed.” Throughout the devotions, music from many nations and peoples enriched the quality of prayer. There was a Gloria in Estonian, an Alleluia in Russian, a Maori prayer of thanksgiving, and other music stemming from Japan, Lebanon, Europe, the Americas and South Africa. A liturgical dance inspired by Proverbs 8 incarnated the breadth of divine Wisdom and the blessings of Creation. The gospel lesson came from Colossians 1:15-20 which proclaims that, in Jesus Christ, “all things in heaven and on earth were created”. The text concludes that “through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of the cross.” As gatherings for morning, midday and evening prayer unfold in the week to come, texts, movement, music and prayers will provide bases of reflection for small group encounters and Bible studies woven through the pattern of the Assembly. Video of the Morning prayer Photos of the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland

Regarding Ruling Elders: Leaders Pray

Good leaders pray.

For years I could not understand what the Apostle Paul meant when he told the believers in Thessalonica to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). How do you do that? As a pastor’s kid, I thought Dad’s pastoral prayers dragged on for an eternity. As teenagers, my brothers and I began to time each of Dad’s prayers. One Sunday dinner, my older brother told Dad he had set an all-time record by praying for more than six minutes. “How do you even know God is listening that long? And besides, if God knows everything, why do you have to tell God what God already knows?!” he asked. I thought it was a good question. Then Dad said, “Boys, I don’t pray for God to know about us. I pray for us to know about God.” Years later, I thought of Dad’s response when I read American Trappist monk Thomas Merton say that he does not pray to change God. He prays so that he might be changed. This resonates with the Jewish theology that to pray is related to “judging oneself.” For Jewish friends, to pray is to be changed or transformed for the better.

Understanding prayer not as a way to change God but as a way for me to become more and more in the likeness of Jesus helped me to view prayer in a different way. But I was still stuck with Paul’s call to pray without ceasing. Then I was introduced to breath prayers—the idea that because God brought humankind to life by breathing into us (Genesis 2:7), when we breathe in, we take in God’s very breath. And when we breathe out, we breathe God’s breath to the creation. Breathing is a form of prayer because the goal is that we might be more attuned to God, and breathing takes God’s very breath into our bodies.

Good leaders pray. It helps to develop a pattern for praying. Many of my friends and family know I start every prayer time by “breathing in God’s mercies” and “breathing out God’s mercies to the whole world.” Then, when I am settled, I light a candle to remind me of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I pray through lists I keep in my journal. I find it helpful to write down the name of someone or a situation the Spirit brings to me throughout my day. It helps me to pray out loud by speaking the name or the situation. Sometimes I ask for something specific; other times, I just say the name. There is no magic here. It is not that by my speaking I think suddenly God is more attentive. Rather, it is as Merton says, that when I say a name or situation, I am more attuned to the person or situation. In my praying, God helps me to abide, to rest, to remain with them. I always end my prayers with gratitude. What I have come to realize is the more attuned I am to God, the more faithful I am as a follower of Jesus.

Good leaders pray.

---

Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka serves as the senior associate pastor and director of adult faith formation at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas. Prior to joining the staff at Village Church, he served as a professor of Christian education at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

This article is the second in a 12-part series focusing on PC(USA) leader formation as a part of the “Year of Leader Formation: Investing in Ruling Elders and Deacons.” Additional resources are available at www.pcusa.org/leader-formation/. 

Regarding Ruling Elders: A Vulnerable Pray-er

I love that Luke 11 tells the story of Jesus praying. The disciples must have been watching him because when Jesus finishes, they ask that he teach them how to pray. Prayer was not new to them. They could recognize that Jesus was praying. Certainly, they were raised to pray. Nevertheless, I love that the disciples were willing to be vulnerable about what is a fundamental spiritual practice. They were willing to explore a new way to engage in a familiar praxis. “We want to learn how to pray. Teach us, Jesus.”

Early in my ministry I realized that being the pastor of the church doesn’t necessarily mean that I have all knowledge and all answers to the great spiritual mysteries. I had recently been ordained and I knew Greek and Hebrew—enough to pass the ordination exam. Nevertheless, there were holes in my spiritual formation. Like the disciples, I was willing to acknowledge where I was vulnerable and had room for growth. More importantly, there were elders in the congregations that I served that “thought it not robbery” to teach me what they had learned about spiritual life—specifically about prayer.

An elder at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Louisburg, North Carolina, taught me to incorporate hymns into my prayer practices. He was fond of reflecting on the third verse of hymns, picking out words or phrases from the verse to reflect upon and use in prayer. He was also known to hum a hymn tune as a complete prayer. He quoted St. Augustine that “singing is like praying twice.” Thanks to his influence, I would arrive early on Sunday mornings to sing a prayer song in an empty sanctuary in preparation for leading worship.

It was also a ruling elder at Community of Grace Presbyterian Church in Sandy, Utah, that encouraged me to learn new prayer practices. This elder introduced me to St. Ignatius’ prayer practice called the Examen. I use the Examen daily to reflect on the activities of the day, giving thanks to God for the thin places that only become obvious in hindsight during reflection.

These ruling elders poured into me and expanded my spiritual formation in ways that can’t be quantified. I believe they did so by taking seriously our ordination vows to “be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit” (Book of Order, W-4.0404e). Because they were willing to bless me, I take every opportunity to share what they’ve imparted in me about spiritual practices.

Resources to Consider
Some of these books will push you beyond your comfort zone and may leave you vulnerable. It is in that strange new place that I pray you realize vulnerability has drawn you closer to the one that “leads you, guides you, along the way!”

 

• Glory to God hymnal: while any hymnal will do, I love the background Glory to God provides on the hymns as context
• Ann Weems: any of her poems provide great fodder for prayer
• Margaret Silf, Inner Compass: this book was my introduction to the Examen
• William Barry, What Do I Want in Prayer
• Mark Thibodeaux, Armchair Mystic: How Contemplative Prayer Can Lead You Closer to God
• Richard Rohr, The Divine Dance 
• Julian of Norwich, All Will Be Well
• My absolute favorite is, Meditations of the Heart, by Howard Thurman. His small devotionals are heavy and powerful reads.

 

Questions for Discussion
In the Scriptures, the disciples model that communication with God and that drawing nearer to God in prayer requires vulnerability.

• How have you let yourself be vulnerable to learn from others?
• What are some prayer practices that have brought you closer to God?
• How have you been a friend among colleagues, walking alongside them in their spiritual journeys? Are there practices that you have shared with other leaders?

 

The Reverend Jerrod Lowry serves as the general presbyter/stated clerk for the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina. Prior to accepting this call, he served as pastor in Sandy, Utah, and as tentmaker in Louisburg, North Carolina, and for the Presbytery of New Hope. Above all, Jerrod is passionate about “equipping saints for the work of ministry” and has enjoyed studying St. Ignatius’ Examen as a prayer practice and tool for discernment.

AUTHOR: Jerrod B. Lowry