Submitted by: Ron Leix Jr.
St. David’s hosted more than 100 individuals from the Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan for “Central Leadership Day Workshops” on March 7.
The “Central Leadership Day Workshops” was a three-session series being held in Kalamazoo, Lansing and Traverse City. For the central session at St. David’s, individuals arrived from Port Huron, Hastings, Grand Blanc, Saginaw, Flint and Grand Ledge, among other locations, to build relationships and learn about church canons, evangelism, finance and bible study.
Bishop Whayne Hougland, who’s serving as the provisional bishop for both dioceses, kicked off the meeting and spoke for more than an hour about the unique “dance” between the two entities. He talked about the similarities of the two bodies and how we continue to examine the ways we can work together.
Hougland also reflected on how society is fighting over the abundance of our times. He noted we live in very divisive and dark times where the world wants to tear us apart and place us into categories, stealing the image of God from everyone so people can attempt to stand taller than others.
“Baptism is an act of resistance to come out of that divisiveness,” he said while going through parts of the Book of Common Prayer that focus on Baptism. “Faith is a verb — it’s what you do.”
Special thanks to Carey Draeger, Courtney LeRoy, Maria Leiby, Gail Donovan, Carol Abbot and Rev. Dr. Carol Spangenberg for volunteering during the event.
St. David’s COVID-19 Closure: How can I worship virtually?
Epsicopal Churches across the country are canceling services through the beginning of April due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
But one question keeps popping up: How can I worship virtually?
Individuals looking for something close to home can find many churches within Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan offering real-time internet streaming of their services. A directory is available of those churches.
Beyond our diocese, there are many Episcopal congregations across the statewide and nationwide that provide regular streaming of services.
St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in Hingham, Mass., provides a livestream of their Sunday Morning Prayer services. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Flint provides daily Morning Prayer services on its Facebook page.
Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Detroit and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids regularly stream church services on Facebook.
The Washington Cathedral regularly streams services on YouTube.
For those looking for prayers primarily intended for private and devotional use, the Forward Movement is offering a venerable resource from the Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book. It can be downloaded as a PDF of the Spiritual Communion prayers.
The Book of Common provides The Great Litany (Pages 148-154), which can be used in services, prayers or private devotions.
The Great Litany includes an invocation of the Trinity; a series of deprecations which seek deliverance from evil, spiritual harm, and natural calamities; a series of obsecrations which plead the power of Christ’s Incarnation, life, death, and resurrection for deliverance; prayers of general intercession; the Agnus Dei; the Kyrie; the Lord’s Prayer; a versicle and response based on Ps 33:22; and a concluding collect.
For classical prayers, the Book of Common Prayer offers Daily Offices with Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. Grace Abounds provides a great five-part series about praying the Daily Offices on YouTube.
In Time of Great Sickness and Mortality.
O MOST mighty and merciful God, in this time of grievous sickness, we flee unto thee for succour. Deliver us, we beseech thee, from our peril; give strength and skill to all those who minister to the sick; prosper the means made use of for their cure; and grant that, perceiving how frail and uncertain our life is, we may apply our hearts unto that heavenly wisdom which leadeth to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(1928 Book of Common Prayer)
