PurposeA Call to Prayer for Revitalization. We encourage all churches to pray, even if you're not actively involved in the initiative. ArchivesCategories |
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Ecclesial Health12/14/2020 For 7 weeks in November and December, we invite all members of the presbytery to pray for the revitalization of our churches and presbytery. Our weekly prayers are based upon the 7 marks of a vital congregation. The focus of this week’s prayer is Ecclesial Health. Ecclesial health is the recognition that how we behave as a church matters as much as what we believe. Vital congregations are healthy congregations. They work through dysfunction, seeking to build healthy rather than toxic environments. For a church to have ecclesial health, they must come to a mutual understanding of: Why we are a church community? How are we a church community in practice? Answering these questions is a process permeated with prayer. Ecclesially healthy churches have clarity in their mission and core values. Their ministries are built on passion and joy in being the church. Their budgets reflect these values, vision and ministries. To that end, fiscally responsible stewardship and tithing are taught. Healthy churches are transparent in their spending and continually assess if their budgets are sustainable. Ecclesially healthy churches are open to change. All participants are aware of how decisions are made and are valued voices in the envisioning of the future. Healthy churches regularly reassess the “why” and “how” we are church together. And they do all of this while nurturing and supporting the health of the pastor(s), staff and all called to lead. Times of stress often reveal the cracks in the health of an organization. The pandemic is providing opportunities for churches to take a careful look at how they function and to take steps to function in healthier ways. The starting point for such assessment? Prayer that confesses the gaps in health and listens for God to clarify the “why” and “how” we are a church community together. Let us pray: Living God, we give you thanks and praise for the new things you are doing among us. Especially we thank you for our common ministry in Jesus’ name. Living God, by the gifts of your Spirit, help us to bear witness to the risen Lord by building up the body of Christ. Living God, in the great mystery of our faith receive us each night and revive us each day, that we may be dead to sin and alive to you; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
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