January 18, 2009

"Truth is eternal. Knowledge is changeable. It is disastrous to confuse them." --- Madeleine L'Engle

In this week's gospel, Jesus calls the first disciples and tells them to "Come and see" what he is about. Their response will change their lives. We are all called to follow Jesus-- to listen to his words and incorporate them in what we say and do. To be able to hear God's voice, we need to find quiet time to just "be." The gospels tell us that Jesus took time out to go someplace alone and rest in God. Jesus calls us to come and share this communion with God. In our journey with God, we will come to our fullest and best selves.

This coming week is set aside and proclaimed as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. We are blessed that we have a caring ecumenical group in our area. We have a Centering Prayer Group who meets weekly, composed of Episcopal, Methodist and Catholic members. Centering prayer encourages silent prayer, listening for God's voice in our lives. We have a lectionary group that meets weekly to study the Scriptures for the coming weekend. This group, composed of Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic traditions also does centering prayer before their study. We have combined services during Lent at the Methodist Church and lead a Baccalaureate service for the Montrose seniors. Recently a monthly, lay-led ecumenical Vesper Service was started at St. Paul's.

These four plus the Baptist and Evangelical Free churches work together at the monthly meeting of the ministry of Christian Service which works with local agencies to help as many people as possible. This group coordinates and serves the Angel Food Ministry in Montrose. Through their congregations, they contribute to the Interfaith Christmas Dinner with food and gifts. They also contribute to the St Paul's Easter Dinner. Praying and working together is what Jesus calls us to do.

The following is a quote from Pope John Paul II: "If Christians, despite their divisions, can grow ever more united in common prayer around Christ, they will grow in the awareness of how little divides them in comparison to what unites them." --- 'That They May be One.'