Prayer beneath the waves

What if the most important thing we do is pray? What would the rest of our life look like?

You may recall that our Vestry looked at that question at our annual two-day retreat last month, and we pledged to pray as individuals each day. Rather than get too rarified, we agreed to keep it simple.

Members of the St. Paul's Vestry are reading the daily meditation from Forward Day by Day, which this month is being written by a South Pacific Anglican bishop.

Today's meditation seems to speak especially to me today on several levels, and I will say more on that next week. You can read the daily reflections from Forward by clicking HERE, and then put it in your bookmarks. You can also get a paper booklet of Forward at St. Paul's or just about any Episcopal church. Here is the meditation for today:

Matthew 6:1-6. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Prayer is like swimming in the ocean. Often prayer may be just paddling in the shallows—a kind of playing at prayer and not a commitment. As the deeper water and waves embrace us, we learn through prayer to be held by God and to trust God’s love. We find a new freedom. As we dive beneath the waves, as we grow in the life of prayer, we gain new perspectives and explore new worlds.

Jesus criticizes those who play at prayer for the sake of impressing others. Jesus teaches his disciples the secret life of prayer. For Jesus, a secret place was among the hills of Galilee. We know that he prayed among the olive trees in the garden of Gethsemane.

Where are your secret places? Maybe you have a corner of a room or a particular place in the quiet of a church. I find solitude and time for prayer while walking beside the sea as the dawn breaks. A loving God will reward us as we commit ourselves to prayer.

PRAY for the Diocese of Masvingo (Central Africa)

Ps 137:1-6(7-9), 144 * 104; Ruth 4:1-17; 2 Corinthians 4:13—5:10

Our Vestry Covenant: “Bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

You may recall from a post a few days ago that our Vestry discussed at length at its winter retreat what it would mean to make prayer our first priority as a board of directors. What would that look like? How would our business be shaped by that?

Our retreat was built around our reflection on the Letter to the Ephesians 4:1-16 wherein Paul talks of "equipping the saints" through love and discerning Christ's guidance for our faith community. Part of our discussion included looking at a model covenant for how we conduct ourselves as a Vestry. How do we communicate with each other? How do we do we listen to rach other and hear the Holy Spirit guide us?

Since the retreat, we've been working on a Vestry covenant for our Vestry this year, and we adopted it at last night's meeting. Here it is, and I invite your comment:

St. Paul's Memorial Church Vestry Covenant 2011

Recognizing that the Holy Scripture as interpreted through reason and tradition will be our authority governing our behavior and relationships with one another and with the congregation, we acknowledge the directive in Ephesians (4:1-6) to “lead a life worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

We will bear with one another in love by:

1. Creating and nurturing within the Vestry a safe and trusting atmosphere in which all members can feel safe and confident in expressing their thoughts and opinions,
2. Seeking to validate, appreciate, acknowledge and understand the unique gifts of each Vestry member,
3. Listening with compassion to all; discouraging gossip; redirecting misdirected messages appropriately (in the interest of encouraging direct communication with the person most reasonably able to hear and act),
4. Respecting confidentiality for sensitive matters,
5. Following St. Matthew’s principle (Mt. 18:15-17) for conflict resolution: speaking first with the individual alone; if to no avail, speaking again with the individual together with another Vestry member and then, if necessary, referring the matter to the entire Vestry.
6. Practicing forgiveness,
7. Supporting other Vestry members through times of difficulty,
8. Nurturing a servant attitude in the Vestry.

We will maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace by:

1. Joining with the Vestry in submitting matters to prayer,
2. Upholding the final decision of the Vestry,
3. Refraining from gossip and personal attacks,
4. Consciously seeking to abandon self-serving agendas and attitudes.

We will lead a life worthy of the calling by:

1. Faithfully attending Sabbath worship,
2. Engaging in study of the Scriptures,
3. Committing to Christian living through regular sacrificial giving and participation in the St. Paul’s pledge program,
4. Being faithful to the St. Paul’s mission statement.

Painting: "Epiphany Times Three" by Kathrin Burleson.