This morning we welcomed the Rev. Ann Salmon to the pulpit to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Rev. Salmon is the minister of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Barrhaven, which is the first joint Anglican/Lutheran church in Canada. These denominations have been in prayerful discussion for a number of years about a new covenant relationship and this new congregation is the fruit of that effort.
Rev. Salmon's 'state of the union' message is one that we need to hear often: the church, in its widest sense, needs to be the common ground on which we worship our Creator, learn of our Redeemer and listen for the Spirit. And yet the church today, as an institution, is a fragmented, imperfect vessel which tends to get bogged down in details and, on occasion, misses the point. Her call to be vigilant against this was not so much a criticism of the past but a call to the present and future to re-direct and re-commission ourselves to serve others. What are your thoughts on the state of the church? What would it take for the church to be more unified? What would be the result?
Sunday, January 30, 2011
1 comment:
We've closed our comments since moving to our new blog at www.StAndrewsOttawa.ca.
Please visit us there!
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I wasn't there on Sunday morning and I'm sorry I missed the service. What an important message! I went to a different denomination for an evening service and was happily reminded that we are all one people, abiding in Him, despite the labels we try and stick on ourselves (and on others.)
ReplyDeleteIt's comfortable to stay with what we know. But I have a feeling that reaching out and getting to know people outside our own circle will do wonders for a unified church. And imagine how much more clearly non-believers would be able to see Christ, if we weren't blurring their vision with our petty disagreements.