a community with a mission

no member of the church should merely be passive, but we all are called to be the instrument of Christ's work in the world. the church is not just a community where people come to find their own salvation. it is above all an instrument where God is at work bringing salvation to the world.

just as Christ himself is the light of all nations (lk. 2:32) so also his body of the church is called upon to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (mt.5:13-14) the yeast that has to transform humanity (mt. 13:33). what is the mission of the church in your world.

Christ the Saviour, and the Church his Body

God made man, who is an agent of salvation. Jesus Christ came into the world to save it; and comes as light to chase away the darkness and ignorance in which the world is plunged.

The church, is the body of Christ. In it, Christ is present and operative, transforming the world into the image of God. This is the full mission of the Church. Where ever it exist, it carries God's call and challenge: to render present and effective Christ the Saviour of the World. The body of Christ should strive to discern this call and to answer fully. And I believe this is something worth thinking about.

Prayer For My Grand Children

To Ciara, Nevin Jr., Quinn and DeArcy. May you never struggle
with the hidden injuries of race, prejudice or discrimination.

With many voices we praise you, O God. In different ways we serve you. We pray that you will send your sprit upon us and take our diversity and mold it into a common theme of thanksgiving.

We pray that you would weave the gifts we offer into a whole cloth of service that will blanket the world with your love, your goodness and your glory.

Transforming God, send the flame of your transforming life, wisdom and faith that we may know the great hope to which we are called. We give you thanks, for great is you faithfulness, O God. Call us forth in new faithfulness to you.

Lift us up through pathways that lead to your Kingdom. Move us beyond the edge of our dreams. Give us a vision that will challenge our smallness of heart and bring us humbly together.

Sweep us forward like dust in the wind, breaking free of the power of self-interest until the whole earth sings with your justice. Open our moths that we be one voice for the voiceless. Open our eyes that we all may see the same vision of peace and glory. Open our ears that we may here the whisper of your word and the weeping of the world. We give you thanks, for great is you faithfulness, O God. Call us forth in new faithfulness to you.

Make us alive with the courage and faith of your life giving truth. Cleanse us with the burning fire of your love so we may raise up as your children, bravely walking into the future. Breath into us your sprit, so we will become faithful witnesses, in our communities and the world.

Lord, We create barriers as individuals and as a society. We shut others out and disbar ourselves by how we react to the words of our neighbors. We pray for the energy and the will to tare down the walls that divide us from one another and from you. We give you thanks, for great is you faithfulness, O God. Call us forth in new faithfulness to you.

Transforming God, remake and sanctify us, give us the strength we need to be your church in sprit and truth. As we learn and grow in your love, we dedicate or rededicate our lives to your service.

We give ourselves knowing you will create through us a new community of faith bounded together by the gospel of the living God. As we pursue our works, shape us, strengthen us, and empower us, because in the words of St Thomas Aquinas “ we have been called to heal wounds, to unit what has fallen apart and to bring home those who have lost their way. And we will forever sing of your great faithfulness, O God. Call us forth in new faithfulness to you…. Amen

This Prayer was published in the Memphis Theological Seminary
Journal. Volume 37 Number 1: Fall 2000