Clergy News
November 25 is ONE Sunday
November 25 has been designated ONE Sunday by ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History, the organization charged with rallying people one by one to join the cause of ending extreme poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. ONE Episcopalian (www.episcopalchurch.org/ONE/ ) is our church’s arm of this campaign.
Bishop Henderson and members of the diocesan Commission on International Concerns and the Anglican Communion which he chairs, are asking that on November 25, Upper South Carolina congregations designate the day of worship as ONE Sunday, making global poverty and health and the Millennium Development Goals a focus of the sermon and perhaps an adult education opportunity. It is also the hope of the Commission that you and your congregation will consider becoming a “ONE congregation” by signing the ONE declaration (downloadable from http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ONE/ ). Below are links from the newsletter of The Episcopal Public Policy Network, which includes a variety of useful resources for ONE Sunday.
ONE Sabbath Toolkit for Church Leaders – this has sermon ideas as well as worship resources
ONE Episcopalian Declaration Card – these are a great tool to get people involved in the ONE Episcopalian Campaign. Consider inserting them in your Sunday bulletin and having people placed filled out cards in the offertory plate.
Prayers:
A Bidding Prayer For An End To Global Poverty And Instability – This is a litany prepared by the Office of Government Relations. It is based on the MDG’s and can be used in place of the Prayers of the People.
Book of Common Prayer – the BCP also has many prayers that relate to topics of the MDG that you can use including prayers:
For Social Justice, p. 823
For the Poor and the Neglected, p. 826
For the Right Use of God’s Gifts, p. 827
For the Conservation of Natural Resources, p. 827
MDG Sermons and Theological Reflections:
- Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori Investiture Sermon
- When the Spirit of the Lord is Upon Us: The Church and the MDGs – a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Francis H. Wade
- Theological Reflection by Alex Baumgarten: Advocating to Build the New Creation
Additional Resources:
- Watch Episcopal Life Online for the ONE Sunday Bulletin Insert – Coming Soon at www.episcopalchurch.org/
- 78650_8852_ENG_HTM.htm.
- For additional sermon ideas check out “Sermons that Work”: www.episcopalchurch.org/sermons_that_work.htm.
Intercessory calendar, with a note from Bishop Henderson
Diocesan Cycle of Prayer is now available online. If you require a hard copy, please contact Peggy Hill, Canon for Communications, 803.771.7800, ext. 18.
Sisters and Brothers, dearly Beloved:
In my address to our recent 85th Convention, I called the diocese to a period of mindful preparation for the transition in episcopal leadership that Upper South Carolina will experience some three years hence.
To help us prepare for that transition, I set forth four goals: 100 percent participation in the diocesan Healthy Church Initiative; development of an effective mission strategy for planting new churches and assisting congregations already in place for assertive evangelism; continuing emphasis on Christian formation “from the womb to the tomb”; and ongoing engagement with the Millennium Development Goals.
As you receive the attached Intercessory Prayer Calendar, which calls us to a corporate life of prayer for the work of our diocese in each congregation and ministry, I make another request: that in our local worship communities we offer prayer weekly for the achievement of these goals and a seamless transition, so that I may deliver into the hands of my successor a vibrant, confident and healthy diocese and episcopacy.
The Rt. Rev'd Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr.
USC VII
Calendar
2008
January 27 |
L.A.R.C.U.M. service |
January 28-30 |
Clergy Pre-Lenten Retreat |
February 2 |
Priesthood Ordinations |
February 3 |
World Mission Sunday |
February 8 |
Ash Wednesday |
February 28 |
Clergy Business Day |