by Jonn Lavinnder
Thanks to Bishop John, Randall Fairey and Peter Davison we have some Easter content in this edition. The series on prayer also continues and might give us an inkling with respect to our "Mission" as people of faith. "Mission" or the "Work of God" has been an ongoing theme this year starting with the challenge from our Primate Fred Hiltz and a recurring theme in the approaching Diocesan Synod, as Randall Fairey has reported. You will also note there is an advertisement on the back page of this edition for a seminar entitled “God’s Mission for Us” given by the Rev. Dr. Richard Leggett.
When looking at the bulletin for my local church, I was struck by how much prayer was mentioned, and to what extent it was a part of announcements, as well as being a major component of the service. For example, apart from the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, which took up half a page, there was a list of parishioners requiring prayer, a paragraph inviting people to take advantage of healing prayer during communion; a composed prayer for the local church as it discerns its mission, asking parishioners to include it in their personal prayer time; an announcement concerning the meeting of the contemplative prayer group; and an entire page dedicated to the Lenten Reflection that was provided by the Diocesan Committee of Anglican Fellowship of Prayer in the March issue of The HighWay.
As Anglicans we have been called many things, but perhaps we need to recognize who we already are — "People of Prayer." There is no doubt that in these uncertain times prayer is an important ministry, and one we are well acquainted with. After all, our old service book was called the Book of Common Prayer.
In this issue, Flo Masson writes about "embodied prayer"; the idea that posture in prayer is an important constituent. Last week I decided to sit in the back of our church, so I could make a quick get away. Another parishioner joined me in the last pew and explained the reason he sat there was so he could kneel during prayer time without being intrusive to others. He explained that in his previous church only one person stood for prayers and that person had said the reason he did so was because this was the common practice by the first Christians. Even though it is my practice to stand during prayers, I always assumed that some people knelt. I looked around from the vantage point at the back of the church and noted that now everyone was standing during the prayers. After reading Flo Masson's article I think I might start kneeling again.
