Prayer Mail

Dear partners in prayer,

This is our weekly public prayer mail.   

This week's selective overview: 

1) Our next course begins in less than 2 weeks, August 31st.

2) We had a great time meeting and catching up with various SAMS and other missionaries in Maine and Connecticut, this week.

3) Preparations are underway for the next trip to Belize in late October.

4) Our transition to Hartford went well. Our internet mission base camp has been set up in our new digs. Apart from the time I will be outside the US, I plan to be making trips to parishes in the Diocese of Albany, over the coming months. There may be additional opportunities in Connecticut, as well. 

Prayer requests:

1) For my part in the upcoming Trinity School of Ministry devotional; deadline is in mid-September.

2) Pray for the online program's participants and contributors.  

3) Pray for our elderly relatives.

4) Continue to pray for upcoming parish visits.

5) Continue to pray for the online program course development, the upcoming trips, including the Cursillo weekend in Belize.

In Christ,

Shaw+, and on behalf of Julie+ 

Scripture Prayer

Psalm 145: 10-13

All your works praise you, Lord;

   Your faithful people extol you.

They tell of the glory of your kingdom

   And speak of your might,

So that all people may know of your mighty acts

   And the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

   And your dominion endures through all generations.

Lord Jesus we praise You, as Father Shaw and Mother Julie and all the faithful people exalt your holy name.  May they always tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might so that they and their students may communicate the glorious splendor of your kingdom in Belize and Tanzania and Albany and Hartford and throughout the world.    Lord, may your kingdom be everlasting and your dominion endure through all generations.

Father God, be with Father Shaw and Mother Julie as they settle in Hartford.  May the necessary computer components be set up with no problem.  Holy Spirit, continue to inspire the Mudges as they start the second year of the Online Anglican Theological College.  Bring them many students and bless these students so that they may overcome their many difficulties.  Thank You for every blessing Lord.  Amen.

August Newsletter

We are gathering the flock, so to speak, coming back from the summer hiatus, moving from "break" mode to "school" mode. Those of us who were in charge of various aspects of the courses, were busy with program matters through most of this time.

Actually, because our participants are relatively near the equator in both Central America and East Africa, there is only rainy season and dry season (Spring and Fall do not exist in the way that we understand them in the United States). Belize and Tanzania have their respective rainy seasons at different times of the year. 

Our program was not idle over the break. Some of our courses have been available over the break. We have been keeping up with students taking those courses. At the same time, we have been in the final stages of developing the next courses that will be introduced over the coming months.

It is all dependent on God's grace, love, and mercy. For example, the people we work with are usually getting along, but sometimes life intervened, and an unexpected major illness became a potential impediment for some people, a threat to their continuing in the program. Sin, because of the other kind of  "Fall", tried to put up a roadblock.

And at the moment when apparent catastrophe struck, our students tended to fall back on their spiritual resources. For confidential reasons I do not mention names, but think of all the men as represented by the name "Fred" and all the women as represented by the name "Frederica." Pray for them. God's grace pulled them through.

Some were faced with nearly death- embracing set backs, but true to form, by the mercy and love of God, they were resilient. A key factor was determination: when faced with potential death issues, they decided that living for the Gospel was a better deal than dying. Alleluia! Alleluia!

  

Ways to support us.

Your prayers and financial partnering with us help make our ministry happen.  

Please make checks out to: "SAMS", and put "Mudge" in the memo space. The mailing address is: SAMS, P. O. Box 399, Ambridge, PA 15003-0399.

https://secureq.net/Donations/SAMS/3397

God bless you in Jesus' Name,

Shaw+, and on behalf of Julie+

The Rev. Dr. Shaw Mudge

The Rev. Julia Mudge

Missionaries of SAMS and Albany.  

Prayer Mail August 14

Dear partners in prayer,

This is our weekly public prayer mail.  

This week's selective overview: 

1) Registration continues for our fall courses, the first of which begins on Saturday, August 31st.

2) In theory we have been on vacation in Maine (and for the most part, that is true). Our mission and ministry base camp has traveled with us, as needed.

3) Information about the Belize Cursillo # 10 in October has been coming in; there has been a sorting out of the date this week, now scheduled for late October.

4) We have had an opportunity to meet with fellow African missionaries this past weekend, stateside, and our series of rendezvous continue with other African missionaries this week. 

Prayer requests:

1) I have been asked to contribute a daily devotion to the upcoming Trinity School of Ministry devotional, an edition focused on contributions by missionary alumni. Pray that I would find just the right words to say.

2) Pray for the program's participants and contributors (present and future). Some participants are having real struggles, such as major physical ailments. Pray for healing and perseverance.

3) Pray for our transition, this week: from Maine, to New York, to Hartford. We are going to be splitting our USA time between Hartford, Connecticut, and Albany area, New York. Praise God that we can connect with both the Diocese of Belize and the Diocese of Western Tanzania from either US location. 

4) Pray for a smooth installation of our Internet access in Hartford this week.

5) Pray for our elderly relatives, and the grace and patience (that it takes at times) to work with them.

6) Continue to pray for upcoming parish visits.

7) Continue to pray for the online program course development.

In Christ,

Shaw+, and on behalf of Julie+ 

Scripture Prayer August 7

2Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Lord, we thank You for shining through the hearts of Father Shaw and Mother Julie Mudge.  We pray that their teaching mission always gives the light of the knowledge of Your Glory and reflects the love of Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Prayer Mail August 6

Dear partners in prayer,

This is our weekly public prayer mail.  

This week's selective overview: 

1) Registration continues for our fall courses which begin in a few weeks.

2) SAMS (our missionary society) has redone the donations side of its Web site for its missionaries; pray that it would be used to God's glory. Our new online link is: https://secure-q.net/Donations/SAMS/3397 

3) Information about the Belize Cursillo in October has been coming in.

4) Course Development work for our program continues.

Prayer requests:

1) For the planning of upcoming parish visits. For open doors, timely visits, and safe and timely travel.

2) For the Online Anglican Theological College program, that participants may sense the Holy Spirit at work in the program, and learn what they need to know.

3) For the program's participants and contributors (present and future). That the Holy Spirit would touch the lives of everyone involved through their contact with the program.

4) Prayer for continuing and expanding support. We had a pleasant surprise in the past few weeks.

5) Prayer as Julie and my US base station location shifts (our part of the OATC US base station is going to be splitting its time between Hartford, Connecticut, and Albany area, New York, over the next year, beginning in a few weeks). We will be able to connect with courses for Belize and Tanzania from both locations, even simultaneously. And another of our US base station faculty is working from England at the moment. Prayer for all of us, that all would go well, in God's eyes.

6) The prayer that the October Belize Cursillo # 10 participants are praying at 6 am and 6 pm daily Belize time (currently, 7 am and 7 pm New York time):

          GOD OF MERCY AND GOD OF GRACE,

          GUIDE US TO LOVE EACH OTHER AS YOU HAVE LOVED US;

          AND GUIDE US TO SERVE EACH OTHER AS YOUHAVE SERVED US;

          THAT IN YOUR LOVE WE MAY FIND PEACE IN THE BEAUTY OF

          CREATION;  AND AS WE SERVE YOU.

God bless you, and thank you for praying. I pray for you every day. 

In Christ,

Shaw+, and on behalf of Julie+ 

A Prayer for the Mudges August 4

Cursillo Prayer

 

God of mercy and God of grace,

Guide us to love each other as you have loved us;

That in your love we may find peace in the beauty of creation.

And as we serve you,

May your grace continue to guide our path to the one true light, Jesus Christ Our Lord.  Amen.

 

This prayer was written for Belize Cursillo #10, a weekend on which Father Shaw will serve in October.  We offer this prayer up for Father Shaw’s preparation for that weekend, and as a general prayer for his activities and those of Mother Julie throughout the coming months.