Prayer Mail

Dear Friends, 

 

This is our public prayer mail for Tuesday 1 September 2015. 

 

Among the highlights of this past week: 

 

1) I am preparing the A200 General Church History and Liturgy online course, 24/7 version. 

 

2) The A301 Pastoral Ministry course began on Saturday evening. It is a good one.

 

3) Lydia had a great birthday, and she has resumed her college work.

4) The momentary glitch regarding the server in India worked out very well. 

5) Parish visitations are going well. I am enjoying them. I have had additional requests as well, but my schedule has been booked on those occasions. 

6) Cursillo October weekend plans in Belize have gotten underway.

Prayers:

 

1) Pray for the continuing online seminary education program in Belize that all would be done to God's glory, for our ministry fruitfulness and for the students, faculty, parish clergy, Commission on Ministry members, and diocesan staff involved.  

 

2) Pray for the people in the ordination process and my role as Examining Chaplain. More ordinations are apparently in the works. The date has not been settled yet for the next one, but it is on the Bishop's mind.

 

3) Please pray for the developments at Kasulu Bible College, and for what the Holy Spirit has in mind for us, there.

 

4) Pray for the October trip to Belize. I plan to make my flight reservations this week.

 

5) For the ongoing Belizean projects, including the Prayer Book printing and theological library plans.  

 

6) Pray that I would listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit on what to say and do in the next several months, especially at St. Paul's in Brookfield (CT), St. Mary's in Manchester (CT), Trinity in Tariffville (CT), St. James in Farmington (CT), and at the Cursillo Weekend in the Belmopan area of Belize. 

7) Pray for our overall upcoming parish visitation schedule that it would continue to be according to the Holy Spirit's schedule, where and when. If you would like me to visit, let us pray that the Holy Spirit would make that happen in his way and his time.

 

8) Please keep various family members in prayer about: relationships, events and appointments, decisions to make, educational goals, gainful employment, and fruitful ministry. 

9) Pray for Lydia and Julie in their studies.

10) Several in our prayer team network are going through or have just been through challenges. Please know that every day, I am praying intentionally for you, in addition for the other prayers I pray for you all.

 

Your prayers are very important. 

 

God bless you, 

 

Shaw, and on behalf of Julie.

 

Prayer Mail

Dear Friends,  

This is our public prayer mail for Tuesday 25 August 2015. 

Among the highlights of this past week: 

1) I am in the middle of creating the A200 General Church History and Liturgy online course, 24/7 version. 

2) The Holy Spirit is doing something dynamic at St. Paul's in Brookfield, CT. Your prayer support has been important.

3) The online faculty situation has worked itself out, better than the original plan.

4) I have been given the opportunity to make a presentation on global mission at St. James in Farmington, CT in November. 

5) Friends of ours at St. Paul's in Brookfield  will be heading for Tanzania in September, regarding the beefing of up the Kasulu Bible College online infrastructure; and at the same time they plan to be looking at ways that our online program might be used more profitably at the Bible College, now that there has been a change of administration, there.  

6) It is interesting doing support-raising for our SAMS missions work here at various parishes in Connecticut, via the opportunity to do supply work on Sundays; in many cases the supply renumeration itself is the support. At the same time, there is a bond created across parishes in Connecticut through such sentiments as, "I remember you...", "I know your mother....", "I knew your father," and "I recognize your name. Did you use to work at.....?" 

Prayers:

1) For the Pastoral Ministry course which begins this coming Saturday. There seems to be a conflict between the Interactive course time and the Cursillo planning meeting, and some students are participating in the Cursillo weekend. Welcome to missionary life. 

Fortunately, the online program has the flexibility to make interactive materials available to students in 24/7 format, so I am fine either way, and I have offered to meet with students at a different time if that would be helpful to them. 

I simply keep going forward. Pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance in the matter. Knowing Belize, I am confident that it will all work out to the glory of God in the end. 

2) Pray for the continuing online seminary education program in Belize that all would be done to God's glory, for our ministry fruitfulness and for the students, faculty, parish clergy, Commission on Ministry members, and diocesan staff involved. 

3) Pray for the people in the ordination process and my role as Examining Chaplain. Hopefully, more ordinations will be in the works.

4) Please pray for the developments at Kasulu Bible College, and for what the Holy Spirit has in mind for us, there.

5) Pray for the October trip to Belize. I plan to be making my flight reservations next week, after confirmation of plans from the Bishop of the Diocese of Belize. The next planning stage for the Cursillo weekend begins this coming weekend. Please keep the weekend and the planning in your prayers.

6) For the ongoing Belizean projects, including the Prayer Book printing and theological library plans.  

7) Pray that I would listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit on what to say and do in the next several months, especially at St. Paul's in Brookfield (CT), St. Mary's in Manchester (CT), Trinity in Tariffville (CT), St. James in Farmington (CT), and at the Cursillo Weekend in the Belmopan area of Belize.

8) Please keep various family members in prayer about: relationships, events and appointments, decisions to make, educational goals, gainful employment, and fruitful ministry. Lydia resumes her college courses in about two weeks. Julie is finishing one Nashotah House hybrid course, just in time for the next one, as well as doing everything else she does.

Your prayers are very important. I am praying for you every day.

God bless you, 

Shaw, and on behalf of Julie.

Online Update

Dear Praying friends,

I thought I would send this anniversary note/summary to you today, in addition to the prayer mail that I intend to send out in the next couple of days, as an example of some of what I am doing as a missionary, and as a way of bringing you closer to the actual online ministry program. This SAMS ministry continues wherever I am in the world, as long as I have internet service.

This way, you see some of what is happening as part of my SAMS missionary activity, and you can use this as a basis for prayer as you pray about our ministry. Similar in the way that I send out weekly prayer mails to you all, I also send out weekly online updates to the students, and other interested parties who participate in the online program.

God bless you,

Shaw, and on behalf of Julie

Today's update, for Saturday, 22 August 2015:

The start of a new course is almost upon us. We have passed the three year mark of courses, with one more year of courses to go before the current curriculum will have completed its cycle of live courses. The curriculum is intended to continue after that with 24/7 courses and supplemented with workshops, other materials, and new or revised courses as needed. 

Graduates of the entire program will have satisfied the Belize ATI requirements pertaining to any Lay Ministry or ordination course requirements, according to the Regulations of the Diocese of Belize and the Provincial Canons, keeping in mind that this is only one part of the Lay Ministry or ordination process.

1) C ourse A301 Pastoral Ministry (live) begins 29 August, next Saturday at 9 am, Belize time, and the course ends before the Cursillo weekend in Belize in October. Please contact me to register. 

2) I have finished preparing the live Preaching Course, B300, which will be held from 31 October to 12 December 2015, beginning after the Belize Cursillo weekend. Please contact me to register.

3) I have been working on the General Church History course, 24/7 version.   

4) I plan to be making plane reservations for my October trip to Belize on September 1, and depending on Bishop Philip's preference: to be in Belize somewhere between October 14 and November, with the main focus being the Cursillo weekend from October 22 to 25. The plans for the trip, may affect some of the interactive session aspects of either the Parish Ministry course or the Preaching course. 

5) The 2016 plans for online courses has been changed, due to Dr. Charles' current change in schedule. The schedule is now: A303, Parish Development and Stewardship, will begin in January. This will be followed by T201 Christian Ethics and Moral Theology, and the full cycle will conclude with Dr. Charles' Old Testament Scriptures course in later 2016. 

6) At the end of October 2016, ideally all courses would be available in a 24/7 format of some kind, with possible textbook, workbook, audio, and/or video alternatives in the works after that point. Even now, new students are entering the program, and so there will be a continuing use of the courses, though perhaps not with the same concentration of interactiveness as previously. The courses may make greater use of available library materials, though. 

7) For all ATI students: to access ATI library books at the ATI building in Belmopan (second floor), contact Shirlene. Or, contact Sue Harris for more information if Shirlene is not available.

8) New students are welcome to start the online program at any time after their application form has been accepted. Potential students should contact me. 

9) Help on the ground:

For inquiries about the availability of printed materials in Belize, contact: Ms. Cecile Reyes.

For assistance on the ground in Kasulu contact: Anthony Ngugi or the Rev. Meshack Manyaga.  

10) I you have trouble reading any of the links in any of the courses, please contact me, to see what we can do.

11) Please notify me when you have successfully completed a course (revdrsmudge.oatc@yahoo.com) or if you wish to register for a course.

12) If you need a new password and/or new user i.d., please let me know.

God bless you. 

Dr. Shaw

presently in Connecticut

 

Newsletter

Mudge Making a Difference Newsletter. 
August 2015. 

Nativity set for sale in Guatemala during June. Photo copyright Fr. Shaw Mudge, 2015.

A Typical Day in the Life of a Missionary.

A question is whether missionaries actually have typical days. But, let us imagine that today I am in San Ignacio, Belize (C.A.), in June. I would rise about 3:30 am, shower, do some Internet work in the cool of the day for a few hours while the Internet works, perhaps a bit before sunrise, and work on a sermon. In rainy season (read: “hurricane season”), this time of day might be accompanied by a quiet drizzle or a floor-board-vibrating thunderstorm.

Let’s assume a dry day. I take a break and walk to the KO-OX HANNAH restaurant in San Ignatio, about 6:15 am, for breakfast, where Christian praise music is playing in Spanish while I eat breakfast of scrambled eggs mixed with chaya, stewed-bean sauce, and salsa. Then, I am off for the day, working on the online education program that I have put together, meeting with people related to the ordination process. Attend to meetings. Have lunch at a parishioner’s family style restaurant, suddenly surrounded (while I eat) by five elementary school children who compete to show me their missing front teeth. (They like me.)

After lunch (and since I only eat two full meals a day), I venture to the open market and buy 10 bananas (5 cents each) for snacks. It is now about 80 degree heat and 90% humidity. Then on to the afternoon and evening activities as had, perhaps choir practice and Bible study.

 At some point, I notice that the ants that like to invade the kitchen have been thrawted on this occasion by my creating an island of fruit in a pan surrounded by water (a pan in a moat of water, within another pan). And that is all I have space for, today.

Your financial partnership with us and your prayer partnership with us are making a difference, filling real needs, and are appreciated in support of these missionary adventures. God bless you all, and thank you for your support,

Fr. Shaw, and on behalf of Mtr. Julie.
Examining Chaplain, Diocese of Belize SAMS missionaries.
From San Ignacio, Belize Support.

 Please pray and continue to make checks out to: "SAMS". Put "Shaw and Julie Mudge" in the memo, to support what we are doing. Your continued support makes the work in Belize possible. Mailing address: SAMS, P. O. Box 399, Ambridge, PA 15003-0399. Or on-line, at http://goo.gl/nll8ut

Prayer Mail

Dear Friends, 

This is our public prayer mail for Tuesday 18 August 2015. Attached is our newsletter for August 2015.

Thanksgivings for our continuing online seminary education program for Belize. We have just completed 3 years worth of courses, and we have one more year to go before the full number of 19 courses is complete. At the end of October 2016, ideally all courses would be available in a 24/7 format of some kind, with possible textbook, workbook, audio, and/or video alternatives in the works after that point, to meet continuing need.

Among the highlights of this past week: 

1) Finished preparing the Preaching course (begins in October). The course will be a combination of preaching theory, reading-hearing-seeing sermons, and sermon critique of student sermons by a sermon committee of the student's choice. On to the next course, either Old Testament content or General Church history, depending on circumstances regarding the faculty.

2) Had an awesome time preparing for supply work at St. Paul's in Brookfield, CT, while the rector is on sabbatical. We have not even started yet, and the Holy Spirit has been very active. Praise God!

3) Our god-daughter and her husband had their marriage blessed by the Pope, in Rome, on their honeymoon. Photos were on FaceBook, so it must be true.

Prayers:

1) Prayer for the continuing online seminary education program in Belize that all would be done to God's glory, for our ministry fruitfulness and for the students, faculty, parish clergy, Commission on Ministry members, and diocesan staff involved. 

I heard today that one of the faculty may not be able to teach in January; so we may either have to rearrange the curricula next year, or I simply step in and teach (create the course, first). Your prayers for wisdom would be appreciated.

2) For the Pastoral Ministry course which begins in less than two weeks.

3) Prayer for the plans I am trying to line up for the October trip to Belize, with a key aspect being a Spiritual Director of the Cursillo weekend there (held every two years).

4) For the ongoing Belizean projects of the Prayer Book printing and theological library plans.  

5) Pray that I would listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit on what to say and do in the next several months, especially at St. Paul's in Brookfield.

6) Please keep various family members in prayer about: relationships, events and appointments, decisions to make, educational goals, gainful employment, and fruitful ministry. Lydia resumes her college courses in a few weeks. Julie is finishing one Nashotah House hybrid course, just in time for the next one, as well as doing everything else she does.

Your prayers are very important. I am praying for you every day.

God bless you, 

Shaw, and on behalf of Julie.

Prayer Mail

Dear Friends, 

This is our public prayer mail for Tuesday 9 August 2015. 

Sunday was "Diocesan Day" for the Anglican Church in Belize. Every parish gathered at St. Ann's in Belmopan followed by an afternoon of fun and fellowship. 

Among the highlights of this past week: 

1) Spent a considerable amount of time tracking down good sermon examples this week for my online preaching course for Belize. I know a lot of great preachers. Have been reviewing written sermons, oral sermons, and video sermons. Totally awesome experience.

2) Was working on preparation for parish supply work for both the Albany diocese and The Episcopal Church in Connecticut (current name used in the Connecticut diocese). 

3) Had a great time at St. James' in Lake George, NY, on Sunday. Julie had a great time at St. Mary's in Manchester, CT, on Sunday. Last week, we both took time out and simply attended Church in Kentucky with Hannah and Lydia; I like our family, and when we can do things together, that is awesome.

Prayers:

1) For the ongoing Belizean projects of: course development, the Prayer Book printing, theological library plans, and text book production plans.  

2) Pray that I would listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit on what to say and do in the next several months as I visit churches, and in preparation for my next anticipated trip in October at the time of the Cursillo Weekend in the Belmopan area. Also, for wisdom in my daily contacts with people in Belize.

3) Please keep various family members in prayer about: relationships, events and appointments, decisions to make, educational goals, gainful employment, and fruitful ministry.

Your prayers are very important. I am praying for you every day.

God bless you, 

Shaw, and on behalf of Julie.

Prayer Mail

Dear Friends, 

This is our public prayer mail for Sunday 2 August 2015. 

Among the highlights of this past week: 

a) I have finished the preparation for one course, and begun preparation for another course, and added another adjunct faculty member (in Belize) to supplement our overall online program. 

b) This week, I updated my Diocese of Belize informational Web page, including the latest postings from the "Anglican News" (diocesan newspaper). This site is intended to be bare-bones in order to meet the needs of Anglican Internet users throughout Belize and interested parties abroad (about 2400 people have dropped the site by since it was created). 

[The Diocese also has a FaceBook page which is named for the diocesan Synod with which it was originally associated. The name association with the Synod lives on...] 

If you are interested in a current overall status of ministry needs and hopes in Belize, check out:

https://www.sites.google.com/site/dioceseofbelizecpwi/news 

c) Am also working on preparation for parish supply work in both the Albany diocese and The Episcopal Church in Connecticut (current name used in the Connecticut diocese) during August.

Prayers:

1) For the ongoing Belizean projects of: course development, the Prayer Book printing, theological library plans, and text book production plans.  

2) Pray that I would listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit on what to say and do in the next several months as I visit churches, and in preparation for my next anticipated trip in October at the time of the Cursillo Weekend in the Belmopan area. Also, for wisdom in my daily contacts with people in Belize.

3) Please keep various family members in prayer about: relationships, events and appointments, decisions to make, educational goals, gainful employment, and fruitful ministry.

Your prayers are very important. I am praying for you every day.

God bless you, 

Shaw, and on behalf of Julie.