Dear Friends,
This is our prayer mail for 26 June 2016.
This week:
1) a student completed one of our distance learning courses.
2) I have been preparing for what is ahead in terms of incorporating ourselves into the potential diocese. This preparation often involves considerable advance-work to do well: learning about the potential diocese and its indigenous cultures and related provincial matters - how they may vary from what we are used to, and how the Gospel can be expressed effectively in the potential diocese. We do this to develop informed and relevant content that fits the diocesan mission/expression of the Gospel, upgrading course content to take into account diocesan cultures, and so forth, as needed: getting more into the mindset of the person on the ground, what tools they need as they look both outward and deeper in order to spread the Gospel.
What I am doing is in missionary terms entitled: "contextualization of the Gospel", and in my situation this is a kind of a theological educational version of Fresh Expressions (the UK church planting program that was talked about, at Albany Convention). To do this well, it can take a while. All this, to be ready for discussions in August, as had.
As Julie mentioned to me yesterday, look at where my D. Min. Thesis of 2004 has taken me (on the development of a theological education curriculum for the Deacon Formation program in the Diocese of Albany). This is unusual for D. Min. projects. For me, it is like the river of the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel 47. Wow.
Prayers:
1) Prayers for guidance on the path ahead, for whatever the Holy Spirit has in mind. Clear discernment as to the
appropriate path would be appreciated.
2) For the deacons waiting to be ordained in Belize, that a date would be fixed.
3) For the easing of tensions between Guatemala and Belize.
4) For the Spanish Prayerbook printing process.
I pray for you every day.
Are we making a difference? Absolutely. You are part of that.
God bless you,
Fr. Shaw
Manchester
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