Prayer Mail

Dear Friends,

 

This is our prayer mail for 17 July 2016. Attached is our July newsletter.

This week: 

1) The final editorial revisions of the Province of the West Indies Prayer Book revision have been completed. We are another step closer to publication.

2) WiFi Modem failure this week, though issues had been increasing over perhaps over several weeks. Swapped it this morning. Things look good now. Hazard of the profession. Onwards!

3) Pre-ordination retreat plans continue to be developed for the mission trip that involves Julie and myself this time, to Belize, this week. My 14th trip to Belize since 2012.

4) Distance learning course revision work in progress as I look towards the possible expansion of our program. 

5) Heard from the Bishop of the Diocese of Western Tanganyika this week. Provided the funds and trip time slot are available, a trip might be set up for 2017. That would be helping out in three different sections of the globe, next year. 

6) And closer to home, my distance learning preaching materials are proving helpful in workshop format to licensed lay preachers in the U.S. I provide workshops and related certificates as desired.

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 three deacons to be ordained priests in Belize in little over a week. It will be an historic moment in the history of the Diocese. I am pleased to have played a part in helping to make it happen. Prayer also for the pre-ordination retreat that I will be leading, and for safe and timely travel for Julie and myself.

3) For the publication of the Spanish Prayer Book.

 

4) For the easing of tensions between Guatemala and Belize. 

 

I pray for you every day.

  

Are we making a difference? Absolutely. You are part of that.

 

God bless you,

 

Fr. Shaw

Manchester

 

Making Disciples Who Make a Differen

July Newsletter

Bishops’s chapel, Belize City, Belize, C.A. A place of spiritual
 nourishment. Where diocesan staff devotions take place, weekly. Photo by the Rev. Dr. Shaw Mudge, (c) 2016.

Bitten by the bug.

When it comes to missionary work, I have been bitten by the missionary bug. I can’t seem to get it out of my system. And this is confirmed by the fact that my identity is now perceived by many people solely as a missionary, especially those who have not known me in other roles.

Multi-cultural environments have become a way of life. Living on the edge in culture is an exhilarating way of life. Watching what the Holy Spirit does through us is a way of life. And the lessons from missionary life are sometimes lessons that we pass along which help make spreading the Gospel more effective in the U.S. for other folks.

Being bitten by the missionary bug, is being a third culture Christian, living in the mindset of at least two cultures, though as I look ahead to 2017, it could be simultaneously four cultures. People ask how I can do it. It is like any skill: practice, practice, and practice.  

Isn’t it dangerous? Yes and no. There are moments of excitement. Being aware of my surroundings, and taking necessary precautions to guard against unnecessary risks, living in moderation and according to cultural norms: it helps keep me on top of my game, so to speak.

What about spreading the Gospel? That is what I do regularly, in one form or another. Simply be alert to what God has in mind. Spreading the Gospel occurs in word and deed. It always includes following the lead of the Holy Spirit into God-incidences.

Over time, we may end up with interesting results, such as this month, which includes moving ever closer to the publication of Spanish Prayer Book for the Province of the Church in the West Indies and the ordination of 3 priests in Belize, a historic moment for the Church in Belize. July marks my 14th trip to Belize since 2012, and Julie is joining me, making a return trip, as well. The results are cumulative, over time.

And we could not have caught the bug without your prayer and financial support. We are ambassadors for Christ. Thank you for enabling us to do what Jesus has called us to do. In that sense, we are your ambassadors as well.

God bless you,

In Jesus,

Fr. Shaw, and on behalf of Mtr. Julie.

SAMS missionaries with the Diocese of 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.

Mailing address:

SAMS,

P. O. Box 399,

Ambridge, PA 15003-0399. 

July Newsletter

Bishops’s chapel, Belize City, Belize, C.A. A place of spiritual
 nourishment. Where diocesan staff devotions take place, weekly. Photo by the Rev. Dr. Shaw Mudge, (c) 2016.

Bitten by the bug.

When it comes to missionary work, I have been bitten by the missionary bug. I can’t seem to get it out of my system. And this is confirmed by the fact that my identity is now perceived by many people solely as a missionary, especially those who have not known me in other roles.

Multi-cultural environments have become a way of life. Living on the edge in culture is an exhilarating way of life. Watching what the Holy Spirit does through us is a way of life. And the lessons from missionary life are sometimes lessons that we pass along which help make spreading the Gospel more effective in the U.S. for other folks.

Being bitten by the missionary bug, is being a third culture Christian, living in the mindset of at least two cultures, though as I look ahead to 2017, it could be simultaneously four cultures. People ask how I can do it. It is like any skill: practice, practice, and practice.  

Isn’t it dangerous? Yes and no. There are moments of excitement. Being aware of my surroundings, and taking necessary precautions to guard against unnecessary risks, living in moderation and according to cultural norms: it helps keep me on top of my game, so to speak.

What about spreading the Gospel? That is what I do regularly, in one form or another. Simply be alert to what God has in mind. Spreading the Gospel occurs in word and deed. It always includes following the lead of the Holy Spirit into God-incidences.

Over time, we may end up with interesting results, such as this month, which includes moving ever closer to the publication of Spanish Prayer Book for the Province of the Church in the West Indies and the ordination of 3 priests in Belize, a historic moment for the Church in Belize. July marks my 14th trip to Belize since 2012, and Julie is joining me, making a return trip, as well. The results are cumulative, over time.

And we could not have caught the bug without your prayer and financial support. We are ambassadors for Christ. Thank you for enabling us to do what Jesus has called us to do. In that sense, we are your ambassadors as well.

God bless you,

In Jesus,

Fr. Shaw, and on behalf of Mtr. Julie.

SAMS missionaries with the Diocese of 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.

Mailing address:

SAMS,

P. O. Box 399,

Ambridge, PA 15003-0399. 

Prayer Mail

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

Newsletter

Transforming Countries for Christ

I have begun realizing lately, that what we do in our making a difference ministry is bigger than a handful of students in a distance learning program, in part because is it not the number of students, it is more about who they are.

And the ministry is more than helping a handful of people through their ordination processes, whether applying or moving from the transitional diaconate to the presbyterate, again because it is not the number of students, it is about who they are.

And the ministry is more than the several thousand lives we may touch in a year in just Belize, let alone the hundreds of others who browse and delve into our Web sites each year, for it is not about the number of students, it is about who they are.

What we are doing is bigger than the ministries on paper. It is bigger than the Anglican Church in Belize. What we are doing is transforming the country of Belize, for example, because of the ministry of the handful of students and people in the ordination process.

This was brought home to me poignantly recently when a chaplain to the military in one country told me that my preaching course was transformative in his ability to reach people in his congregation on base. He had taken a preaching course in a provincial Anglican seminary, but he found the results of our course to be more effective because it connected him with his congregation in a way that his provincial seminary course did not. The result: the military in that country were being impacted effectively with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

And as I look back across the people with whom I have interacted personally, I see that I have met and talked with some rather influential people in the country of Belize, for example, as well as the down and out. It is only now that I begin to understand that what started as modest goal a few years ago, has turned into a ministry that helps transform a country at several levels. And our effort is one part of God’s effort to do that.

It’s humbling to step back and see the bigger picture. And thank you for your part in helping to make it happen.

God bless you all,

Fr. Shaw, and on behalf of Mtr. Julie.

SAMS missionaries with the Diocese of 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.

Mailing address:

SAMS,

P. O. Box 399,

Ambridge, PA 15003-0399. 

Bishop Philip teaching students from Georgeville at the   Cathedral of St. John The Baptist, Belize City, Belize, 2016; we all transform the future of the country, one moment at a time.

Prayer Mail

Dear Friends,

This is our prayer mail for 19 June 2016, and attached is our June newsletter.

This week, my missionary focus has been in two areas:

a) This week, helping people with the entry/mid-phase part of the ordination process in the

 Diocese of Belize. 

b) There is very strong interest in our long distance missionary work in that other diocese that I

 mentioned last week. 

We plan conversations to resume in August, and I have begun preparing the way administratively.

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. They are still high.

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

Prayer Mail

Dear Friends,

 

This is our prayer mail for 12 June 2016.

 

This week, my focus has been in two areas:

a) People in the ordination process in the Diocese of Belize.

b) Mission-booth and participation at the Diocese of Albany Convention. I enjoyed catching up with many people. 

It was a blessing.

In addition, an opportunity has arisen to possibly expand the mission of the distance learning theological college 

into another province in the Anglican Communion. There is a fair amount a leg work ahead before I would be in a 

position to make announcement with more detail.

Prayers: 

1) I would like prayers for guidance on the path ahead, for whatever the Holy Spirit has in mind.  

 

2) That this current phase of ministry continues to be fruitful, and for all the plans we are making for the future 

in Belize, and for the people involved in those plans. 

3) For the easing of tensions between Guatemala and Belize.  

 

4) For the Spanish Prayerbook as it moves incrementally closer to being printed.  

5) Julie and I celebrate our wedding anniversary this week.

 

6) I pray for you every day.

  

Are we making a difference? Absolutely. You are part of that.

 

God bless you,

 

Fr. Shaw

Manchester