Grace Anglican Parish PG BC
2640 Goheen Street V2N 4V9 Prince George, BC, Canada

Tuesday, November 24th, 2020 Daily Prayers Readings: Psalm [120], 121, 122, 123; Zechariah 11:4-17; Luke 18:31-43; 1 Corinthians 3:10-23... Collect 394 ‘Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, our Lord and King, grant that the peoples of the earth, now divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his gentle and loving rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.’ Reflection on 1 Corinthians 3: v 16-17 by Marie Hay ' Do you not know you are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you?' Holy God, what an honor to be your temple. Thank you for dwelling in me through your Spirit. Thank you for living in my church. Thank you for choosing to be present through all of your people in the world. O Lord, it is a great honor to be your temple, but also a great responsibility. Help me to live in such a way that your presence in my life makes a real difference each day. Help my church to be a place where people come expecting to find you. Today, I'm reminded to pray for the whole church throughout the world. May our words and deeds bear consistent and faithful witness to you, so that you might be glorified and so that people might be drawn to you through us. Amen. https://youtu.be/AHe_qmo3gX4

Monday, November 23rd, 2020 Daily Prayers Clement, Bishop of Rome, c. 100 Readings: Psalm 106:1-18; Zechariah 10:1-12; Luke 18:15-30; Galatians 6:1-10... Collect 394 ‘Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, our Lord and King, grant that the peoples of the earth, now divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his gentle and loving rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.’ Reflection on Luke 18:15 30 from Peter Zimmer Perhaps you remember the old Jack Benny routine: MUGGER: Your money or your life! (Impatiently.) Hey Buddy, your money or your life! (Waving his gun.) I said, your money or your life! JACKBENNY: I'm thinking! I'm thinking! I wonder what Jack Benny would have said to the words we find in Luke, beginning with today’s reading: When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. (Luke 18.22) Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ (Luke 19.8) It’s tempting to treat scripture as a book of rules, to be taken literally. The problem is that the rules seem to change. Zacchaeus, whose story comes just after the rich young ruler only gives half his possessions away. Perhaps what we wish is not that someone would explain the rules, but that they would explain them away. But Jesus won’t let us off easily. The challenge isn’t about what he requires but whose we are. As Christians we are not our own, we are God’s. These passages only make sense from the perspective of stewardship, about caring for what we have. In the end, to follow Jesus is to acknowledge that everything we have and are belongs to God and is at God’s disposal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWJjdOO1aeQ&t=19s

Saturday, November 21st, 2020 Daily Prayers Readings: Malachi 3.13-4.6; James 5.13-20; Psalm 107.33-43; Luke 18.9-14... Collect ‘Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to be the light of the world. Free us from all that darkens and ensnares us, and bring us to eternal light and joy; through the power of him who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.’ Reflection on James 5. 13-20 by Denise Boulanger Prayer is a powerful tool. Today’s reading from James is a great reminder for us that we all need to do a lot more of it on a more regular basis. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (English Standard Version) Do you believe in the power of prayer? There have been many studies done in hospitals where certain wards or patients were prayed for by strangers while others were not. The patients who were prayed for healed quicker than those who were not. When our son Lorn was 4 and a half he became very sick. We had no idea of what was wrong with him. He was sent to Children’s Hospital in Vancouver with a suspected case of Guillain-Barre (gee-YAH-buh-RAY) syndrome which is a rare disorder in which your body's immune system attacks your nerves. Weakness and tingling in your extremities are usually the first symptoms. These sensations can quickly spread, eventually paralyzing your whole body. Although we had never heard of this before, it was something that we were able to learn all about very quickly. The Doctors at Children’s Hospital said that Lorn would be in Vancouver for 6 to 12 months learning to walk and talk again, but with the power of prayer and the determination and belief of that young boy, he was able to walk out of the hospital one week later returning home. This past Sunday, at Grace, we restarted having the Order of Saint Luke pray for those who requested prayer during our communion time. This was something that had dropped by the wayside a while ago but I am very happy that it has been started again. I hope that more people accept the offer to have others pray for them during communion. Although we can not lay hands on each other, prayer can still be very powerful. In this day and age, prayer is needed now more than ever.

As per Dr. Bonnie Henry, all in person worship and services have been suspended until at least December 7th. We will be posting our worship services on YouTube and Facebook as we were when the pandemic started. If we follow Dr. Henry's suggestions to the letter we will be able to flatten the curve and return to Church soon! Stay safe and if you need to connect please do so! We are all still available for a phone or video chat to help everyone stay connected.