A Liturgical Note For You: The Continuing Journey of Reconciliation
Right on the heels of the National Indigenous Day of Prayer comes the celebration of our nation (July 1st). In a time of chaos and violence around us, the prayer for this day feels very appropriate. You’ll notice, if you go to p.678 in the BAS, I’ve changed some wording in order to allow this beautiful, timely prayer to be one of equality and sharing rather than of ownership of the land and dominion over others:
A Canada Day Prayer:
Almighty God, you have [provided] this good land as [a shared] heritage. May we prove ourselves a people mindful of your generosity and glad to do your will. Bless [this] land with honest industry, truthful education, and an honourable way of life. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance; and from every evil course of action. Make us who came from many nations with many different languages a united people. Defend [human] liberties and give those whom we have entrusted with the authority of government the spirit of wisdom, that there may be justice and peace in [the] land. When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful; and, in troubled times, do not let our trust in you fail. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
It would be very appropriate to gather, on July 1st, in worship dedicated to Canada and to celebrate our lives as Canadians and friends from other countries desiring to make Canada their home. It would also be appropriate to include the prayer (above) in your Sunday, June 28 worship but, since secular holidays and special days never take precedence over the Sunday feast of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, nothing else should be added to your worship.
For Your Devotions:
Monday, June 29th is the Holy Day of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. If your church is named after one of these saints, you can transfer this day to Sunday (and the liturgical colour would be red). Have you ever wondered why the two greatest apostles of the early Church share a Holy Day? This is because they are believed to have been martyred during the same persecution of Christians by Nero in 64 A.D. (They are celebrated separately, Peter for his Confession and Paul for his Conversion, on our calendar as well). To read about these biblical greats, have a look at p.208… https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/ForAlltheSaints.pdf
Friday, July 3rd is the Holy Day of St. Thomas the Apostle. One of the 12 apostles, the most information we have of him is found in the Gospel of John. He was extremely devoted to Jesus and, of course, the best known incident we know of him is the ‘doubting Thomas’ story (but I think Thomas is unfairly singled out – all of the apostles doubted…There’s a lot more to Thomas’ story than doubt). After the death of Jesus, Thomas’ history is sketchy but he is thought to have evangelized Parthia and even into India. He was martyred around 53 A.D. For more info: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Thomas
John was born to prepare the way for the Saviour of the world…the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke first introduces us to John’s parents – Elizabeth and Zechariah – and draws unmistakeable parallels between them and Abraham and Sarah. Luke creates through John a bridge between the Old and New Testaments. For All the Saints says, “the birth of John the Baptist gathered up and embodied the whole truth of the Old Testament and made it ready for its own perfection in Christ Jesus.” To read more, check out p.204… https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/ForAlltheSaints.pdf