From the Church of England's liturgical vaults for the Third Sunday after Trinity (this Sunday):
The Collect
Almighty God, you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of God;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Post Communion
O God, whose beauty is beyond our imagining
and whose power we cannot comprehend:
show us your glory as far as we can grasp it,
and shield us from knowing more than we can bear
until we may look upon you without fear;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Showing posts with label UCC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UCC. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
No more GodFather!
I see the United Church of Christ (AKA Obama's church) has decided to drop references to God and the word 'Father'! No more 'God the father, heavenly father, father God' or the like because "it's too restrictive!"[read it here]
The move would have them bill themselves as:
"A Local Church is composed of persons who, believing in the triune God, accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and depending on the guidance of the Holy Spirit."
STRIKE the First!
"In the UCC, our language for God, Christ and the Holy Spirit … is preferred to be more open for different expressions of the Trinity," she said. "Heavenly Father is just one vision. The denomination seeks to be "inclusive" in its language, so therefore we will tend to change language that is more traditional to be more inclusive."
How on earth can you believe in a triune God and deny one of the three persons in it?
Strike the Second
A spokeswoman says that, Some of the denomination's pastors refer to God with terms such as "Creator" and "Father and Mother."
This is taking us down the same old 'Creator, Redeemer, Enabler' tosh that seeks to remove anything masculine from the equation and adds nothing but takes much away.
Strike the Third
Apparently the UCC are one of leaders when it comes to declining church and it seems to me that this is a desperate act to win those who would like their Christianity to fit their demands. Too many churches see the only path to survival as being that of selling out the tradition Christian beliefs and practices in the hope that looking more like the world they will come in. The problem is that whilst many seek to have their ears tickled there is little point in coming into a place that is no different from the world outside.
Seems to me that this is a declining church who is seeking to sell itself to the world rather than stand and be different from it in the hope it will bring people in. The problem is that Church is about who we worship and serve not how many we can attract. This is the reason the liberal end fails to attract much in terms of converts and grows only as a container for like-minded sorts who leave other (often traditional) churches.
Two choices:
Call people to follow Christ, be different with regard to the world, and bless God
or
Call people to 'be themselves' and expect God to bless them.
As St Dumbledore of Hogwarts succinctly put it:
"The time is coming when you will have to choose between what is right and what is easy!"
Seems UCC are taking the easy route!
Sad
The move would have them bill themselves as:
"A Local Church is composed of persons who, believing in the triune God, accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and depending on the guidance of the Holy Spirit."
STRIKE the First!
"In the UCC, our language for God, Christ and the Holy Spirit … is preferred to be more open for different expressions of the Trinity," she said. "Heavenly Father is just one vision. The denomination seeks to be "inclusive" in its language, so therefore we will tend to change language that is more traditional to be more inclusive."
How on earth can you believe in a triune God and deny one of the three persons in it?
Strike the Second
A spokeswoman says that, Some of the denomination's pastors refer to God with terms such as "Creator" and "Father and Mother."
This is taking us down the same old 'Creator, Redeemer, Enabler' tosh that seeks to remove anything masculine from the equation and adds nothing but takes much away.
Strike the Third
Apparently the UCC are one of leaders when it comes to declining church and it seems to me that this is a desperate act to win those who would like their Christianity to fit their demands. Too many churches see the only path to survival as being that of selling out the tradition Christian beliefs and practices in the hope that looking more like the world they will come in. The problem is that whilst many seek to have their ears tickled there is little point in coming into a place that is no different from the world outside.
Seems to me that this is a declining church who is seeking to sell itself to the world rather than stand and be different from it in the hope it will bring people in. The problem is that Church is about who we worship and serve not how many we can attract. This is the reason the liberal end fails to attract much in terms of converts and grows only as a container for like-minded sorts who leave other (often traditional) churches.
Two choices:
Call people to follow Christ, be different with regard to the world, and bless God
or
Call people to 'be themselves' and expect God to bless them.
As St Dumbledore of Hogwarts succinctly put it:
"The time is coming when you will have to choose between what is right and what is easy!"
Seems UCC are taking the easy route!
Sad
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