Faith
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Thinking the Faith, Praying the Faith, Living the Faith is written by the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship.
Thinking, praying, and living the faith is at the core of ministry in the Office of Theology and Worship. In the following videos, learn more about what thinking, praying, and living the faith means to the leadership of the Office of Theology and Worship. Discover why it matters and what difference it makes in our lives, work, and worship.
Charles Wiley
Barry Ensign-George
David Gambrell
Christine Hong
Karen Russell
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There's an App for That!
Hey, There’s an App for That!
Well, not quite, but soon.
We’re currently in the late stages of development of a smart phone app for daily prayer and scripture reading. Really. For many people, this news is years overdue. For others, it may signal the imminent arrival of four horsemen. But however you view our growing reliance on smartphones, the ability to carry around a huge amount of information in your pocket is mind boggling and provides opportunities we’ve not seen before. To have the ability to access daily scripture readings and an outline for prayer at any time or place may be soul boggling. Or at least it should be.
For those of you who are skeptical, I understand. I am one of those people that loves the heft of a book in my hand, especially when reading scripture or leading worship. Holding my Bible while reading scripture has a kind of muscle memory that imparts a sense of gravitas – it physically tells me that what I’m doing is important. I have to admit I wonder if my phone will convey that same sense of importance. But my excitement over the possibilities outstrips that concern. Besides, it’s not as if this app is going to replace my Book of Common Worship or my Bible. Rest assured – the readings will not be edited so that “Sara LOL’d” upon hearing the news she would bear a child. What it will do is increase the possibility of me (and hopefully others!) engaging the scripture at new times and places.
Daily prayer and daily scripture reading are the cornerstone practices of the Company of Pastors and Company of New Pastors. The daily lectionary is already available in several electronic formats, including full text documents on the Company of Pastors member site. But this smart phone app puts the tools in our hands in a new way.
I have this daydream of morning prayer breaking out in places where people now sit and text each other across the room. Or a flash mob of scripture reading. Maybe even a full worship service, including music, led entirely from phones. (I can supply leads to some dandy musical instrument apps if you’re interested.)
Anything that helps us pray more, read more scripture or any combination of the two can’t be a bad thing. Four horsemen notwithstanding.
If you’d like to know when the Daily Prayer app is ready, send me an e mail and I’ll let you know when it’s ready.
- Posted at 5:04 p.m.
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