Episcopal Life Online Daybook -- Today is Monday, August 13, 2007. The Church calendar remembers Jeremy Taylor, bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore (1613-1667).
* Today in Scripture: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm * Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm * Today in History: On this day in 1587, members of Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to Roanoke baptized a Native American named Manteo; this was the first recorded Anglican baptism in the American colonies.
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MISSION
Myanmar mission team finds hope amid instability
By Jennifer Andrews-Weckerly
[Episcopal News Service] In Myanmar, Christians comprise only five to seven percent of the population, with Anglicans representing about two percent. Earning an average of 40 cents per day, a priest often serves six or more parishes, sometimes wandering the mountains looking for parishioners displaced by military and resistance fighting. Bishops worry about malfunctioning trucks and malaria in their travels throughout the dioceses.
In January 2007, a team of seven seminarians from Virginia Theological Seminary joined missionary the Rev. Katharine Babson in Myanmar for more than three weeks. Seminarian Jennifer Andrews-Weckerly shares a personal account of her experience of Myanmar, whose people, she says, nurture a sense of hope about the future, despite living in such challenging circumstances.
One of the Anglican Communion's 38 Provinces, the Church of Myanmar was formed in 1970, nine years after the declaration of Buddhism as the state religion and four years after all foreign missionaries were forced to leave. Today, Archbishop Samuel San Si Htay serves as the Primate of the Church of Myanmar, which has six dioceses.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_89015_ENG_HTM.htm
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Catalyst: "St. Benedict's Toolbox: The Nuts and Bolts of Everyday Benedictine Living" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Jane Tomaine, 206 pages, paperback, c. 2005, $16.95
[Source: Church Publishing, Inc.] When St. Benedict formed his first small community of monks at Monte Cassino on the hilltop, Italy--and much of Europe--was ravaged by war. The Roman Empire was breaking apart, and politics, cultural life, and even the Church, were all in disarray. In the midst of these tumultuous times, Benedict offered his followers a "little rule," a guide about the size of a checkbook, that showed his monks the way to peace as they learned to prefer Christ above all things.
Though it was written nearly 1500 years ago, the Rule of Benedict still offers the practical tools for living a Christ-centered today. Here in St. Benedict's Toolbox, readers will find a primer on how to use these tools in their own tumultuous lives. Each chapter examines one aspect of the Rule, from ways of praying to ways of embracing humility, and offers suggestions for prayer, reflection, journaling, and action. As they learn to use Benedict's tools, readers will discover the power--and the timeliness--of this ancient way of life.
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