Episcopal Life Online Daybook -- Today is Monday, September 17, 2007. The Church calendar remembers Hildegard (1098-1179).
* 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 1979, the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) held its inaugural meeting at the Chilema Lay Training Center in Malawi.
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MISSION
Multifaith leaders to fast for peace, end to Iraq war
Leaders from many religious communities have urged Americans of all faiths to fast from dawn to dusk on Monday, October 8 to call for an end to the war in Iraq.
"This war must end!" say the religious leaders in their statement about the interfaith fast. "We must end the shattering of Iraqi and American lives by offering American generosity and support -- but not control -- for international and nongovernmental efforts to assist Iraqis in making peace and rebuilding their country, while swiftly and safely bringing home all American troops."
Bishop Christopher Epting, the Episcopal Church's ecumenical and interfaith officer, is among those religious leaders supporting the event.
"Surely the one thing people of faith can do together to work for peace is to use the ancient spiritual disciplines which we share in common," said Epting. "Prayer and fasting together, particularly during times of the year when a number of our traditions mark major holy seasons and days, seem pretty basic. I hope many Episcopalians will join this nationwide effort."
The religious leaders are inviting millions of Americans to organize joint interfaith events in local communities to fast and break the fast together. Events can be registered here (http://www.interfaithfast.org) where groups can find a toolkit to assist in organizing such gatherings.
"American culture, society, and policy are addicted to violence at home and overseas," says the organizing statement. "In our time, the hope of a decent future is endangered by an unnecessary, morally abhorrent, and disastrous war. Ending this war can become the first step toward a policy that embodies a deeper, broader sense of generosity and community at home and in the world."
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Catalyst: "The Benedictine Tradition: Spirituality in History" from Liturgical Press, edited by Phyllis Zagano & Laura Swan, 156 pages, paperback, c. 2007, $15.95
[Source: Liturgical Press] When St. Benedict wrote his "little rule for beginners" in the fifth century, he could not have known it would shape the lives of religious men and women for more than 1500 years. Offering instruction on prayer and community life, Benedict's Rule espouses the values of humility, prayer, and hospitality that have marked the lives of Benedictines throughout the ages. Benedictines are those persons who commit themselves to the Rule of Benedict, and have been popes and widows, scholars and mystics and lay people from many religious traditions, including Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans. They have lived in monasteries and ashrams, in busy urban centers, and in desert hermitages. Dedicated to God and the practices of the Liturgy of the Hours and monastic life, Benedictines have made significant contributions to chant, theology, and the preservation of spiritual works of literature and scholarship.
Represented here is the work of major Benedictine figures throughout the ages, beginning with Pope Gregory's account of the life of Benedict and arriving at recent statements by the Conference of Benedictine Prioresses on conflict in the world. Along with the Rule, the writing of these Benedictines remains as relevant today as in any age.
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