FAITH OUTSIDE OUR WALLS

Nurturing and Practicing Our Faith amid Social Distance

"And remember, I am with you always." 

MATTHEW 28:20

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he promised his disciples that they had no reason to despair. In the midst of our present circumstances, distancing ourselves even from our parish family for the safety and health of our communities, we may need to lean on this promise of Jesus more than usual. But what an opportunity we have! 
For many of us, it's very difficult for us to be in isolation from one another and from our family of faith. Please be assured of this at least: you are not alone. You have the loving and living presence of Jesus surrounding you at all times. We at Saint Peter's invite you to use this time and space to deepen your devotion to God in prayer and open your heart to God in new ways. 
Day by day, dear Lord,
of thee three things I pray
to see thee more clearly,
follow thee more nearly,
love thee more dearly,
day by day. 
Below you'll find a growing list of resources for nurturing your faith at home or wherever you find yourself outside of Saint Peter's. We will continue to add to these resources, so keep checking back for more updates. 
Keep Reading to Find the Following Resources: 
The (Online) Book of Common Prayer
Getting to Know Our Bible
Father Shane's Recommendation: ​New Seeds of Contemplation
Deepening Our Devotion at Home:
​The Daily Office + Hymns at Home + The Lectionary
A Rite of Spiritual Communion

The (Online) Book of Common Prayer

The Book of Common Prayer is a key part of our spiritual life as Episcopalians. All by itself, the BCP provides an invaluable resource for growing in our faith. Click below for the online BCP and more information. 

Getting to Know Our Bible

We hear the Bible read every Sunday, and we often dive deeper into it with Bible Study following our services. So couldn't this be a great chance to dive deeper for yourself into this indispensable pillar of our faith and life as the People of God? At the link below, you'll find resources for digging in and reading our Bible at home. 

Fr. Shane's Recommendation: New Seeds of Contemplation

All at Saint Peter's know how much of a reader Father Shane is. If you're looking for something to read that will also help to deepen your life of prayer and move you further in your walk with God, Father Shane highly recommends Thomas Merton's New Seeds of Contemplation. Click below to learn more and to read along with Father Shane in the weeks and months ahead. 

Deepening Our Devotion at Home

The Daily Office
Hymns at Home
The Lectionary
Our days are busy! Whether we're quarantined at home or living life-as-usual, we all live busy lives. Our Daily Office comprises sets of prayers for punctuating our days with intentional breaks for the sake of offering our thanks, concerns, and hopes to God. 
Music has always been an important part of our common life at Saint Peter's, and it should be no different while we are apart from one another. There are plenty of resources online for listening to and singing hymns, helping us lift our voices in song to God. 
The Lectionary provides a way for us as a Church--no matter where we are--to read Scripture together. That said, the Lectionary can be a tricky beast to navigate (not to mention, there's more than one!). Here are some tips on using the Lectionary to help you read Scripture with us. 

A Rite of Spiritual Communion

One of the pieces of our common life that grounds us is our act of receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist. When someone is unable to receive Communion, often due to "extreme sickness or disability," the Book of Common Prayer states that the "desire to receive the Sacrament" is enough for God to grant all the benefits of Communion. 
The following Rite, linked below, is especially appropriate for our current situation, as we are unable to gather for services together and therefore cannot celebrate the Eucharist as we would normally do.