Same-sex marriages and today’s urgent prayer for godliness
by Julian Mann, TCW:
AT the Queen’s funeral service in Westminster Abbey in September, the Archbishop of York read out the Book of Common Prayer Collect for today, the 22nd Sunday after Trinity:
‘Lord, we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual godliness; that through thy protection it (Archbishop Cottrell said ‘she’) may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in good works, to the glory of thy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.’
This Collect includes prayer for the Church of England of which the Queen was Supreme Governor but ‘thy household the Church’ here is not restricted to a particular denomination. The Collect is referring to the universal Church for which intercession is made in the Prayer Book service of Holy Communion, that the Lord would ‘inspire continually the universal Church with the spirit of truth, unity and concord’.
This universal Church, described in the Apostles’ Creed as the holy Catholic (inclusive of all nationalities) Church, embraces as members of God’s family all true believers in Jesus Christ the world over. That universal Church finds visible expression in local churches, gatherings of Christian believers in particular places.
Notwithstanding its broader remit, it is true that this Collect is urgently relevant to members of the universal Church who meet in local churches affiliated to the Church of England. They have had a dreadful fortnight.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
