Let us pray (in silence) [that we grow in unity with God – the source of all good]
pause
O God,
the strength of all who hope in you,
mercifully accept our prayers,
and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature
we can do nothing without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in following your commands
we may please you in desire and in deed;
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
This collect (opening prayer) is held in common among Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and others. We have been praying this prayer for at least thirteen centuries. Different Christian communities now use it on different days – the majority use it this coming Sunday.
Click on this link to find my history, commentary, and reflection on this collect: Ordinary 11.
ANGLICAN CHURCH OF OR
No – the above image is not a parody! It is the actual entry in the NZ Anglican Lectionary booklet for Sunday 14 June. And wait – there could be more, as a lot of NZ Anglican Churches will actually ignore these options and celebrate Corpus Christi instead.
And then there’s the numbering system. According to our NZ formularies, Ordinary Time begins after Candlemas (2 Feb) for NZ Anglicans which made Sunday, 8 Feb 2020, New Zealand’s FIRST Sunday in Ordinary Time, and… (count them yourself)… I think that makes this coming Sunday the FIFTH Sunday in our Ordinary Time. Or perhaps it is the 21st of June that is actually our FIFTH Sunday in our Ordinary Time. Who knows?!
And don’t forget that our Lectionary Booklet also mentions a “Proper 6” – good luck finding out what that refers to.
But wait, there’s more! Had this been the 15th rather than the 14th of June, this would have been the 3rd Sunday in June and that is “Disability Awareness Sunday”. Luckily, the Anglican Church of Or has a provision for this: “When the 3rd Sunday in June is Te Pouhere Sunday, or another Feast Day, it is recommended Disability Awareness is deferred to 4th Sunday in June OR [my emphasis] another Sunday.”
TE POUHERE SUNDAY
What psalm goes with Te Pouhere Sunday proper?
I encourage, as much as possible, to stay with the internationally-ecumenically-agreed readings. So if you are going to “celebrate our life as a three Tikanga Church”, you can do so with the RCL readings:
Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7) – the story of Three-in-One has obvious connections with the three Tikanga
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 connects to the Treaty of Waitangi in paying our vows – and then there’s the Church’s Constitution
Exodus 19:2-8a is about how God wants us to live as a nation – and imaging that as church
Psalm 100 we, together, are all God’s
Romans 5:1-8 Reconciliation has obvious connections
Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23) is about peace and unity – and the opposite
Resources beyond this site:
Textweek
Preaching Resources Down Under
