A reflection by Regina Walton, Editor and Content Developer for Discipleship Initiatives.
The staff of Forward Movement meets twice a week for prayer. For many years, these prayer gatherings were in person at Forward Movement’s offices in Cincinnati. These days, as there are both in person and remote employees, we meet online. Of course, we use Forward Day by Day as our devotion before naming individual prayer requests, reading the selected Bible verse from the Daily Office and then the brief reflection by that month’s guest author.
But it was only in the last year that we decided to start incorporating the provided “Moving Forward” question into our prayer gathering, reading it aloud after everyone had named their individual prayer requests, and then leaving time for anyone who wished to share their own thoughts in response to the question (all may share, but no one must).
Adding the Moving Forward question into our weekly staff prayer times has had a simple but profound effect on our meetings: it allows members of our staff to share a bit about our own day to day experiences of living out our faith, both the beautiful bits and the challenging parts. It has helped us to get to know each other a little better, beyond small talk or shared work projects. It has provided an easy, regular time of simple faith-sharing. And, it’s been a great reminder that we’re all human, trying our best to care for our families and friends, and to respond in as Christ-like a way as we can muster to the “chances and changes of this life,” as one collect in the Book of Common Prayer puts it, knowing that sometimes we’ll fall short and will need to try again.
So, from us at Forward Movement to all of you out in your congregations and ministries, consider using Forward Day by Day to begin your own church or diocesan staff or committee meetings, Vestry meetings, or small group times. It only takes a minute or two to read the verse and the reflection, and then to ask the Moving Forward question.
You may be surprised at the way that just a few moments of voluntary faith-sharing can build community, deepen connections, and offer a reminder that we’re all trying our best to walk in love each day.
[Photo is of St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church, Tucson, AZ]
