"To repent you of your sins..."      

 

This week I reread sections of a little book I was once given by an older priest. It is called St. Augustine's Prayer Book.  An Anglo-Catholic collection of prayers and devotions, it has a chapter on each of the sacraments.   For the sacrament of penitence, it began with examination of conscience with the seven deadly sins as the framework. 

It being Lent, I re-read that section.  How searching and surprising are some of the considerations of the "categories" of sin.  The sin of pride was laid out as the refusal to accept the status of creature.  I nodded, but then stopped when I read that under pride was distrust and over sensitivity and sentimentality.  I thought about these.  In fact, when I distrust things I am putting my judgment first. When I am overly sensitive, I am putting my feelings first.  I began to reconsider; yes, those habits stem from pride. I think my beautiful feelings, say in prayer, are more important than Christ's commands to action do something good before "the night comes." 

 

 Under greed, along with avarice and collecting stuff, it puts the desire to control or possess or use others.  Also under greed was prodigality, (lovely word) whether of possessions or time. We can fall off the bike on both sides.   I was not surprised with gluttony also including its opposite of being a gourmet: the focus is still on food.    Lust rounded up the usual suspects, in the view of the author, but also in the net were prudery and sexual repression.   Anger, the sinful kind, is 'open rebellion against God or our fellow creatures."  Good anger always springs from a sense of justice, but I had not considered that deliberately being a spoilsport is a type of anger, nor rudeness, nor annoyance.

 Traditionally, the purpose of such examines was not to wallow in being a sinner, but to move to repentance and change of life.  How do I move through my day and space aware or unaware of God and others?  How do I look through and beneath my habits to grasp the principals of living in love and awe of God and with respect to creation?    The goals of the old author are mindfulness and humility.  Or as a far older prophet wrote: "To do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God." 

Sunday Morning Lenten Program

Theology Matters

Canon Jordan Hylden

This week, March 12, the subject will be:  Creation and Fall

March 19         Christ and Salvation

March 26         Church and Life in the Spirit

April 2             Thy Kingdom Come: Heaven, Hell, and Hope

Teri Petty, Director Family Promise

Teri Petty have been involved with Family Promise of Irving since 2010 as the community outreach minster for CHRIST Church. The idea of churches uniting to provide hospitality to families in crisis spoke to her heart as simply as following Jesus. She served as part of the core group helping build interest and capital to open our local affiliate.

 

When Family Promise opened in May of 2012, Teri served on the Board of Trustees for two years. As part of the support from CHRIST Church, she did part-time case management for 6 months with the families. She has been the executive director since October of 2014.

 

For Teri, Family Promise of Irving, with all of its challenges, is a labor of love.

 

Teri holds a Bachelors in Ministry and Leadership from Dallas Christian College.  She was  widowed after 23 years of marriage and has  4 adult children and 2 grandsons 6 & 3.  Her  hobbies are ballet and hiking