Dear Friends in the Diocese of San Diego:
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth…Then they returned to Jerusalem … and were constantly devoting themselves to prayer… When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place... All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit... and that day about three thousand persons were added.” Acts 1, 2
Mary and the disciples gathered after the first Ascension Day, constantly devoting themselves to prayer while they waited for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. For centuries, Christians have gathered at that time to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
I ask you to copy the bulletin insert below and include it in your congregation's bulletin this Sunday:
I invite you to join in a Season of Prayer from June 2, the Sunday following Ascension Day, to June 16,
the day following my ordination and consecration as your new bishop. Throughout these 15 days of prayer, let us gather in our communities, the places where we work, live and worship, and within our own hearts, where we can call upon the Holy Spirit to pour out upon this diocese God’s grace and love.
Here in the Diocese of San Diego, I invite you to pray specifically for three things:
- Growth in discipleship: that all Episcopalians in our diocese should grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through worship, learning, and service to others.
- Evangelism: that those in our churches, neighborhoods, and communities whose lives would be enriched by the good news of Christ would hear that good news.
- Serving our neighbors: that God’s mission in our communities would be empowered as we go out into our neighborhoods, meet the people who are there, become acquainted with their needs, hopes, and longings, and discern our own ministries of service there.
On the bulletin inserts above
and
on our website, you will find prayers and Bible verses for this Season of Prayer. May this time of prayer and preparation open us to the power of the Holy Spirit.
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessings,
The Rev. Canon Susan Brown Snook
Bishop-Elect of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego
