For my "thirteen things"- I thought I'd list...
The Thirteen Things I Love Most About My Church
1- Eucharist!! It's absolutely my favorite part of the service. For those who haven't been reading this since 2007, you can go here to read my post about the significance of the Eucharist in my life.
2- The Gospel readings!! They never fail to inspire me. Often I will go home and look them up in BibleGateway to read the different Bible versions of them.
3- The great homilies! My priests are truly gifted at taking the appointed readings from the day, and opening them up into wonderful life lessons!!
4- My wonderful priests! I'm blessed with the two most wonderful priests on the face of the Earth! I consider them both wonderful friends and mentors, and thank God each and every day for their presence in my life!
5- My wonderful church family! We're a small group- but we're a faith-filled and very close group! Love these people a lot!!
6- The location of the church! We're part of a larger Christian retreat center, set on nearly 700 acres of absolute beauty... included in that, is a 36 acre lake, overnight lodging for 75, a "summer" camp- used year-round, a huge dining room- with GREAT meals, two beautiful chapels, a HUGE theological library, an incredible healing ministry, and a convent with 6 Anglican nuns! The presence of God is SO evident in this place!!!
7- The close proximity to my home! Yah, I'm all of a mile away from this great place-- yah, I'm blessed!!
8- Coffee hour! Yes, I know that seems shallow and lame- but isn't Christian fellowship as important as worshiping God? We take turns providing the snacks, and usually I leave not having to have lunch! :-) We have some really good cooks in our midst!
9- The music ministry! We are blessed with a fantastic music ministry at CTK! Somewhere I heard the quote, "When you sing, you pray twice"... (or something like that)!!
10- The strong emphasis on HEALING MINISTRY! CTK is truly blessed with a very active healing ministry... from weekly healing services, to retreats on healing, to the opportunity to learn more about the healing ministry through Christian Healing Ministries, "School of Healing Prayer" classes. At any given moment you're likely to see folks laying hands on, and praying for someone in need.
11- A wonderful, strong, moral, and faith-filled Bishop!! Everyone loves Bishop Bill!!!
12- The peaceful feeling that fills the grounds of CTK- but most specifically in the Oratory of Christ the Healer (the chapel where our services are held)!! This is hard one to explain- but you walk into this building, and just are surrounded by the "peace that passes understanding".
13- The sounds of people praying and worshiping God!! There can't be anything more wonderful than this sound in the whole world!!
To read other "Thursday Thirteen" blogs, and to join in the fun, you can go here!
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