Sunday, February 13, 2011

Our Proclamation of the Gospel is:

The Adult Christian Formation Opportunity at Christ Episcopal Church Matagorda has prioritized the bullets from the Bishop’s list and we are working through them one at a time as a part of our exercises to be better able to share the faith.

The group chose 7th : “• our proclamation of the Gospel is:”

Try it for yourself:
Complete the following:
(extra credit for short answers using only terms a seeker would understand in their ordinary every-day sense.)

"This unique Episcopal witness is articulated through the words of our Baptismal Covenant:"

• our proclamation of the Gospel is:

Materials reviewed:
Celebrant Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
People I will, with God’s help.
Holy Baptism 305

Pro- before
Clamare- to cry out or call
Gospel – good news
Webster’s Unabridged

What is it to Proclaim?

We visited the image of the Herald who goes before a King in procession ‘crying out before him’ “Make way for the King”
Also
The shout of authority “Police!” before they kick in a door.

We also identified the (non-linguistic) cognate that we must ‘claim’ the Gospel for our own before we can Pro-claim it to others.

What is it to proclaim the Gospel by Word?
  • The Gospel is proclaimed in the Liturgy.
  • It is also proclaimed by Word whenever we use the words of Christ, or His love and wisdom in our own words to comfort and lead a friend.


What is it to proclaim the gospel by Example?
  • "Preach the gospel at all times -- If necessary, use words." – St. Francis
  • the scene from the movie, "Starman":
    • He wanted to drive the car and said to Karen Allen, "I watched you very closely, Red means stop, green means go, yellow means go-very-fast.."
  • “When you live in a small town, you waste money on curtains. Everybody knows everybody’s business.” – Lawrence Gwin (Sr.)


We are always being observed, by humans, by angels (of both camps), and by God who loves us in spite of what He has seen.

We are the test of the truth of the Faith. If we don’t live it, people will not believe it.

So our answer was:
our proclamation of the Gospel is:
  • We must first claim the Good News as a part of us.
  • We must use the Words of Christ in our worship and in our lives as we minister to others; and
  • We must live the Gospel in deeds

No comments:

Post a Comment