Category: Uncategorized

The letter to the Ephesians, like many early Christian letters, was a communal event, says the Rev. Daniel Strandlund in week two of our study. The entire Christian community would have gathered to hear someone read it and then would have spent many days discussing its contents. So reading Ephesians, says Strandlund, gives us an example not only of how to read the Bible but also how to live as part of the body of Christ, the Church.

We invite you to read Standlund’s reflection, with questions for thought and discussion and listen to a conversation with Daniel Strandlund and Marjorie George.

Go to the study.

Bishop David Reed confesses that when he was choosing a diocesan theme for 2020, he was not thinking sweet thoughts. “I was growing increasingly troubled by the incivility, the anger and the divisiveness in American life,” he says, “and I wanted a theme that would call us to look higher and more deeply for the truth and beauty that’s all around us. I wanted to recall us to our higher calling as Jesus’ followers.”

The theme was announced at diocesan council in February, just weeks before a heretofore unknown virus overran our lives. But as 2020 unfolded, the bishop found that the durability of this gentle theme has been amazing. “For me, its effect has been almost like a church bell, calling us to stop and turn our attention to the Lord and giver of life. To see with the eyes of our hearts enlightened helps us find our way through the relentless noise and clutter, living with hope and trusting that the Spirit is leading us to a new day.”

Bishop Reed’s comments kick off the DWTX fall 2020 study on the theme for this year – “With the eyes of your heart enlightened” from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (1:18).

Read the bishop’s reflections on the 2020 theme and listen to an audio interview with him here. Each week for the next six weeks, another person from around the diocese will offer thoughts on the theme. Go here for the schedule.

We hope you enjoy this study and encourage you to leave comments.

Our fall 2020 diocesan study begins October 12, featuring the 2020 diocesan theme – “May the eyes of your heart be enlightened” – from the Letter to the Ephesians (1:18).

In the letter, the apostle Paul offers a prayer for the believers in Ephesus:

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 
so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened,
you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe (Ephesians 1:17-19).

We have asked six persons – men and women, clergy and laity – to reflect on this prayer. Each week we will offer a written reflection and an audio interview with one of the presenters as we take up Paul’s prayer for our own time.

In week 1, Bishop David Reed will speak about the choice of this verse to guide the diocese in 2020.

In week 2, the Rev. Daniel Strandlund will consider how God’s wisdom and revelation point us toward the full coming of God’s kingdom.

Week 3, Liz Manning recalls an incident when she was able to see with the eyes of her heart enlightened that God would bring new life out of devastation.

In week 4, Drew Cauthorn will relate the hope he has found in the “men in white” in a Texas prison.

Week 5, the Rev. Reagan Gonzales will speak about our glorious inheritance among the saints.

In the final week, Clark Hendley reminds us that we call on the power of God daily even as we pray “for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.”

Each week’s session will arrive in your email inbox on Monday, beginning October 12.

If there are others you think might enjoy this study, invite them to subscribe to the Adult Christian Formation website at christianformation-dwtx.org.

If you have questions, email Marjorie George at marjorie.george@dwtx.org.

We welcome your comments.