The most important aspect for me of living as a member of an ecumenical community in the Sword of the Spirit, is the daily praying and sharing of my faith and life with brothers and sisters from different Christian denominations, now for almost 40 years. I grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the 1960s/70s, […]
John 15: 16a “You did not choose me I chose you.” The idea of ‘chosen-ness’ to many people can smack of elitism. God’s choices, however, are not based on the superior qualities of any person or group. He chooses people to be something and to do something. He chose Israel to be a light to the nations and fulfill his […]
Introduction The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is actually an eight-day observance or “octave” of prayer. It has been this way since the beginnings of this international movement in 1908. This is now the Sword of the Spirit’s 11th year of participating internationally in this worldwide observance. This year we are using the Bible passages proposed […]
– by Bruce Yocum December, the end of the calendar year 2020, and COVID-19 is still with us. Here in England, where I am living, severe new restrictions have just been introduced, eliminating almost all possibility of people celebrating Christmas together with more than immediate family or household. There is concern that a new strain […]
