www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall This Pastor has Guts

This Pastor has Guts


It seems prayer still upsets some people. Please read....

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard; "Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance.

"We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good.' But that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of speech and expression.

We have ridiculed the time; honored values of our Forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, O, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Amen ! "

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest.

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India , Africa and Korea .

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio Program, "The Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

Alexandr

Good for him!

Our priest also tells us like it is.

He says that if we skip Liturgy to go to the Colt's game, it's Idolatry and we're no better than the ancient Romans!

COOL!

+Archbishop Raya had trouble with the men in the parish sending the wives to Church and then they went over to the local club and played cards. Well, he warned them, if they didn't start showing up at Church, it was coming to them, he also warned the golfers. He was true to his word. One Sunday morning they were all playing cards instead of at Church. So sure enough, he took the Church to them, the whole Church marched over to where the men were.

Well that was history, after that, they were in Church.

I am reminded about an incident from the life of St John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco:

At the end of October the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast of All Saints. There is a tradition that during the preceding night the dark spirits celebrated their own festival of disorder. In America this "celebration" called Halloween has become an occasion on which children make mischief dressed in costumes of witches, devils, ghosts, as if calling on the dark powers � a diabolic mockery of Christianity. A group of Russians organized on this night a Halloween Ball. In the San Francisco Cathedral at this time was the All-night Vigil celebrated, and a number of people were absent, to the great sorrow of Vladika. After the service Vladika went to the place where the ball was still in progress. He climbed the steps and entered the hall, to the absolute astonishment of the participants. The music stopped and Vladika, in complete silence, glared at the dumbfounded people, slowly and deliberately making the round of the entire hall, staff in hand. He spoke not a word, and none was necessary; the mere sight of Vladika stung the conscience of all, as was evident from the general consternation. Vladika left in silence; and the next day in church he thundered his holy indignation and his flaming zeal calling all to the devout Christian life.

Alexandr

Alexandr:

Gotta love a pastor like that!!! And I thought the likes of St. Athanasius of Alexandria were a long-lost breed.

God bless Vladyka St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco and make his example remain for us a constant light.

BOB

Here is the actual version of the prayer from 1996 and it was to the House of Representatives.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/wright.asp

He actually said, "we have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it taxes." How does that square with Catholic social teaching?

Joe

Also, only 1 legislator walked out in protest.

Here's the fulltext of the original prayer

The Prayer of Repentance
This is the text of the original prayer delivered January 23, 1996 by Pastor Joe Wright to the Kansas House of Representatives in Topeka.



Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek your direction and guidance.

We know your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we've done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.

We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it moral pluralism.

We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.

We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem.

We have abused power and called it political savvy.

We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you, to govern this great state.

Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your son, the living savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.


So there is some uncertainty as to whether he said taxes or ambition. Here is Pastor's Joe's site http://centralcc.org/NewsNow/JoeArticles/JoeRepentancePrayer.html

What is the +? It's good to hear that he tends Christ's flock so wisely.

Before a bishop's name a Cross is usually drawn (written?)

when the bishop writes or signs his name. not when writing about him.

Sorry, he is reposed, maybe it should have gone afterwards.

BUT THEN I MAKE ALL SORTS OF MISTAKES, I AM NOT AN EXPERT!

I wouldn't worry about it.

Regards,
Alice

We have killed Millions of Babies and called it justifiable.

Tell this heretical "Pastor" to take a hike...

Murder of ANYONE, even the despicable criminal, the sinner and/or a murderer, is still murder. We do not live by 'an eye for an eye', as difficult as it may be not to want that revenge.

Alice