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Covenant in
Ministry
between
The Parishes of Petite Riviere
and New Dublin
and
The Rev. David G. Phillips
Being ever mindful
of the inestimable love of God shown us in Jesus Christ who has washed
us in His own Blood, made us children of God, members of his Body,
inheritors of the Kingdom, and even partakers of the Divine nature; and
Responding
with His Spirit of love to our call to be lights set on a hill, the salt
of the earth, ambassadors for Christ entrusted with the ministry of
reconciliation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and stewards of the
divine mysteries; and
Desiring that
holiness without which no one will see the Lord; and agreeing to bear
one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (being quick to
forgive one another);
We offer, in
a spirit of deep thankfulness and humility, ourselves, our souls and
bodies, to be reasonable, holy and living sacrifices unto God, and
commit ourselves to this Covenant:
The minister
agrees, with God’s help… |
The people
agree, with God’s help… |
1. Pastoral Ministry |
diligently to say public prayer, and
devoutly and reverently to order the service of God’s house;
diligently and frequently to
celebrate the holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ;
to frequently admonish the people
that they defer not the Baptism of their children; and
diligently to seek out and bring any unbaptized persons in the
Parish to the holy Sacrament of Baptism;
to visit as a
priority those in medical or spiritual crisis, shut-ins and to
make general visitation of parishioners a regular part of his
ministry.
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continuously to pray for the parish
and for the priest;
to consider the regularity of their
attendance at public worship and especially at the Holy
Communion;
to afford their minister at all
times all needful help and encouragement in his work;
to help in the
visitation of the sick and infirm, the prisoners, and to make
the minister mindful of those in need of special pastoral care
(the unbaptized, those in medical or spiritual crisis, shut-ins,
prisoners, recent arrivals to the parish, and any who are lost).
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2. Spiritual Development |
diligently to preach God’s holy
Word, and to use public and private monitions and exhortations,
as well to the sick as to the whole; according to the solemn
promises made at his ordination;
to be attentive
to private prayer and other spiritual disciplines;
diligently to study God’s holy Word,
according to the solemn promise made at his Ordination; and to
share the fruits of that study with the parish through
preaching, Bible studies and other adult educational
opportunities and by being a wholesome example and pattern to
the flock of Christ;
to prepare
parents of infants, youth and adults seeking baptism, to
catechize and prepare for Confirmation by the Bishop, those who
have been baptized; and to prepare couples seeking Holy
Matrimony
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to challenge or educate the priest
if they believe he is not preaching the gospel and to question
him about things that he has not made clear
to consider a
discipline of daily prayer, the practice of Bible reading and
other self disciplines;
to consider the boldness of their
spoken witness to their faith in Christ and to consider bringing
the teaching and example of Christ into their everyday lives;
to contribute to
the discipling of young and new Christians and one another by
their good examples and, for those so gifted, in teaching.
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3. Stewardship
Spiritual (Stewardship and
Finance) |
to help the congregation in the
discernment of their gifts and to encourage them to exercise
them for the building up of the body of Christ, the communities
in which we live and beyond;
to give of his substance to support
the work of the Church in the Parish, in the Diocese, the
National Church and overseas;
to provide spiritual leadership to
support initiatives which enable broad based support of the
parishes and to educate and inform concerning the parishes’
goals and resources.
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to discern their particular
spiritual gifts and to exercise them for the building up of the
body of Christ, and reaching out to our communities and beyond;
to give of their substance to
support the priest (through regular church offerings); so that
being free from worldly anxieties, he may devote himself wholly
to the preaching of God’s Word and the ministration of the
sacraments;
regularly to
consider the offering of money according to their means for the
support of the work of the Church in the Parish, in the Diocese,
the National Church and overseas.
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Temporal (Property and
Administration) |
to conduct such temporal business in
the Parish as he should be involved in in a faithful and timely
manner and not to take away ministries that are properly those
of the parishioners
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to provide from
their ranks those who will help in the faithful and timely
administration of the properties and other temporal aspects of
the parishes. |
The Bishop of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island
requests that parishes who are calling a new
minister develop and agree
upon a Covenant in Ministry expressing the
obligations of priest and
people under the general categories
identified above.
This Covenant in Ministry was developed and
agreed upon by
the Rector and the Wardens of both Parishes
in June AD 2004.
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