Tag: World YMCA

“Prayer, the Presence of Christ, and a Power to See: “The Morning Watch” by John R. Mott

The Morning Watch is Mott’s dynamic publication that reveals the practices of abiding in Christ at the start of every day, a personal discipline which transformed his life, fueled a fruitful ministry, and inspired thousands upon thousands of young global Christian leaders to answer the call of God to rise up and serve in the power of the Holy Spirit.

You are invited to read and take to heart the compelling implications of keeping The Morning Watch – a simple set of habits – a subversive set of habits – a sustainable set of habits for building a healthy spirit that makes available through you the transformational energy of God.

“The true object should be – and it is necessary to remind ourselves of this constantly – to meet God, to hear His voice, to receive guidance and strength from Him which will enable me to please Him today in thought, in word, in activity.”

What do you think you are doing when you pray? Who are you becoming when you pray? What happens when we pray? Does it matter?

John R. Mott is one of the most influential Christian leaders in the 20th century; yet now largely forgotten – by the YMCA and the Church.

John R. Mott

Prayer and attending to the presence of Christ Jesus were central to Mott’s powerful accomplishments for the Kingdom of God with the YMCA.

It’s my hope that many of us will look up again to this respected visionary as a model for high-integrity, high-influence spiritual leadership.

Enjoy this extended and practical invitation to pray by Mott, written to young Christian leaders to be alert, ready, able to do God’s will by the power of the Holy Spirit, that we might join in the unceasing work of Christ Jesus. Especially in and through the YMCA. Not just in the 1890s, but in these days too.

The high-capacity legendary accomplishments of Mott are attributed by him to the keeping of The Morning Watch.

First edition printed 1893 by The International Committee Young Men’s Christian Association

“The Morning Watch”

There is no more encouraging fact in the life of the Church at the present time than the increase in the number of Christians who observe the morning watch. This tendency is most marked among students in all parts of the world.

By the observance of the morning watch is commonly meant the spending of at least the first half hour of every day alone with God in personal devotional Bible study and prayer.

What are the advantages of keeping the morning watch?

Without dwelling at all upon the general helpful results which come form the devotional study of the Bible and from communion with God, it should be emphasized that at the very beginning of the day the soul is in its most receptive state.

The mind has been refreshed by the rest of the night, and is also much less occupied than it will be at any subsequent hour of the day. Moreover, the outer conditions in the early morning are most favorable.

The first hour is preeminently the still hour, the noises of yesterday have receded, and the din of the world of today has not yet broken in upon us.

It is easier to say, “My soul be thou silent unto God.” It is easier to heed the command, “Be still and know that I am God.”

Furthermore, by having secret prayer and Bible study for spiritual growth the very first thing, we make certain of them.

By assigning these important exercise to a later hour in the day, we multiply the chances of the being abridged, interrupted or crowded out entirely.

In this connection we should heeds the words of McCheyne: “I ought to spend the best hours of every day in communion with God. It is my noblest and most fruitful employment, and is no, therefore, to be thrust into any corner.”

The morning watch prepares us for the days conflict with the forces of evil with in us and around us.

We do not wait until the enemy is upon us before we gird on the armor and grasp the sword.

We fortify ourselves before any avenue is opened through which Satan might assail us; for example before reading the morning paper, before entering into conversation with others, before turning our own thought currents upon the plans and work of the day. It is always wise to gain a march upon the enemy.

The keeping of the morning watch is the credit of largest and most enduring achievement in life and in service.

Without doubt our failure to prevail with man and against evil in the world during the day is too often due to our more fundamental failure to prevail with God at the beginning of the day.

When Miss Havergal was asked to explain why the Church does not accomplish more, she attributed it to the fact the Christians are not spending the first hour of the day alone with God.

Let us never forget the vital truth expressed by Faber that “the supernatural value of our actions depends upon the degree of our union with God at the time we do them.”

Therefore, if our lives and words and acts throughout the busy day are to possess supernatural value, we must take the earliest opportunity in the day to establish a vital and complete union with God.

Why delay the forming of this union a single hour?

Why be satisfied with having man alone work a part of the day if the energy of God may be manifested all the hours of the day?

Notwithstanding the great importance of the morning watch, there are Christians who say that they do not have the time to devote a full half hour or more of every day to such a spiritual exercise.

It is a striking fact that the busiest Christians, both among laymen and among those who are devoting their lives to direct Christian work, constitute the class who pleads this excuse the least and who most generally observe the morning watch.

It may be questioned seriously whether there is any Christian who will not, after honestly and persistently following this plan for a month or two, become convinced that it is the best possible use of the time, and that it does not interfere with his regular work.

He will find the time that the morning watch promotes the wisest economy of his time.

It makes him more conscientious in the use of time. He learns to redeem it. It helps him to see things in true perspective.

He enters the day well poised, under the control of the Spirit, not distracted; and thus he works without friction, strain, uncertainty and waste.

This suggests an adequate and satisfying reason for the oft-mentioned custom of Luther, who, if he had a peculiarly busy or trying day before him, would double or treble the amount of time which he ordinarily spent in prayer.

To promote the most profitable observance of the morning watch, certain points should be borne in mind and incorporated into practice.

First of all, form an inflexible resolution to keep the morning watch.

It will prove most dangerous and disastrous to permit any exceptions. Special caution and foresight should be exercised, therefore, to guard against such possible exceptions.

Nothing but the unmistakable will of God should be permitted to prevent us form the beginning the day with conscious and unhurried communion with God.

Be sure to be thoroughly awake before entering upon the observance of the morning watch. If necessary, first take a brisk walk in the open air. Let us present unto God for this all-important exercise not only the body, but also the mind, as a living sacrifice.

Have some general plan to follow in this devotional hour.

Many persons begin with a few moments of prayer, follow this with a season of Bible study, then spend some time in meditation, and close with special prayer.

It is possible, however to be over methodical. Beware of formalism at such a time above all times. It is also wise not to attempt to crowd too much into this hour.

Make sure at the very outset of the devotional hour each morning that you are right with God.

If there be any unconfessed sin, wrong motive, or spirit contrary to Christ, it must be made right before we can receive what God has in store for us for the day.

Sin is a terrible thing. It completely insulates us from God. It is vain, then, to expect real spiritual help from Bible study and prayer unless we are willing to give up any known sin.

Happy is the man who closes each day in fellowship with God, and who is able to say with David, “When I awake I am still with Thee.”

Recollect morning by morning the real object of the morning watch. What is it?

It is not simply to enable me to say that I have observed it. It is not to satisfy conscience by observing it because I had formed a resolution to do so. It is not to enable me to prepare Bible studies and spiritual meditations with which to help others.

The true object should be – and it is necessary to remind ourselves of this constantly – to meet God, to hear His voice, to receive guidance and strength from Him which will enable me to please Him today in thought, in word, in activity.

Select and arrange in advance the portions of the Scripture upon which to meditate at the time of the morning watch.

We should keep as much purely mechanical work as possible out of the devotional hour.

The portions selected should be taken from the more devotional and practical parts of the Bible.

They should be brief.

They should, so far as possible, be complete in themselves; and yet often it will be desirable to have portions which, though each is complete in itself, will be related to some common theme.

The follwing examples are meant to be suggestive:

  • the best thirty or sixty Psalms; thirty or more biographical portions; selected Epistles, especially some of the shorter ones; thirty of the exceeding great promises of the Bible; thirty portions bearing on each of such topics as prayer, faith, the Holy Spirit, temptation, our conversation; thirty commands of Christ; thirty or sixty portions of the Gospels bearing on the character of Christ as our example.
  • If a person will take a few hours on three or four Sabbaths during the year, he will be able to outline subject enough for use throughout the entire year.
  • He will then come to his Bible each morning with something definite. It will prevent drifting around and loss of time. It will also promote a more symmetrical spiritual development.
  • The pamphlet “Bible Study for Spiritual Growth” gives many suggestions as to the manner and spirit in which the Bible should be studied for the greatest devotional profit.

Give prayer a large place in the morning watch.

There needs to be prayer not only at the beginning and close of the hour, but the Bible study, meditation, and self-examination also should be conducted in the spirit of prayer.

As this aspect of the subject is treated so fully in teh pamphlet “The Secret Prayer Life” it is not enlarged upon here.

Only by filling the quiet hour with prayer can we keep out formalism and make the morning watch a great reality and force in our lives.

Remember that the hour of the morning watch is the still hour.

After praying and during Bible study it is well to pause and listen to what the Lord shall say.

Too often we fill up the devotional hour with our own thoughts and prayers and leave no still place for listening.

Our actual attitude might often be characterized better by the words, “Hear, Lord, for Thy servant speaketh,” than by the words, “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.”

It is difficult to obey the command “Be still and know and know that I am God.” After we shut out the voices of the world’s turmoil, after we banish the suggestions of the tempter, after we cease to listen to the thoughts about the morrow, after we silence the sound of our own cares, questions, and prayers, then we hear that still, small voice which His true followers always know.

His voice is not like that of the fire, or strong wind, or earthquake, but is like unto “a sound of gentle stillness.”

Do we wonder that Paul exhorted us to study or to be ambitious to be quiet? He knew that it would require study and resolution to learn this great secret.

Who keeps the morning watch?

At once we think of some of the men of Bible times: Moses, who knew God face to face, and to whom in the early morning hours God revealed the Law: Isaiah, whom God wakened morning by morning to hear as a true disciple; Jeremiah, to whom God’s mercies and compassion’s were new every morning; and David, who declared, “In the morning will I order my prayer unto Thee, and will keep watch,” who reiterated, “I myself will awake right early” and “will give thanks,” and who learned from experience that “it is a good thing to show forth Thy loving kindness in the morning.”

The example of Jesus Christ is most impressive.

We are told that “in the morning, a great while before day, He arose up and went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

Tradition teaches that the observance of the morning watch was widely prevalent among the early Christians. Rev. Web-Peploe has said that “All the great saints have been early risers”; and he might have added that they rose early primarily to begin the day with unhurried communion with God.

There come to mind such men as Rutherford, McCheyne and Andrew Bonar, Wesley and Whitefield, David Brainerd and Henry Martyn, George Mueller and Hudson Taylor. It is said of Joseph Alleine, that wonderful preacher of the seventeenth century, that he devoted the time between four and eight o’clock every morning to prayer and Bible study, and that if he heard a blacksmith at his work before he himself began his morning watch, he would exclaim, “How this noise shames me! Doth not my master deserve more than theirs?”

On our recent journey around the world we were deeply impressed by the large number of young men and women who entered into covenant to keep the morning watch.

All the men and women who have gone out from the universities of America and Britain to lead the Christian movements among the students of India faithfully observe this watch. In Ceylon we were impressed, not so much by the beautiful and luxuriant tropical vegetation, nor by the heathen shrines and temples, as by the sigh which greeted our eyes very early one morning of Tamil students walking under the palms with open Bibles in their hands, and their lips moving in silent prayer.

We visited one college in the Levant where, according to the last report, over two hundred boys and young men keep the morning watch. We know of no college in Christian lands of which this could be said. There are ten great student movements in the World’s Student Christian Federation, but that of China is the only one of them of which we could say last year that practically all of its active members began the day with Bible study and prayer. It was visiting a college, not in America or England, or Scandinavia, but in Japan, that we were wakened over an hour before daybreak, and taken through the city, across the valley, and to the crest of the famous Flowery Hill, to meet with the members of the Christian Association of that institution for special prayer, as was their custom.

The practical question for each one of us is, Why should not I keep the morning watch?

Next to receiving Christ as Saviour, and claiming the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we know of no act attended with larger good to ourselves or to others than the formation of an undiscourageable resolution to keep the morning watch.

Is there anything which an stand before the bar of my own reason or conscience that should be allowed to keep me from forming this life-expanding resolution?

Is there any excuse or reason acceptable to God which I can plead why I would not devote at least the first half hour of every day to secret prayer and devotional Bible study?

What would keep me from it? God? Certainly not.

Is it not far more likely self, with its love of ease and its shrinking from the formation of a difficult habit; or Satan, who, if he cannot keep us from studying the Bible and from prayer altogether, is anxious to have us place them as late in the day as possible, because the only things which have ever defeated him have been prayer and the Word of God?

Am I willing to pay what it costs to form this important habit? What will it cost?

Readjusting habits of sleep, which means earlier rising and, it may be, earlier retiring; economizing of time; more than one failure possibly, repeated and persistent efforts; increasing vigilance and real watching unto prayer.

Am I willing to pay the price in order to form this habit, which has so much to do with triumphant life and fruitful service?

If so, when shall I form the resolution?

And how shall a resolution be formed which shall stand?

“It is God that energizeth you, both to will and then to work for His good pleasure.”

For more about Mott, read this inspiring and informative biography by Hopkins

IGNITE! Praying the Impact with the World YMCA!

Join us in November for a Week of Prayer!

‘IGNITE: Praying the Impact’ is a theme aligned with the long-term strategies of #YMCAVision2030 and #Goal2035 and the World YWCA. It is a call to act prayerfully, informed by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. To focus our prayers, we have selected the values of:
1️⃣ Wholeness
2️⃣ Hope
3️⃣ Responsibility
4️⃣ Dignity

You’re invited to pray with all of the Y’s around the world starting November 13-19!

We encourage you to join us each day in a solidarity of spirit, a kind of unity that builds bridges; to learn more click here or using the QR code below! There you can access all the Scripture Readings, Devotions, Discussion Questions, and Prayers.

Some ideas on how to use this resource in your Y:

  • Start with You: commit to personally set aside 15-20 minutes each day to enjoy the prayerful silence and solitude of being with God and lifting up your friends and colleagues up in gratitude and concern.
  • Find a friend you feel might be open to spending time with you in this week of prayer.
  • If you’re already part of a prayer group see if they’d be open to adopting this series for a week.
  • Share each day on social media and invite your followers and friends to join you through what you post.
  • I’m sure there are more ideas!

Below you can find the Key Verse for each day, Reflection Points, and a Prayer of Blessing. You can use these on your own or with friends. Feel free to share!


MATTHEW 5:13-16 (NRSVUE)
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

JEREMIAH 29:4-7 (NRSVUE)
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

DAY ONE REFLECTION POINTS

• Where are you called to serve in the community you are placed?

• What are the needs in your community?

• Is something hindering you from being rooted deeply in the life of your community?

• Where is the one person you can bring light to this day?

• Where are you longing that the light of Jesus will shine into your life?

DAY ONE PRAYER OF BLESSING

Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for being the light in our life. Thank you for filling our hearts with your love. Thank you for being our peace and our strength. We see communities around us that long for change, that long for new possibilities. May you lead us to places where we can ignite change for people and for communities. May your spirit guide us and fill us with hope, inspiration, and strength. Amen.


JOHN 5:1-9 (NRSVUE)
After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many ill, blind, lame, and paralyzed people. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The ill man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am making my way someone else steps down ahead of me.” Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

DAY TWO REFLECTION POINTS

• If you could change one thing in your life to take a step toward whole-person wellness, what would it be?

• What barriers have gotten in the way of you making this change?

• How would you respond if Christ personally asked you, “Do you want to be made well?”

• If your YWCA/YMCA could take one step toward impacting wholeness in your community, what would it be?

• What barriers need to be removed in your community so this can happen?

DAY TWO PRAYER OF BLESSING

As you come to pray, consider these words:
“It is good to make an end of movement, to come to a point of rest, a place of pause.
There is some strange magic in activity, in keeping at it, in continuing to be involved in many things that excite the mind and keep the hours swiftly passing.
But it is a deadly magic; one is not wise to trust it with too much confidence.
The moment of pause, the point of rest, has its own magic…
There is an inner insistence toward wholeness and it is this that the moment, the experience of quiet, announces.
It is a fearful announcement: “BRING IN YOUR SCATTERED PARTS, BE PRESENT AT ALL THE LEVELS OF YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS. THIS IS THE TIME OF TOGETHERNESS. ONLY THE ONE WHO HAS COME TO A POINT OF HOLY FOCUS, MAY BE BLESSED WITH THE VISION OF GOD.”
And without the vision of God, there can at last be no significance in living.”

Now, be still. Focus on God. Be still. Pray: May God who gives living water, refresh my whole being and renew my vision. Amen.

(In the Moment of Pause, the Vision of God, by Howard Thurman)

JEREMIAH 29:11-13 (NRSVUE)
“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.”

MATTHEW 20:1-10,16 (NRSVUE)
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius.
So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

DAY THREE REFLECTION POINTS

• Do we choose to see our world through the lens of cynicism or through the lens of hope?

• How are we allowing hope to move us in a way that produces integrity in the way we work?

• What do we need to do to ensure that we remain sources of hope?

• What may be hindering us from impacting hope today?

DAY THREE PRAYER OF BLESSING

Dear God, you are our hope, and we choose to hold on to you. May we be continually aware of your unfailing love for us every day. We pray for encouragement and confidence even in these perilous and uncertain times, knowing fully well that you have the power to calm the raging seas in our lives. Let our homes, communities, and YMCAs/YWCAs find comfort, rest, and strength in your unfailing promises. May we be channels of hope always. We pray for all this and more in the name of Jesus Christ, our source of eternal hope. Amen.


GENESIS 1:26, 28 (NRSVUE)
Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

MATTHEW 6:9-10 (NRSVUE)
“Pray, then, in this way: Our Father in heaven, may your name be revered as holy. May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

DAY FOUR REFLECTION POINTS

• Examine your daily habit and lifestyle and reflect upon your complicity with stewardship models based on ideas of dominion (kabash) or subduing(radah)?

• Does the stewardship framework of oikonomos-oikodomos make sense to you? Why? Why not?

• What can you, as an individual, and as an institution (YMCA / YWCA), do to become a responsible and proactive steward?

DAY FOUR PRAYER OF BLESSING

Oh God of justice and righteousness, thank you for creating planet Earth. Thank you for reminding us to take your creation seriously. Forgive us for our vicious negligence and complicity in destroying the Earth. Bless our efforts to change our ways and commit to becoming responsible and proactive stewards. May we truly become agents of restoration and healing of the Earth to make your Kin-dom come into our midst. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.


MICAH 6:8 (NRSVUE)
He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?

LUKE 18:1-8 (NRSVUE)
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my accuser.’ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’ ”And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

DAY FIVE REFLECTION POINTS

• Do we still regard prayer as a critical component in the work that we do as the YMCA and the YWCA?

• Are we still Christ-centered and God-fearing, or have we succumbed to the powers that be in the world?

• Where do we place advocacy for human dignity in the work that we do in the 21st century?

• What is our ecumenical and interfaith profile today? Are we content working in silos as the YMCA and the YWCA?

• When called to task, how do we, as the YMCA and the YWCA prioritize equity and equality issues in the globe, our vision, and work?

DAY FIVE PRAYER OF BLESSING

Our heavenly parent, we come to you in humility, asking for your forgiveness where we have failed to do what is good. Forgive us, God, for not treating our neighbor with love, kindness, and justice. Help us to do your will and follow the direction of your word. Bless all those who continue to serve your mission and purpose on Earth against the principalities of darkness. Mold and make our global movements to serve your missional task of promoting and protecting human dignity in partnership with everyone regardless of their creed, gender, age, caste, race, class, religion and political affiliations.


2 CHRONICLES 30:1-6, 10-13 (NRSVUE)
Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord the God of Israel. For the king and his officials and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month (for they could not keep it at its proper time because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem). The plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it in great numbers as prescribed. So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. Only a few from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the officials commanded by the word of the Lord. Many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very large assembly.

JOHN 17:18-23 (NRSVUE)
As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth. I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

DAY SIX REFLECTION POINTS

• Is there anything in today’s topic that I have found challenging to read? How does this affect my view of others?

• Do I look for ‘Good’ in my co-workers, or do I look for ‘Bad’?

• What aspect of my character can I pray for the Holy Spirit to transform and impact those I serve in a better manner?

• What practical steps can I take to nurture the unifying presence of God within my YWCA / YMCA?

• Are there any relationships I need to repair? To say sorry? To ask for forgiveness for how I have spoken or acted?

DAY SIX PRAYER OF BLESSING

God, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offence, let me bring pardon. Where there is discord, let me bring union. Where there is error, let me bring truth. Where there is doubt, let me bring faith. Where there is despair, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, let me bring your light. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy. Loving God, let me not seek as much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, for it is in giving that one receives, it is in self-forgetting that one finds, it is in pardoning that one is pardoned, it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life Amen (Adapted from The Prayer of St Francis)

Prayer In The Y.M.C.A. Paradoxes: Both/And/More Than?

Who are we these days and how to live up to our name in these complicated times? How can our Y movement fulfill our mission amidst the contentious complexities in our culture? Can we? Who believes it anymore? Who is praying for it still? Is there a way forward “that they all may be one”? Yes!

One of the contributions to the longevity and vitality of the Y is its ongoing embrace of Both/And/More Than.

In 1844 George Williams (age 22) and his 11 friends founded the Young Men’s Christian Association, a prayer movement for the conversion of souls, dignity in labor, and industry reform. (like Jesus & Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10)

It didn’t take long for these founders and leaders to innovate and adapt along the Both/And/More Than reality.

Eventually both young and old were welcomed into the movement, (George was active until his death…) both men and women, both Christian and non-Christian, both individuals who wanted to associate widely and narrowly.

Sir George Williams

And obviously it has always had some sense of More Than: it’s more than just young and old adults, but all of those in-between; nowadays it includes adults indentifying themselves with categories more than just men and women; for over a hundred years we’ve been including more than just Christians, but also Jews, Muslims, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Secularist; and how people participate is more than just through wide or narrow associations, with many creative collaborations and participation opportunities.

By 1855 the Y.M.C.A. was an international cross-cultural Christian movement that needed to define some core beliefs and practices which allowed them to articulate a vibrant identity through which they could also expand their associations.

The Paris Basis is a genius expression of how the Christian men of the Y envisioned their diverse traditions working together fruitfully and harmoniously for the Kingdom of God in a rapidly changing and increasingly contentious century.

original draft copy of The Y.M.C.A. Paris Basis, 1855

The Y has always eventually embraced paradox: it exists within multiple cultures and draws creative strength from diverse traditions of its global leaders and communities.

Ironically, the more concious and concentrated it is on its core in the Paris Basis, the more purposely inclusive the Y can be amidst diversity. When the core identity gets thinly diluted instead of thickly enriched, the weaker the associations become and less benefits the inclusion brings. (Ask the EJY about this in Palestine.)

The current paradoxes in our YMCA mission can be a creative surge of innovation in our movement to thickly enrich our core identity, or we can fuel antagonisms which erode our core and thin or weaken what holds us all together.

In our mission it sometimes seems that “Christian principles” and “for all” are pitted against each other, especially the dimensions of diversity like “faith” and “sexual orientation” or “gender identity”.

YMCA lobby in KY

It also seems there is a split between “healthy spirit” and “healthy mind-body” – do they go together or not?

These two sets of paradoxes are good for the YMCA; they keep us energized and alert to the ways we strive to live out our values and how we also fall short of our promises. To point out failures, though, with a condescending and condemning spirit with no plan of redemption and friendship is neither Christian nor sustainable for our movement.

A purist mentality is ironically toxic, while a pluralist society can actually embody harmony.

Why? One is focused on vigilantly excluding toxins, which is a negative-oriented approach to existence based on prejudices, assumptions, and glossing over truths – the other is focused on awkwardly including differences and slowly embracing change, clumsily thickening their identity while lovingly becoming more concious of their adapting legacy and innovating traditions as they pursue truth.

It’s maybe too dramatic to declare the Y is at a crossroads, but with the violent upheavals surging through our cultures and environments, we’d be wise to more quickly embrace our paradoxes.

Ironically, let’s celebrate our clashing! Let’s also humbly insist on learning from our “antagonists” and commit to telling the true story of a Y.M.C.A. that has imperfectly endured, has elicited affection and generational gratitude in communities across the globe, has too many examples of falling short, yet continually (not without struggle) commits itself to confession and repentance, redemption and conciliation.

For Christians in the Y today, out of all the paradoxes we struggle to embrace, understand, and put into the practice, the most severe and compelling one is Jesus and his prayer in John 17:21. Either it’s a core guiding vision for the Y.M.C.A. or it is not.

old Y logo, Fort Wayne IN

If it is, then we have before us a disturbing paradox which both inspires and dejects us, empowers us yet exhausts us. What do I mean?

Well, is Jesus going to answer his own prayer for unity or not?

Is Jesus answering his prayer in our generation or not?

Do I like how Jesus is getting along with it? Do I have some serious concerns about Jesus’ tactics and strategy? Am I disappointed and frustrated with Jesus and his complicated and lengthy approach to answering his prayer?

Don’t say that you’re fine with Jesus, it’s his people you have a problem with. Jesus is the Head of the Body of Christ, he is with his people in spirit, mind and body – holding all things together and with us to The End.

And yes, this painfully heightens the frustrating paradox of the prayer “that they may all be one” and our trust in God’s Son that it will be answered.

paradox of the crucifixion of God’s anointed one…

To participate in the Kingdom of God and the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus-prayer for unity is to exist within a divinely difficult to grasp paradox that births: remarkable Faith and doubt, persevering Hope amidst despair, and transformative Love through our suffering. (see St. Paul’s prayer to his friends, 2 Thessalonians 1:2-4, 11-12)

This is the Young Men’s Christian Association at its best- since June 6, 1844, both courageously and humbly seeking to live out its name through more than 18 decades, both globally thickening its legacy and embracing the paradoxes in love, while being more than just an authentic guide for our tumultuous times but also as gentle imitators of the suffering Christ Jesus, as patient and faithful participants in his own proleptic prayer “that they all may be one.”