Perspectives: Praying in the new year

Given the fact that I have been given no insights whatsoever regarding what the coming year may bring, I decided that instead of writing about my expectations for 2008 (as I was asked), I would write about my hopes. And, realizing that hopes should be translated into prayers, I decided to write about things for which I should pray in the new year.

I should pray for the culture. I should pray that we move away from a culture dominated by what Barbara Dafoe Whitehead calls "expressive individualism," a devotion to self first and foremost, and toward a sense of obligation to others first and foremost. I should pray that as part of this cultural shift, children regain their rightful place as a protected class, if you will, and be safe from predators. And I don't mean only the sexual predators who might live down the street: I mean the publishers, movie producers, television executives, magazine editors, and marketers for companies like Abercrombie & Fitch interested in sexualizing children in order to sell their products. (See earlier, related column)

I should pray that the word "stigma" regain its rightful place in society, again, as a protector of children. Specifically I should pray that out-of-wedlock births be seen for what they are: bad for children, bad for society. I should pray that marriage comes to mean something more than a temporary living arrangement, and that parents put the needs of their children above their own.

I should pray for the church, the worldwide body of Christians, and specifically for my branch of it: Anglicanism. I should pray that those Episcopalians who have remained true to their historical, orthodox roots have the courage to remove themselves from the U.S. Episcopal Church and join the continuing Anglican movement. (For anyone interested, I recommend two websites: virtueonline.org and anglicanfederation.org.) I should pray that more dioceses and parishes, like recent examples in California and Virginia, take the lead in standing up to the entrenched bullies who run the corrupt, establishment Episcopal Church and seem more interested in retaining their buildings than in retaining the spiritual foundations upon which those buildings must stand. I should pray for the continuing Anglican movement: that issues which have splintered us in the past may be resolved. And I should pray that in our zeal for traditional, biblically-based, orthodox worship we not forget that faith without love is empty. Therefore I should pray for all Christians -- and specifically the continuing Anglican movement -- to remember the prayer of St. Teresa of Avila:

Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands but yours,
No feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
Christ's compassion must look out on the world,
Yours are the feet with which
He is to go about doing good.
Yours are the hands with which
He is to bless us now.

And on a very personal note, I should and will continue to pray for a cure for Type 1 diabetes (what used to be known as juvenile diabetes). I will pray that one day soon, my daughter will not have to prick her finger four times a day to check her blood sugar, as she has done since the age of four. That someday soon she won't have to wear an insulin pump day and night for the rest of her life. That someday soon she, and all who suffer like her, will not have to worry about the potentially devastating long-term health consequences associated with Type 1 diabetes.

And I would be grateful beyond words for any who would pray with me.

Marcia Segelstein (mvsegelstein@optonline.net), a former producer for CBS News, is a freelance writer and mother. She resides in Weston, CT, and is active in her church, The Anglican Church of the Advent in Greenwich,CT.Opinions expressed in 'Perspectives' columns published by OneNewsNow.com are the sole responsibility of the article's author(s), or of the person(s) or organization(s) quoted therein, and do not necessarily represent those of the staff or management of, or advertisers who support the American Family News Network, OneNewsNow.com, our parent organization or its other affiliates.