Collect for the First Sunday in Advent

ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of
darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this
mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great
humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious
majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life
immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy
Ghost, now and ever. Amen. -page 90, The 1928 Book of Common Prayer

Letter from the President

Advent opens the opportunity to pray through the year-long cycle of the
Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of the Holy
Ghost, and Trinitytide. Our Lord's redemption of all humanity is
explained in this Good News.
Reading through the collect for Advent Sunday, we are reminded of
our basic assignment in this world and how to set about it, no matter
how difficult.
In these troubled times, we experience the true call of the church cited in this Collect, which is to be repeated every day until Christmas Day.
On the other hand, we hear a call from the same church to keep up
with the times, to keep bending religion to accommodate shifting secular
mores. But the Kingdom of God and the Republic of Worldly Things
cannot coexist in the same church. Hence our difficulties. Putting first
things first, we must adhere to the First and Great Commandment to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. The Second Commandment to love
our neighbors grows out of the first. Standing alone, it is little more
than the ancient ideal of the virtuous pagan.
ETF's efforts are to win people to the tradition of common prayer
that began in 1549 and lives today in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer -
truly common prayer and not cafeteria-style prayer. We urge our readers
to attend church services at which the 1928 book is used and to study
the book at home. The 1928 Book of Common Prayer is available for
purchase from Oxford University Press, New York.
Above all, we wish to encourage isolated Episcopalians who would
enjoy mutual support. - Irving P. Graeb, ETF President