“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.” (Luke 18:31)Dearly Beloved,The verse quoted above is from the Gospel this coming Sunday and it signals for us that Lent is about to begin. This verse sums up for us what Lent is all about…to journey with Christ to Jerusalem, to witness and share in his Passion and Crucifixion, to experience the divine Love shown forth there…and to know that “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) It is in response to the divine Love shown by our Savior that we make the decision to “put away childish things,” as St. Paul says. We put away those things that get in the way of us growing into that great Love shown to us, such as self-indulgence and worldly preoccupation. It is the time to put on “grown-up” things, the Christian duties of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving, and make them our Lenten disciplines. It is out of these disciplines that holy habits are formed. When we make Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving disciplines during Lent, we give ourselves the opportunity to turn them into habits…habits of heaven…habits of Love. How will you engage these duties this year? Will you make them a Lenten discipline? Here at the church, regarding Prayer, we will have Morning Prayer every day at 8:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM each evening during Lent. We will also follow our Savior on the Way of the Cross by praying the Stations of the Cross every Tuesday at 12:00 PM and every Friday at 7:00 PM. This is all in addition to our normal worship on Sundays and Wednesdays. As to Fasting, the prayer book enjoins upon all of us to fast every day during Lent. The general accepted practice is to limit your food intake to 2 full meals a day. Many people break this down to 1 full meal and 2 half-sized meals. As a parish we will abstain from meat as part of the Lenten Fast when we gather for our Fellowship Suppers on Wednesday evenings. Abstinence from meat should also be practiced on Fridays. The final aspect, Almsgiving, can easily be dealt with by using the mite boxes provided in church and we are focusing our almsgiving on those less fortunate than us here at home. The funds collected will be given to our ministry partner, the Hendersonville Rescue Mission. What is important here is doing something about this EVERY day during Lent. Writing a check once and forgetting about it is not why we ask for money. The point is to get each one of us to think about the reason for giving, and to pray about it, and dedicate our fasting in part to the successful work of the Mission. But at the “end of the day,” the point of all we do during Lent is to bring to mind constantly that journey to Jerusalem that Christ made for us and to show our response to the great Love shown to us “once for all” on the Cross of Calvary. Let us journey with Him this year! The journey begins on Ash Wednesday, March 1, just five days away. Worship will be as follows:
- 7 AM: Imposition of Ashes & Holy Communion
- 12 PM: Penitential Office, Imposition of Ashes & Holy Communion
- 7 PM: Penitential Office, Imposition of Ashes & Holy Communion(This will be a solemn celebration and incense will be used)
Tuesday, February 28, is Shrove Tuesday and we will have the traditional Pancake Supper from 5:00-7:00 PM in the Parish Hall. Be sure to read the announcements below which give quite a bit of detail of what will be going on here in the parish this Lent. And what better way to begin your Lenten discipline of Prayer other than to pray for those on our parish prayer list, published weekly on this blog. God bless you all and see you at church on Sunday. Fr. Erich
Announcements
Palm Branches· Leave your palm branches in the basket in the entryway when you come to church on Sunday. Lent· Lent is that time of year in which we make special devotion to our Lord in the Christian Duties of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Morning and Evening Prayer will be offered daily and we will also walk the Way of the Cross in church. The Lenten Schedule is published below. Men of All Saints· The men of the parish are gathering every Saturday in Lent for Morning Prayer, Breakfast, and Projects starting at 8 AM. The projects we have planned will not be “all day affairs.” Come and pray, eat, and give a little time in helping fix up our church. It all starts next Saturday, March 4. Ladies of All Saints· The ladies of the parish will also be gathering for their own Lenten project—the thorough cleaning and refurbishing of the nursery. This also will be every Saturday morning in Lent. So all ladies, come on out and join the men for Morning Prayer & breakfast starting at 8 AM and then off to work we go!…on March 4, of course! Lenten Quiet Day· We will host a Lenten Quiet Day for our deanery on March 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Fr. Gregory Miller, Rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Weaverville will be our Quiet Day leader. The theme of the day is “Breaking the Sin Barrier: Responding to God’s Grace in Christ Jesus.” Lunch will be provided. There is no cost but a love offering will be taken to thank Fr. Miller for his gift to us. Please sign-up on the bulletin board so we can plan on you coming. Lenten Fish Fry· It‘s that time again! On Friday, March 24, we will hold our Lenten Fish Fry, Tickets are $9.00 each in advance ($10 at the door) for breaded tilapia filets, roasted potatoes, hush puppies, coleslaw, and iced tea or lemonade. Take-out will be from 5-6 PM and dine-in will run from 6-8 PM. Kids under 12 eat free. Ticket packets are available and you may purchase individual tickets also.· And you know that we need your help to make this a success. We ask that you sign out 10 tickets and sell them to your friends, or just buy them and hand them out to folks, to introduce them to our parish. Food Bank· Bread of Life in Transylvania County is this month’s recipient of our in-gathering of food stuffs. Tuesday Lenten Study· Beginning on Tuesday, March 7, at our usual Book Study time, we will have a special Lenten study on The Mission of Jesus. In this series we will follow Jesus’ path through Israel to see how God brought forth triumph in a world of chaos. Wednesday Evenings· Our usual Wednesday evening activities will return on Wednesday, March 8. Bible study will move into Chapter 14 of the Book of Revelation. Annual Lenten Appeal· Bishop Grundorf has announced that Domestic Missions are once again the focus of the Annual Lenten Appeal. Click here to read all about it.
Weekly Lenten Schedule
Sunday8:00 AM, Morning Prayer8:30 AM, Holy Communion9:45 AM, Sunday School11:00 AM, Holy Communion5:30 PM, Evening Prayer Monday8:00 AM, Morning Prayer5:30 PM, Evening Prayer Tuesday8:00 AM, Morning Prayer11:00 AM, Lenten Study12:00 PM, Stations of the Cross5:30 PM, Evening Prayer Wednesday8:00 AM, Morning Prayer5:30 PM, Evening Prayer6:00 PM, Holy Communion6:30 PM, Meatless Supper7:00 PM, Bible Study7:00 PM, Choir Practice Thursday8:00 AM, Morning Prayer5:30 PM, Evening Prayer Friday8:00 AM, Morning Prayer5:30 PM, Evening Prayer7:00 PM, Stations of the Cross Saturday8:00 AM, Morning Prayer8:30 AM, Breakfast9:00 AM, Men’s & Ladies’ Lenten Projects5:30 PM, Evening Prayer
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