“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. 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, as is our custom regarding Prayer, we will have Morning Prayer every day at 8:00 a.m. and Evening Prayer at 5:30 p.m. 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 Noon and every Friday at 7:00 p.m. 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 let us abstain from meat as part of the Lenten Fast when we gather for dinner before Bible Study 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 our national church’s Lenten Appeal this year. 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 completion of the Appeal.
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!
Pray for Peace
All the eyes of the world are intensely focused today on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. What the outcome will be, of course, only our Good Lord knows. Many of us are hoping that we, as a nation, do not get drawn into the conflict, most certainly so that our military does not have to respond and be in harm’s way. It is incumbent upon all of us to pray for peace in that region of Europe and throughout the world. I offer to you the following prayer to use and we will use this whenever we worship together as long as this conflict abides.
- Almighty God, our heavenly Father, guide, we beseech thee, the Nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, p. 44)
Fri-Yay! For Youth
Our young people will gather this evening in the parish hall from 5:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for a movie, pizza, and popcorn night. Parents are welcome to stay and join the fun or drop their children off for this event.
Lenten Study, Offerings & Activities
Lent is always a time when there is so much happening here in the parish. Please see the rest of the announcements below so you do not miss a thing as we begin Lent next Wednesday, March 2.
Blessings,
Fr. Erich
Ash Wednesday Schedule, March 2, 2022
- 7:00 a.m., Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes
- 12:00 p.m., Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes & Penitential Office
- 7:00 p.m., Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes & Penitential Office (incense used)
Other Announcements
Fellowship Lunch Returns
Our 4th Sunday parish luncheon is this coming Sunday, February 27, after the 11:00 a.m. Holy Communion. Please stay and enjoy a little food and fellowship!
Lenten Study
This year we are offering a Lenten Study using Henri Nouwen’s book Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming. In this book, Nouwen brings this parable to life with an empathic study of each character. His own spiritual journey was transformed by a chance encounter with Rembrandt’s painting, Return of the Prodigal Son. How will the characters, painting, and Nouwen’s reflections on one of Christ’s most familiar parables transform you? Dss. Cynthia and Kathleen Lambert will guide us through this study. You have two opportunities to participate, either on Saturday mornings at 9:00 a.m. or Tuesday mornings at 11:00 a.m. The Saturday class will begin on March 5 and the Tuesday class will begin the following week on March 8. The books are available for $15.00. Please see Dss. Cynthia to get your copy this weekend.
Lenten Devotional Booklet
Our Appalachian Deanery has produced a devotional booklet for our use during Lent, similar to the one which was produced for Advent last December. Each day in Lent has a short meditation written by those in the ministry in our area. You may pick up a copy at church or you may click here to open the devotional on your computer.
Lenten Fish Fry
It’s that time again! On Friday, March 25, 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 and dine–in will be from 5-8 p.m. Kids under 12 eat free. Ticket packets will be available on Sunday
Men’s Lenten Project
The men of the parish will be completing the work on the new playground which was installed last fall. They will be leveling the ground and installing fencing for the safety of our children. We will begin with Morning Prayer on Saturdays at 8:00 a.m., have a hearty breakfast prepared by Kathy Z., and then we’ll get to work! This work starts next Saturday, March 5.
Food Bank
Bread of Life in Transylvania County is this month’s recipient of our in-gathering of food stuffs.
This Week in the Parish
Sunday, February 27, Quinquagesima
· 8:30 a.m., Holy Communion
· 9:45 a.m., Sunday School
· 11:00 a.m., Holy Communion
· 12:15 p.m., Fellowship Lunch
Wednesday, March 2, Ash Wednesday
· 7:00 a.m., Holy Communion & Ashes
· 12:00 p.m., Holy Communion, Ashes, & Penitential Office
· 7:00 p.m., Holy Communion, Ashes, & Penitential Office (incense used)
Thursday, March 3
· 8:00 a.m., Morning Prayer
· 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer
Friday, March 4
· 8:00 a.m., Morning Prayer
· 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer
· 7:00 p.m., Stations of the Cross
Saturday, March 5
· 8:00 a.m., Morning Prayer
· 8:15 a.m., Fellowship Breakfast
· 8:45 a.m., Lenten Project/Playground
· 9:00 a.m., Lenten Book Study
· 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer
