FROM THE RECTOR: A HOLY LENT
The Reverend Matthew Mead
This year, Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is March 9, nearly as late in the winter as it can be (the latest is March 10!). There are five Sundays in Lent (there are a number of ways to count up to and even beyond “40 days of Lent”, so I tend to count by week), and the season of Lent transitions into Holy Week and Easter when we celebrate and read about the Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. I like Lent. It certainly isn’t a festive season like Christmastide or Easrtertide, but I think that there is much to commend about observing a holy and prayerful Lent. I believe that opening one’s self to the simplicity and clarity of Lent can help to prepare and open one’s heart for the Paschal Mystery celebrated so fully throughout Holy Week and Easter.
There will be some seasonal changes to the Sunday morning service in Lent. From Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday, “Kyrie eleison” or “Lord have mercy” will replace “Gloria in excelsis” or “Glory to God in the highest” as the opening song of praise. Also, the word “alleluia” will drop entirely from the Holy Eucharist and Daily Office services. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, and continuing throughout Lent, Holy Week, Eastertide and concluding on the Day of Pentecost on June 12, we will use Eucharistic Prayer D. Prayer D is the longest Eucharistic Prayer offered in contemporary language in the Prayer Book. It is adapted from Saint Basil’s Liturgy (dated from the fourth century), and it is often called the ecumenical prayer because it is used in some form by many different western and eastern Christian denominations. This Eucharistic Prayer is particularly appropriate during Easter, which is and always has been the heart of the Christian year, because it paints a very complete picture of salvation history in Jesus Christ. Using the same Eucharistic Prayer throughout both Lent and Easter illustrates and helps us live out the reality that Lent does not stand alone; Lent prepares for and leads into Easter. Prayer D is very long and so we will use Form III of the Prayers of the People in Lent and Eastertide because that form is the shortest. The Lessons of Lent, in particular the Gospel accounts this year, are some of my favorites: in Year A, we read large passages from Saint John’s Gospel, including Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus, the Woman at the Well, the Man born Blind, and the Raising of Lazarus. Likewise, the hymn texts and music of Lent and Holy Week are beautiful and powerful.
In addition to the regular Sunday morning services and the midweek Daily Office (offered every Tuesday through Friday at 7:40 AM), there will be a few other ways offered at Good Shepherd to actively devote yourself to Christ this Lent.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. On Ash Wednesday the church will be open for prayer all day and the priest will be available to administer ashes (a small cross marked in ash on your forehead). The Liturgy of Penitence, Blessing & Administering of Ashes, and Holy Eucharist will be offered at 8:00 AM, 12:00 Noon and 6:00 PM.
Stations of the Cross will be offered at 7:00 PM on Friday evenings throughout Lent, March 11 & 18 and April 1, 8 & 15 – the Annunciation is March 25 and Stations as well as most of the ritual of Lent will be suppressed that day.
Several Biblically themed movies will be shown in Lent. The first movie will be the Gospel according to John (2003, 124 minutes), shown on the First Sunday in Lent, March 13, 12:00 PM – 2:30 PM. The second movie will be The Passion of the Christ (graphic content, 2004, 127 minutes), shown on the Third Sunday in Lent, March 29, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM. The third movie will be The Prince of Egypt (animated, 1998, 99 minutes), shown on the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Family Sunday), April 10, 12:00 PM – 2:30 PM. The movies will be shown on Sunday afternoons at the church, in the Guild Room. A potluck lunch will be offered for each movie. Signup sheets are available in the hallway for each movie.
The Rector’s 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Forum throughout Lent will discuss and study the Book of Genesis. The class will be divided into five parts. Part one will be Creation, Adam & Eve and Noah. Part two will be Abraham. Part three will be Isaac and Jacob. Parts four and five will be Joseph.
The Outreach Committee has two weekly goals during Lent. First, we hope to fill the Food & Supplies Basket at the back of the church every Sunday. We know that this is a big challenge, but we believe that working together we can provide a full basket to the Katonah Food Pantry. They need donations throughout the year. And the late winter and early spring is a time when there are fewer charity drives. The second goal is to collectively raise $500 in spare change in time for the Offering for the Poor collected on Maundy Thursday. Traditionally the Maundy Thursday offering is given entirely to the poor, and the Vestry has determined it will go directly to Episcopal Charities this year. We hope that six weeks of collected spare change will allow us to more than double our usual offering. A spare change basket will be placed at the back of the church throughout Lent. Collect the spare change you accumulate each week and add it to the basket. The money, together with the offering envelopes designated for Maundy Thursday that are in your envelope boxes, and the collection from the Maundy Thursday service will be blessed at the Maundy Thursday Liturgy on April 21.
Finally, the Stewardship Committee would like to invite those who have not pledged for 2011 to consider taking that leap of faith in Lent. We are very close to our goal of $130,000 and 70 pledges. Right now, we have 61 pledges for nearly $117,000. Pledging what you intend to give for the entire year, whatever the amount, takes faith in and a commitment to the mission of Good Shepherd. Our outreach, fellowship, and worship opportunities have increased because we are growing and thriving. I invite you to join me, the members of the stewardship committee, every member of the vestry, all of our parish officers, and over 60 families in our congregation in making a pledge to support the growth and mission of Good Shepherd.
Lent is a great time for all of us in some small way to mirror the supreme sacrifice that Jesus offered on the cross. Time spent learning and praying over the Scriptures (directly from the Bible, in a worship or devotional service, and even in adapted cinema) will bear the fruit of evangelism at some point. Money and donations given to the poor is a way that any of us can “love our neighbor”. This year take up the chance to live a holy Lent, and pray that the power of the Holy Spirit will grow in you so that what you have taken up in Lent may become part of your regular daily Christian life.
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