Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
So goes the opening Collect for Ash Wednesday from the Book of Common Prayer. Once again we come to that time of year when we "worthily lament our sins and acknowledge our wretchedness." I’d rather go to the dentist! Sending out invitations to join us in church to lament our sins and acknowledge our wretchedness always sounds a bit too... well.... overdone. And let’s face it, it doesn’t exactly bring them in in droves. In today’s world, it just doesn’t sell.
Why doesn’t it sell? Because this is not what life is about. Life is about making the most of what we have been given and what more we can get. Life is short – live LARGE! And what good is lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness when we feel neither sinful nor wretched? We haven’t stolen from anyone. We haven’t murdered anyone. We give to our church. We shovel our neighbor’s driveway. There are a lot of sinful and wretched people out there, but we ain’t them. Give us a break!
Maybe it would help if we changed the language. How about, "Create in us strong and lovely hearts, that we, truly owning our mistakes and promising to do better next time, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect praise and more good things in our lives." That’s pretty much what we pray for all year, anyway, isn’t it? "Dear God, If I am good and do everything you want me to, then I expect you to do this for me."
Well, I can think of sending that substitute prayer to the commission that revises our Book of Common Prayer, but I doubt they will be changing the old language anytime soon. Because the present language says it all and says it with "chutzpah." It is the kind of language that goes with ashes, ashes that remind us that we are mortal human beings, not God, and that all that we possess turns to dust and ashes when we do. It is the kind of language that reminds us that this is serious business we are about here. It is the kind of language that reminds us that while we may believe we are just a little off the mark, if at all, we still have some major work to do.
As I write this, we are on the verge of war in the Persian Gulf. All of us have something to say about this possibility and what we have in common is that all of us believe we are right. Do I believe I am right in my opinions about our involvement in Iraq? Of course I do. Do I believe God is on my side? Of course I do. And the more I believe that, the more righteous I feel. It is a good thing I have so many others of you to reel me in!
But as I read this collect for Ash Wednesday again, I realize that whether or not God is on my side is not the point. The point is whether or not I am on God’s side. And I cannot possibly know that unless I empty myself of myself and let myself rest in the heart and mind of God. And there is no better way of emptying than to lament my sins of self-righteousness and self-centeredness, and acknowledge my wretchedness and my need of God’s mercy and grace.
I am blessed to be part of a community of "unlike-minded" people who, while expressing their disagreements, can wind their arms around each other each week with the words, "The peace of the Lord be always with you." For this, finally, is the great Peace for which each of us seeks. This is the Peace that passes all understanding and it comes from our seeking the heart and mind of God through Jesus Christ.
The language of the collect for Ash Wednesday may not bring them in in droves, but I don’t believe that same language will be changed anytime soon. At least, I hope not. I need to lament my sins and acknowledge my wretchedness. I need a new heart. Why? Because I also need to know that I may obtain from the God of all mercy "perfect remission and forgiveness." I need to know when everything turns to dust and ashes I am on God’s side, for only in that is my Peace and security. Make the most of this Lenten season. And may the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be always with you.
Ash Wednesday falls on March 5 and will be marked by the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with the Imposition of Ashes at 7:30 p.m. Please join us as we set out on this journey of Lent together, following the steps of our Lord to the Cross on Calvary.
We will, as is our tradition, spend the following Wednesday evenings in Lent in prayer and fellowship. On Wednesday, March 12, the Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 6:00 p.m. There will be no dinner or program on this evening.
On the following Wednesday evenings in Lent – March 19, 26, April 2, 9 – the 6:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist will be followed by soup supper at 6:30 p.m. and program at 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. This year, the Rev. Lou and Anne Mitchell will lead us through a program on "The Parables of Jesus." (Many of you may not know that Anne is a graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary.) Please sign up on the door of the kitchen to bring soup, bread, fruit.
We are so excited to have finally gotten a reservation on the very full calendar at our Diocesan Camp and Conference Center for a Parish Retreat. The excitement is two-fold – first that we are once again scheduling a retreat for the first time in many years – and second that we will be able to go to Shrine Mont.
Shrine Mont is a civil war era complex of hotels and early 1900s cottages in grand style located in the mountains near the Bryce resort area less than two hours from here. The outdoor stone shrine/chapel is the Diocesan seat of our Bishop – making it our Cathedral.
It is very hard to obtain a weekend there and we feel blessed to have been able at long last to get a reservation – it is the first time our retreat will be there. We are on the books for the last weekend in June – after school is out and before vacations begin. We will start with dinner Friday the 27th and depart after lunch on the 29th. We will have a program for adults entitled "Humor in the Bible" led by The Rev. Churchill Gibson who some of you may remember from last summer when he filled in for Rachelle. A children’s program will also be provided.
The cost is approximately $110 per person for lodging and 6 meals. And the meals there are magnificent – all diets must be suspended for the country cooking of the Moomaw family – the center’s caretakers for three generations. There are scholarships available and Rachelle says that no one should decide not to attend because of cost.
Given the time of year the pool may be accessible to us and there are plenty of trails – but what Shrine Mont is best known for are the rocking chairs on the porches and the benches throughout the acreage for simply enjoying the beautiful setting. There are a book store and ball fields as well.
We will soon be posting a Shrine Mont booklet that also tells about attractions in the area in case you want to stop anywhere on your way in or out of Mount Jackson. We will also post a sign-up sheet and a room selection guide.
Finally we are looking for someone to come forward and volunteer to be our coordinator. The reservations are made and the adult program secured, but we need a person to take over and coordinate the sign-ups and collecting of fees. We will also probably need some assistance with the program for the children – perhaps there are some teens interested in participating in that ministry.
So – mark your calendars and check Out and About in the weekly bulletin for more information about registration.
Shrove Tuesday is a time when the All Saints-Sharon Chapel community gathers for a traditional supper of pancakes and sausage, a way of saying goodbye to eggs, fat and meat. The festive decorations and sequined masks made by the children are in the old tradition of separating the austerity of Lent from other times of the year with one last celebration before the Lenten season begins.
The word carnival comes from the Latin phrase carneiu levare - the removal of meat. Medieval Christians developed carnivals to celebrate with exuberance one last time before the rigorous Lenten fast.
Although Lenten regulations varied with time and place, no meat, butter, eggs, milk, or cheese were generally allowed during the 40 days. Lenten meals might be restricted to one each day and that one taken after sundown.
Though our fasting is seldom so austere, The Book of Common Prayer does call for 'special acts of discipline and self-denial' on Ash Wednesday and during Lent and Holy Week. During Lent, Sundays are an exception to such observances, for every Sunday of the year is considered a Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In addition to fasting, Christians were permitted no weddings, dances, or festivals during Lent; the season was reserved for prayer and penance. So medieval Christians began to observe a time of celebration in the days and weeks before Ash Wednesday; to hold rowdy parades, masquerades and dances, and to fling themselves into festivity one last time before Lent.
Such pre-Lenten festivities are still widely observed today, preserved in the gondola parades of Venice, the Mardi Gras floats of New Orleans, and the street parties of Rio de Janeiro.
Recipes for all types of rich foods that medieval Christians consumed during Carnival have been preserved in various pre-Lenten traditions. Such feasting developed in part to prepare body and spirit for the long fast and in part to use up the foods that could not be stored during Lent, such as the meat of sausage and the eggs and butter of pancakes.
Rich foods give Carnival days many colorful names - Butter Week, Fat Days, and Fat Tuesday. The name of Shrove Tuesday, however, is derived from a different custom: that of confessing sins (being shriven) in order to begin the spiritual battle of Lent renewed by an awareness of God's power and mercy.
Such a time of confession carries with it a spirit of sorrow and contrition over sin. For this reason, the word alleluia is omitted from Lenten liturgies and restored again during the celebrations of Easter. A Shrove Tuesday celebration is an excellent opportunity to bid farewell to this joyous word.
Both confession and festival are excellent ways to prepare for Lent. Perhaps we, too, can find in confession a renewal of joy in God's forgiveness. Perhaps we, too, can find in festival a renewal of foolishness and fun with our Christian brothers and sisters. Perhaps we, too, can prepare ourselves to take Lent more seriously by giving ourselves permission to feast and play beforehand. Perhaps we, too, can plunge gaily into Carnival, and emerge prepared for a holy Lent.
Make your plans now to attend the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, March 4, 2003, sponsored by the All Saints-Sharon Chapel Cursillistas to benefit their Cursillo Scholarship Fund. Supper will be served from 6:00 until 7:30 PM. The cost will be $5.00 per adult, $2.00 per child (12 and under) and $15.00 max per family.
When we celebrate the Passover Seder, the ancient tradition that is part of our Judeo-Christian heritage, we celebrate our deliverance from eternal death by our Passover lamb, Jesus Christ. For just as an innocent lamb died so that the first born of each Jewish family in Egypt could be spared, so the innocent Jesus, He who was without sin, died so that we could be spared.
According to the Synoptic Gospels, the last meal which Jesus ate on earth was the Passover meal (Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:1), called at the time the Feast of Unleavened Bread, to celebrate the deliverance of God’s chosen people from the Pharaoh of Egypt. In their haste to leave, their bread did not have time to rise; this is the source of the unleavened bread which is today called matzoh.
Four cups of wine are drunk at a traditional Seder because of the four promises God made in Egypt:
I will bring you out
I will deliver you
I will redeem you
I will take you to me for a people
(Exodus 6:6-7)
A cup of wine is left for the prophet Elijah, "the herald of redemption", who will return to announce the coming of the Messiah (Mal 4:4-5).
We believe that John the Baptist was Elijah (Matthew 17-9-12; Mark 9:9-13; Luke 1:17) and the fifth cup is for Jesus, who gave His life for each of us to drink in remembrance of Him.
Thus, the Passover Seder has several levels of meaning for Christians. Through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we were grafted onto the Tree of Life, which before His death and resurrection had included only God’s chosen people, the Jews (Romans 11:17-21). Through Jesus, we too become heirs to the promise made to Abraham: "all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3). Abraham was justified by his faith in the promise of God, just as we are justified by our faith in His Son, for God is faithful. God has kept His promise to Abraham. He delivered His children from Egypt and He delivered us through His son, Jesus Christ. Thus the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah and Rachel, Moses, Esther, Ruth and David is our God through the wondrous sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Please join us on Tuesday, April 15th at 6:30 p.m. for our annual Passover Seder. Experience the fun, fellowship and good food of the Seder in a warm, loving community. Cost is $6.00 per adult, $2.50 per child (12 and under) and $17.00 max per family. Reservations can be made any Sunday starting March 16th by contacting Carolyn Rae. Also please offer your gift to help with the Seder. We are looking for the gifts of set-up, clean-up, shopping and cooking.
The 2002 Christmas Tree sale was successful in a number of ways. Many parishioners cheerfully volunteered to sell trees and I am exceedingly grateful for their support. While some experienced some harsh weather, all gained the opportunity to meet other parishioners who they didn’t know previously and, also, to meet some fine people who live in the community around us.
Secondly, many customers told us they have bought trees from us for several years; in some cases, doing so has practically become part of their Christmas tradition. Many new customers assured us they would be back next year. Our folks definitely have a way of connecting with the people that stop by our tree stand that is well received.
Finally, the sale was fiscally profitable. I hope all participants in the tree sale will share in a sense of satisfaction for the resultant contribution of about $2,000 to the church.
Special thanks go to three people who offered particularly vital support: to Jane Delbridge who, months earlier, took responsibility to order the trees and to apply for our county permit, and who offered me very helpful guidance based on her experience over the past several years; to Buddy Cox who gets the whole operation started when he positions the shed, erects the racks and lighting, un-bundles trees, and sets up the fire barrel; and to Chet Szymczak who not only signed up in advance to sell trees, but also offered to respond on short notice when schedule problems occurred, and, in fact, did so on several occasions.
The other saints who participated in this successful sale are: Kim Enderle, Leigh Ann Kidd, Rick Schoen, Peggy Szymczak, Carl and Margaret Oosterman, Joyce Goins, Barbara Kinzer, Dick Delbridge, Rachelle Birnbaum, Loretta Kuhn, Doug Himes, Erica Plank, Keith and Karen Landry, Leland Southard, Pat, Tim and Kendrick Taylor, Judith Simpson, Beverly, Lauren, and Heather Shaw, Libby Shipp, Tig Dupre, Mary-Blair Valentine, Jean Starry, Stephanie, Michael, Mykela and Malik Graham, Leon Hicks, Dianna and Jason Baltimore, Amy Spagna, Jackie and Clyde Woodle, James Bull, Ron and Sharon Field, Juanita Illera, Lynn, Amanda and Amy Zehner, Bill Weise, Crissy and Elisabeth Field, Chris Gordon, Jim and Rachel Trigg, Lou Mitchell, Dave and Christine Marston, Ryan Delbridge, Montie, Susan, Elizabeth and Katie Lake, Charles Rae, Tom and Renee O’Brien, Carolyn Rae.
My sincere thanks to each and every one for their outstanding contribution.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul Rae
As has been our tradition for a number of years, we will celebrate Easter Sunday by bringing in home-made breads, cakes, cookies, etc. for coffee hour. Please bring your home-baked goodies to Gunnell Hall before the service. Tables will be set up to accept your gifts that will be enjoyed by all during our Easter coffee hour.
As in years past, this year on Easter morning, 9:15 a.m. Sunday School will be canceled. We know how busy this morning can be for everyone and hope that having extra time as a family will help keep things running smoothly.
For the 10:30 a.m. service, children are asked to bring a cut flower of any variety for the flowering of the cross. If you forget, there will be some available; all children are welcome to participate. Also, please bring a basket to participate in and Easter egg hunt immediately following the 10:30 a.m. service.