Burgeoning Life

"Lent is an ancient word for springtime; it designates a season of burgeoning inner and outer life. Too often Lent has been misunderstood as a time of grim repentance, but it is meant to be a time of joy, the joy of a fresh start, the joy that greening meadows and blossoming trees proclaim each spring." From User-friendly Lent: Sharpening spiritual focus by Bro. David Steindl-Rast O.S.B. Visit Gratefulness.org and read it all here.

EPPN, Lent 1

"The destruction we see around us is not an accident.
But then, neither is the fact that you and I have
been placed here to do something about it."
-Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston

"Our climate is changing – and that means different things in different regions around the world. In some places it means droughts, in others extreme storms, and in still others melting ice. What it means for all of us is a degradation of the amazing beauty that God created for us. It means that we should be doing all we can to slow these changes in our environment." Read more here.

Reconciliation

"The sacrament of reconciliation, which is in our Book of Common Prayer, offers the penitent, the opportunity to confess the sin of things done and things left undone as well as my personal favorite "all the other sins which I cannot now remember." It is a rich service in which we bring our troubles to the table placing them there to be healed by God. It’s not about casting blame or suffering from ill placed guilt, it is about coming back to the God who loves us, the God who is there for us, the God who wants us to live life to the fullest, and the God who wants us to be a part of a reconciled world, and not just a part but a leader." From a sermon by the Rev. Dorian McGlannan. Read the entire sermon here.

True Sanctity

"True sanctity... consists in using God's creation in such a way that everything we touch and see and use and love gives new glory to God. To be a saint means to pass through the world gathering fruits for heaven from every tree and reaping God's glory in every field. "

By Thomas Merton, in Seasons of Celebration (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1950): 137. See also, The Merton Institute for Contemplative Living.

Resolution or Rule

Over at the Episcopal Cafe, the Daily Episcopalian features an essay by the Rev. Kit Carlson. It reads, in part:

"As I enter Lent this year, I am trying to not just make a resolution. Rather, I hope to make a Rule. I have been asking myself: what is lacking in my relationship with God? Or: how am I failing to honor myself as the person God created me to be? Or: what practice would make me more mindful of the presence of God? Or: what is standing in the way of my being able to love God and love my neighbor?"

Read the whole essay here.

Ash Wednesday

This Ash Wednesday is an invitation to all of us to deeper, fuller life. We are invited to walk this road together, as a Church community, to find together the incredible mercy and love of God. This beginning of Lent is our opportunity not to be overcome with guilt and regret, but instead to be filled as individuals and as a community with the joyful realization that our God is beckoning us, calling us. "Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation." Read the entire meditation by Fr. Peter Swarr, here.

... at St. John's Episcopal Church, Plymouth,
Michigan click here to see video; Detroit News article, here
photo above © by Dan Mears

Keeping A Holy Lent

"The Church gradually took on the discipline of Lent in solidarity with those preparing for baptism at the Easter Vigil. That preparation work has traditionally been summarized as prayer and study, fasting, and almsgiving. Today we might remember the origins of Lent, take in our traditional understandings, and use these 40 days plus Sundays to prepare to renew our own baptismal vows. This ancient understanding of prayer, study, fasting, and almsgiving shapes the lives we lead. Each of us is baptized into a life of relationship with God (prayer), relationship with self on behalf of others (fasting), and relationship with all the rest of creation (almsgiving). Lent brings a regular opportunity to tune up our Christian life and relationships. "

From the Presiding Bishop's Lenten Message: Keeping a holy Lent: prayer, fasting, almsgiving. By Katharine Jefferts Schori, February 5, 2008. Read it all here at Episcopal Life Online

Ash Wednesday Services at St. John's Episcopal Church

10:00 a.m. Stations of the Cross

10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Healing Service, Imposition of Ashes

7:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist and the Imposition of Ashes

Many and Various Ways

Sisters and Brothers, just as Jesus was not limited as he lived on earth but displayed the glory of God in many and various ways—through healing, through teaching, through prayer, through his transfigured glory on the Holy Mountain—so too is our journey of faith not limited, not restricted to one way of being. God meets us time and again in so many different ways. God meets us time and again to call us ever more into ministry. God meets us time and again to remind us that we are not following cleverly devised myths but the very truth of God. God meets us and supports us time and again so that we might be attentive to the truth of God "as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." From a sermon by Fr. Peter Swarr. To read the entire sermon, click here.

As seen above, "The Soul Takes Flame" by Brie Dodson

A Sacred Space

"As we sit with Christ in prayer, we enter a sacred space of solitude, love, and inner peace. In time, we may wonder how we survived without prayer. Prayer becomes the air we breathe. We need it to live in peace." From a sermon by Cynthia Leidal. To read the entire sermon, click here.

We Are ...

"... we are a group called together to rejoice in who God has made us. We are a people called to join together in praise and thanksgiving to the Giver of all good gifts. We are a people called to shine forth with the radiance of Christ. It sounds like a lofty calling, it sounds like something that doesn’t apply, but it DOES APPLY TO YOU AND ME." From Fr. Peter Swarr's sermon on the Second Sunday after Epiphany, January 20, 2008. You can read the entire sermon here.

Grace

"... is an unmerited gift from God of
himself. It's 'on the house.'
It comes free and it comes whether
or not you know you need it."
Frederick Beuchner

Read the entire interview from Grace Cathedral here.

Epiphany

The story of the Epiphany seems to be woven of mystery and possibility, destination and return; leading to and trailing from a miraculous birth to baptism to wedding feast. And in the cyclic pattern of nature it repeats, offering for as many times as we might observe it, a path that we might all follow.

The painting shown above, "Epiphany Times Three" is by Kathrin Burleson (www.kathrinburleson.com). It is part of the current ECVA (Episcopal Church and Visual Arts) exhibition "Feasts for the Eyes."

Some further insights regarding the Feast of the Epiphany can be found at Speaking to the Soul at the Episcopal Cafe.

Diocesan Council 2008

"Diocesan Council met twice since Diocesan Convention and will meet again on Tuesday, January 8, at Trinity Church, Belleville. The meeting, which begins at 6 p.m., will address the budget process for 2009. On December 1, council created a new committee called the Diocesan Program Committee that will look at the five diocesan priorities, the commitment to the eight Millennium Development Goals and how to live into the challenge of Bishop Wendell Gibbs to be 'a people of common prayer expecting uncommon results.' " Read the entire story here.

In the photo above: Bishop Wendell Gibbs flanked by Council President Dorian McGlannan and Canon to the Ordinary Lisa Gray. (Photo: Herb Gunn)

Seeing The Face Of God In Each Other

Seeing the Face of God in Each Other: Eliminate Racism Workshop

On Saturday, January 12 from 9 a.m to 5 p.m., the Whitaker School of Theology will host an Eliminate Racism workshop at St. Matthew's/St. Joseph's, Detroit. The cost of the all-day workshop is $40 per person, and scholarships are available. Plan now to send a team from your congregation! Deadline for registration is extended into January. Contact Nanette Lutz at nlutz@edomi.org [mailto:nlutz@edomi.org] or call 313/ 833-4423 for additional information.

The notice above is from the Record Weekly Online News. You can see archived issues here.

Good News

"God of good news,

help us to find you again

in the hidden place."

From Advent Readings from Iona by Brian Woodcock and Jan Sutch Pickard (Wild Goose Publications, 2000). Read the entire prayer here.

His Presence Saved Them

It was no messenger or angel
but his presence that saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 63:9

We Need Jesus

"The story of the Bible is that of God searching for us. The Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament is full of stories of God searching for us, trying to restore the relationship broken by Adam and Eve. For hundreds of years, kings and prophets came to the Israelites trying to bring God’s people back to God. But then God decided to come to us himself, in the form of the infant Jesus. This baby would change lives, this baby would be the answer to the emptiness we so often feel, this baby would fill that void, this baby would bring us back to God. There are no human beings who can always be there for us. Even the best of friends, even a caring colleague or even the most loving spouse cannot always be there for us all of the time. Even the best of us have moments when we are unable to be present to the needs of another person. Most of us have bad days or at the very least, bad moments. But Jesus does not have bad days, Jesus is always there regardless of the time day or night or location in the world. "

From the Christmas 2007 sermon by the Rev. Dorian McGlannan. To read the entire sermon, click here.

The Second Day Of Christmas

It is only recently that I've discovered the joy of the "Twelve Days of Christmas." After the day of feasting and music a calm descends on the house. Lights are softer, peaceful.

Sitting quietly on this "ordinary" day, I receive the gift of the Nativity closer to my heart. I begin to see how this miracle of Christmas might live with me in every day.

The Miraculous Paradox

"Today is a day where we celebrate, celebrate the fact that God’s love is so strong that God was willing to give up all his power, all his glory, all his heavenly host, and trade it in for swaddling clothes and the powerlessness of infancy. God’s love for you and for me is so great that just to reach out to humanity, just to guide us, teach us, to bring us back into a life-giving relationship with God, God was willing to be born a human, to know our frailties and weaknesses. This is the miraculous paradox that we celebrate on this joyful day. This is the miracle that lies behind all of our Christmas preparation and celebrations whether we realize it or not."

From the Christmas Day sermon at St. John's Episcopal Church by the Rev. Peter Swarr. Read the entire sermon here.

Canon for Lifelong Learning

From the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan comes this news:

Jo Gantzer was installed on Wednesday, December 19, 2007, as the Canon for Lifelong Learning. Bishop Wendell Gibbs explained that Gantzer will assist the bishop in education and Christian formation for all ages, support the laity and clergy, and encourage the whole church in its ministry. Gantzer serves as a member of the bishop's senior staff.

You can receive The Record Weekly Online News in your e-mail; read more here.