Dear Friends,
During the Lenten season, we began each service with the Penitential Order and included the Decalogue, which is the Ten Commandments. One Sunday, a parishioner asked if 6 out of the 10 commandments were properly observed would that be considered passing and did I think that God grades on a curve? I laughed assuming that the inquiry was in jest, but then I thought there probably are some who think this way. Is God holding a checklist and marking off pass or fail?

This is what Easter is all about. God loves us so much that he sent his son to live and die as one of us. The resurrection is proof that Jesus overcame death and the grave to save us all. Salvation is a free gift and thankfully we are the recipients. Living a life with belief in this doesn’t make us wonder if we are doing enough to get in, it gives us hope in knowing what is to come.

Once we have a true understanding of this, our lives naturally reflect our relationship with God through Christ. The Ten Commandments are easier to observe because we desire to love God and to love our neighbor.

Yes, I believe that God grades on a curve and it is one so broad that when we are marked as Christ’s own forever, we pass. That’s living an Easter life, one that is lived in belief of the resurrection.

Blessings,
Gini+

Dear Friends,
“Lent is less about what we give up than what we become.” – The Rev. David Teschner

Walking in the desert is not an easy task. As we know, it is steeped with danger that can zap the soul of its very will to live.  The Spirit led Jesus into the desert for forty days and nights to face temptations and to persevere. In all his human vulnerability, Jesus was no different to the temptations than the rest of us.  The season of Lent is representative of this time of trial and a time for us, in our suffering, to discover our dependence on God and the gift of grace to sustain us. We focus on the transformation that can take place during our journey in the wilderness that draws us closer to God.

You will notice during the season of Lent that our worship area has changed. We see the penitential color of purple in the linens. We will not have fresh flowers on the retable, but rather dried flowers, sticks and other items that represent the desert.  (Thank you, Halsey Dillard for providing these wonderful arrangements.) The baptismal font will be void of water, just as the desert. We will long during this time for what sustains us, knowing that it is God who provides.

Many of us will give up things during Lent that we enjoy or add disciplines that help us grow in our love and knowledge of God. What we become at the end or our time in the wilderness is far more important than what we give up. Suffering can lead us to a place far greater in Christ. As we observe a holy Lent, by self examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditation on God’s holy Word (pg. 265, BCP) may we rejoice in what we will become.  God’s grace will be our guide through the perils of the desert and beyond.

Blessings,
Gini+

Dear Friends,
This month we will begin the season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, February 14, we are invited “in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” (BCP p. 265)

This Lent I would like for us to pay particular attention to our individual prayer lives and what that means to us. I am often asked why do we pray? If God knows our desires and needs then why is it necessary to pray? Prayer, as we know from the Catechism (BCP p. 856), is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words. The principal kinds of prayer are adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession and petition.

I believe that Soren Kierkegaard stated it best when he said “Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes the one who prays.” When we pray, we are acknowledging our relationship with God and our need for God. We cannot tell God what to do or who to heal, but we can draw closer in our dependence with the One who can. When we communicate with God we become aligned with God’s will, our desires, fears, hopes and wants are known and received.

For many years Birdie Lighthiser has overseen our Prayer Vine. Many of you have reached out to Birdie for prayer requests and have been the recipient of these prayers. We are strengthened by knowing that so many are interceding on our behalf or on behalf of a loved one. The time has come for us to continue this great ministry in another way. Knowing the importance of this ministry, we will now be overseeing it through our church office. Wendy and I will be sending the requests to our church family who are committed to praying for one another. You may join this group or be removed from the group at any time.

We also have a prayer list that is included in our weekly bulletins and The Messenger Newsletter. Starting this month, we will be managing this list differently. The list will be divided between Church Members and Family and Friends of Church Members. If you would like for a name to be included on the list, please notify the church office. Names will be included for a specified period of time and then will be removed, unless you request longer. We are going to start the list over so that names that have been placed on the list for a particular circumstance that are no longer needed may be removed. Since we are not aware of all of these situations all names will come off and we will begin again. When adding someone to the prayer list, please make sure that the recipient has given their permission to be included. When the hospital stay, treatment or situation has ended, please let us know so that we can give thanks and remove the name from the list. See enclosed form.

As we draw nearer to God through Christ and the Holy Spirit during this Lenten season, let us remember that through communicating in prayer, we will be changed. If you would like to discuss your personal prayer life or would like suggestions for new ways to talk with God, please let me know. I am more than happy to discuss this.

Blessings,
Gini+