By now, you should all have received the Lenten devotions for 2021 entitled, A Story to Tell. I chose it because it focuses intelligently on texts from the Gospel of Mark that show Jesus’ journey from his baptism to the cross. This is also the gospel that we are focused on in our Sunday worship (Year B, according to the three-year cycle of readings in the Revised Common Lectionary). Plus, it’s pocket-sized and reminded me of the days when we routinely carried handy, pocket-sized manuals and planners of one kind or another.
On a deeper level, I felt it was important this year to offer a tangible sign of our shared spiritual journey as we continue to practice our faith apart from one another. To know we are all on the same page in our readings and prayers is very much a part of the corporate sense of belonging to the Body of Christ; and is very much in tune with our tradition of using a common book of prayer.
So, all that said, I hope you are finding that the readings and reflections resonate with your own story as we immerse ourselves in God’s story of forgiveness, comfort and love.
Onward in Lent,
This past Sunday in my sermon I leaned heavily on the wisdom of Anne Lamott as I explored the nature of mercy as it relates to the practices we immerse ourselves in during Holy Week. Here’s her definition of what mercy looks like: “Mercy is radical kindness. Mercy means offering or being offered aid in desperate […]
Back in the 50’s and 60’s, it was thought that 500-year-old church divisions could be healed if churches reached across denominational lines and got to know each other. This was an exciting time for the churches in Irvington, as all the fundamental theological issues between the Protestant, Catholic, and Anglican Churches were on the way […]
In my message last week, I wrote of an emerging sense of optimism shared by our church leadership that church life can once again take on the semblance of normality. This past week, Bishop Dietsche shared his own sense of optimism in a letter entitled, “Return of the Common Cup.” He wrote, “…with the waning […]