Lent

A freak storm on Sat March 12 brought snow, rain, sleet and high wind most of the day. This was cleared by Sunday but the 15 degree temperatures reduced a attendance to 14 and 6 online. The Rev. Deacon Sallie Hartman was the guest preacher during morning prayer.

Shrove Tuesday is the last day of Epiphany and the bridge to Lent which begins Wed. Feb. 14. Shrove Tuesday is a day of reflection but mostly feasting. And we did that with about 20 in the Parish House. For a variety of reasons – renovation, Village Dinner, weather we have not had one since 2013. Thanks to Dave, Eunice, Roger, Andrea, and Catherine for helping out preparing and serving and making this day a reality once again.

This week was the end of Epiphany and the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday. Lent began with a bang with a intense storm that knocked out electricity in the area for several hours. So you can say God’s power was felt in the storm and we realized our own tenuous nature, a theme of Lent! Like Jesus we were tested.

Both our events went on normally. The Village Dinner ended Epiphany with Andrea’s fish, rice, mullins and pie. We then had 20 at the Ash Wednesday service. Despite cooler snap this week, the spring flowers continued in the not spring weather.

The story is here.

We started out at the Sunrise Service at the Long’s House at 6:30am. It was a half an hour later than last year. The weather was both warmer and clearer with a gentle warm breeze in contrast to the overcast 40 degree weather of a year ago.

Easter is a time of new growth. Walking through Port Royal there were plenty of examples – cherry trees, forsythia, dogwood, and new leaves on trees. Bill Wick’s Viburnum was amazing for its growth

Easter is a time of celebration and that included music. The choir had worked hard on John Rutter’s “Glory to God” with trumpeter Andy Cortez playing the descant. Andy also had accompaniments written for the opening hymn “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” and the closing “The Day of Resurrection.

Celebration was apparent in the number of Easter bonnets that were worn. We had 70 in attendance, an overflow helped by several families. The service opened with the lighting of the Paschal fire outside and procession inside.

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Link. to the news page.

A snowstorm of 4+ inches eliminated most of the events of the past week. Both Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday were eliminated as well as the remainder of the Wednesday activities – Bible Study, ECW and the Food distribtution. We had 35 at the service on Sunday, Feb. 22, Lent 1. The sermon dealt with transitions which are apparent in the Gospel reading from Jesus being baptized, to being driven into the wilderness for 40 days and finally beginning his ministry proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

Good Friday is a blend of all of the Holy Week services. There is a long reading like Palm Sunday, this year in Luke. The reading in Good Friday is always from John, a very detailed account of Christ’s last day Like Tenebrae, Good Friday creates a mood and like Maundy Thursday is one day, the last one for Christ. It maybe is the most emotional one from disbelief over the arrest, flogging, trial and eventual crucifixion in a quickly moving Friday to one of horror, anger and reflection.

Ash Wednesday came with a cold steady rain that seemed to fit the mood of the day. “Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior.” The bulletin for the service is here.|For such as night we had a good crowd at 21. People appreciated being there. Certainly one highlight was Nancy’s solo on “The Glory of These Forty Days. ” The words are attributed to Pope Gregory in the 6th century. “The glory of these forty days We celebrate with songs of praise; For Christ, by Whom all things were made, Himself has fasted and has prayed.” While we remember our sins and misdoings, the mood is not dwelling on the past but on improving the future

We had a small crowd at 16 for Shrove Tuesday with several families traveling. But Dave’s pancakes and Nancy’s sausage were yummy. The intimacy actually helped the conversation in being able to gather in one room. We all ate more than we should but we did what we should in remembering the medieval custom of using up all of the eggs, cream and fat in the house before the Lenten fast began the following day. The day was lovely in the afternoon which was captured on film.

First Lent 2012 featured a new adult education on God and human suffering as well as the chanting of the Great Litany that goes back to the beginning of the Church of England.Thanks to Paige Martindale and Brad Volland for their help in getting the Great Litany together. We had a number of guests in both Adult Ed and 11am

We had about 30 at the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake supper (Feb. 21, 2012) and 23 at Ash Wednesday the next night in 2012. Thanks to Dave Fannon, Johnny Davis, Bill Wick, Nancy Long, Barbara Segar, Cookie Davis and many others for their help on Tuesday. Also, thanks to Helmut for his Red Lenten Cross that we have enjoyed for the second year in a row beginning on Ash Wed. Weather cooperated for some interesting photography.