The Lent Journey at St. Martin's Lent is fast approaching with Ash Wednesday on February 18th, the first day of Lent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday The Word Lent comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning spring, which is always a bit ironic given that Lent seems to begin at the point when winter delivers up its sharpest blows. Commemorating Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness, which was a period of preparation for his ministry, a good metaphor for Lent is that of a journey to the events of Easter. A journey comprises many steps. To arrive at our destination the important thing is that we start the journey.
The Five Wednesday Evenings from February 25th to March 25th will form milestones on our Lenten journey together. Each Wednesday begins at 5:30pm with worship comprising Stations of the Cross with Holy Communion. Around 6:15pm we will eat together. Our period of study and discussion will run from 7:00 - 8:00pm. The evening will end with the short and beautiful service of Compline (Night Prayer) taking us to 8:45pm. We will study and discuss the Rule of St. Benedict, following St. Benedict's Toolbox by Jane Tomaine. Please buy this book. It comes in both paperback and Kindle editions. It's a handy little resource to have on your shelves - so to speak. The Rule of St. Benedict is the founding document for a spirituality that has fundamentally shaped the Anglican Tradition of the Episcopal Church. In fact, if asked who we are as Episcopalians, one answer might be that we are Benedictine-shaped Christians. Our focus will be to explore the Rule as a tool that might help us better manage the stress in our hectic 21st century lives. A Structured Evening The Five Wednesday evenings are designed with two things in mind: - Sensitivity to people's schedules - not everyone will be able to make a 5:30 start, but may be able to join the program at either meal or study times.
- The elements of Anglican Spiritual Practice are worship, common prayer, study, and reflection. The evening is structured around the presence of all of these spiritual practice elements.
There is no need to sign up for the program except if you plan to attend the meal, for which we will need a rough estimate of weekly numbers. Please RSVP for the meal to Susan Esposito at [email protected]. Here's looking forward, this Sunday, to seeing you in Church! Mark+ |